Other new tablets will be available this year, such as from MSI.
From Engadget.com:

“MSI’s 10-inch tablet launching this year at $500, patently ignoring the elephant in the room?
By Tim Stevens posted Jan 28th 2010 10:54AM
Ready for some more tablet news? Yeah, we know, this one’s different. Promise. It’s MSI’s 10-inch, Tegra-powered machine we checked out a few weeks back at CES. We were reasonably smitten then and, despite the new competition, we still think it looks promising. But, a $500 MSRP probably isn’t going to help things much when it launches sometime in the second half of this year, if a report from DigiTimes proves to be correct. Specifications are said to be “flexible” and the company will “launch different models based on market demand,” meaning if everyone coughs at that price point there’s a good chance MSI will dig deep and release an even cheaper model. Sounds like a good idea to us.”

ARCHOS has also come out with their ARCHOS 9 PCTablet, running Windows 7 and costing $550. It’s basically a netbook in a slate form factor. From their site:

“ARCHOS once again is leading the way in innovation with the introduction of the Netbook of the future, the ARCHOS 9 PCtablet. The new ARCHOS 9 PCtablet combines the performance of a high end netbook with breathtaking aesthetics, excellent ergonomics and a tactile interface on a superb screen.

Pure lines, extreme thinness (0.67′’), 800g and a stunning black finish, the ARCHOS 9 PCtablet pushes the boundaries of elegance and simplicity on a Netbook, fulfilling the expectations of the most mobile users. It provides all the power and comfort needed for daily usage.
With this ultra-light and thin PCtablet, you can watch you videos (including Full HD format), browse the web, “video chat”, or write your mails or documents.

  • Play all your multimedia content including HD* videos
  • Use all your daily software such as Windows Live™ Messenger or Skype® with Windows® 7, or Lotus Symphony as a productivity suite
  • Stay connected to Internet and your emails with the built-in connectivity”

More info and specs at the ARCHOS site.

We’ll have to see if the current interests and competition amongst manufacturers will be sustainable amongst consumers. A few years ago UMPC’s (ultra mobile personal computing) were brought out into the market as small tablet/slate devices for the consumers, but never really caught on in the mainstream. If you want to experiment and play with a small tabletpc but not wanting to invest too much money, pick up a used Samsung Q1 and play with that for awhile to see if this form factor and UI is worth more of your time and money. Check out Craigslist for various models of the Samsung Q1; you might luck out and find someone selling off their Q1 bundled with its various accessories at a really cheap price.