ASUS Eee PC T91 and T101H touchscreen tablet hands-on

We got a quick look at ASUS's new Eee PC tablets today, the T91 and T101H. The netbook heritage is unmistakable -- you only have to peep the 8.9-inch and 10-inch respective screen sizes and Atom processors -- but the two machines offer up full-on swivel tablet functionality, and look pretty good doing it. The chiclet keyboard on the T101H is a slight improvement over the standard Eee PC keyboard on the T91 -- which is a tad less firm, and with less room for distinct spacing. We found the hinge to be just alright, only rotating in a clockwise direction, and showing bit of "give." Otherwise it's pretty standard Eee, with ASUS's standard march toward sexy and the deepest stack of SKUs in the industry.

Gallery: ASUS Eee PC T91 and T101H touchscreen tablet hands-on

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[000000 @ Jan 8th 2009 8:24PM]

StuffTV reported the T91 will be $499 USD. HOOZA!!!

[Sunny @ Jan 9th 2009 3:40AM]

The Jesus are shining us!

[THEHAWKs @ Jan 8th 2009 8:44PM]

Both ASUS Eee PC T91 and T101H would make a nice OSX86 tablet can't wait to get my hands on one

[Zadillo @ Jan 8th 2009 8:51PM]

What kind of tablet tech is it exactly? Is it a passive digitizer or active? Personally I've never really gotten used to passive digitizers (like the first HP tx tablets before they switched to active wacom digitizers), and having to press in to get it to respond.

[iofthestorm @ Jan 8th 2009 10:58PM]

I'd like to know too, it makes a huge difference. Passive digitizers kind of suck and easily cause problems, active digitizers on the other hand are very accurate. I wouldn't buy one of these since I've got a tx2000z with both digitizers (although the passive is pretty useless and some people just remove it to make the screen clearer) but this could make an excellent PC for kids.

[iofthestorm @ Jan 8th 2009 11:03PM]

I think judging from the lack of Wacom Penabled logos all over everything, it's passive, which is kind of meh but for a netbook I suppose it's passable. Then again, it's also lacking in Intel and Windows logos so that might not be a good indication, but I think it would mention on the spec sheet if it was Wacom. The other interesting thing though was that it's LED backlit, which is pretty cool. I'd love to get my hands on an LED backlit laptop, they do look significantly better. Seeing the tech in a netbook gives me hope that by the time I'm ready to get a new laptop, it will become a standard feature.

[entropy @ Jan 9th 2009 3:12AM]

I am sort of disappointed. I was expecting a real netbook tablet, as in something one could write or draw on with reasonable quality. A passive touch screen may work nicely for buttons or gestures, but an active digitizer is necessary if you want to write or draw. They both have very different functions , even though some functionality might overlap.

touch screen --> passive digitizer --> buttons, gestures, etc. --> fingers
tablet --> active digitizer --> writing, drawing, etc. --> pen -->

I hope they will eventually upgrade it or release a new line of laptops for it.

[Jack Wolfe @ Mar 17th 2009 3:10PM]

I don't think that's what Asus was going for with this model.

The addition of the touchscreen on this series isn't meant for note taking and graphic composition, it's meant for doing what the original EEE PC models did in a more convenient fashion. The tablet form factor just makes sense for those things. Simple browsing, E-Book reading, Watching movies, and similar tasks in that neck of the woods. I was thrilled with how the 1000 series handled those things, but the tablet is exactly what the netbook needs.

I'm definately going to upgrade when this model comes out, I think ASUS really hit the nose on this one. Although the lack of shortcut buttons available whilst in tablet mode is a big turn off for me, it's not enough to drive me away. The battery will last at least a year, and after that the warranty will be voided so you can replace it yourself - so that factor wasn't a big issue for me. I think it'll be a beautiful machine, and I can't wait to get my hands on one. Come on Asus, it's March! What's the holdup?

[thequinox @ Jan 8th 2009 8:59PM]

Does it support multitouch for Windows 7?

[iKurt @ Jan 8th 2009 9:08PM]

Hey, that looks like Macbook's keyboard. Great ideas always started from Apple.

[Prestor John @ Jan 9th 2009 11:22AM]

Hey, apple invented cyanide, you should give it a try!

[sentient.exe @ Jan 8th 2009 9:17PM]

@iKurt

Apple copied that keyboard style from Sony...

[Wolfticket @ Jan 8th 2009 10:55PM]

...And Sony copied it from every calculator ever.

[Derek @ Jan 9th 2009 6:22PM]

Apple stole most of its ideas from PARC... so stfu.

[Joo @ Jan 8th 2009 9:19PM]

is it resistive touch or capacitive touch?

[Shyam D @ Jan 8th 2009 9:45PM]

This could easily be amazing or completely lackluster. The big things are the actual tablet technology : Wacom, N-Trig, purely passive capacitive or resistive. There is also a matter of the battery life and of course cost.

[Wolfticket @ Jan 8th 2009 11:27PM]

Resistive, or so I read. Seems like a sensible middle ground to me if it is done well.
My guess is the battery life will be somewhere between the short life of the orginal eee and the rather long life of the newer 901 and such.
And cost, well $499 seems to be a given for the T91, and presumably more (but not an awful lot more) for the T101H.

[Prestor John @ Jan 9th 2009 12:41AM]

The picture of the small one siting on top of the large one is NSFW.

This is the sexiest tablet since the Xtacy craze. (pill, tablet, whatever)

[Kixx @ Feb 11th 2009 10:55AM]

That's the worlds most famous tablet...

[Mitch @ Jan 9th 2009 4:56AM]

Engadget, I got almost no new insight from that paragraph I couldn't get already form the picture alone.

Is it a digitizer? Price? Specs? Cmon..

[john @ Jan 9th 2009 9:38AM]

Linux version (linpus or eeebuntu NBR)?

PCI-Express-Mini card slot?

[rb @ Jan 9th 2009 3:29PM]

Been waiting for a mini tablet, I hope its a digitizer.

And i hate chrome. Why did they have to chrome the trackpad button and the hinge? The chromed hinge looks especially ugly. It makes it look cheap.

[phail @ Jan 10th 2009 6:10PM]

i agree. it looks like plastic with silver paint. hopefully it is aluminum or something.

[Kixx @ Feb 11th 2009 11:54AM]

Yeah I think they should have a prototype first and let the world criticise it.

[Cyr @ Mar 16th 2009 10:39AM]

If the battery is not field replaceable, I hope there is a reset button to reboot a baulky unit.
If there is going to be a GPS option, is the screen bright enough for automobile use with antiglare screen?
Other than that I looking forward to its release.