What's better than one hands-on report to whet your appetite ahead of the release of a new gadget? Why, two of them, of course, and it's the convertible
ASUS T101MT getting the stereo impressions. The machine has netbook specs (1.6GHz Atom N450 CPU, 2GB RAM, 320GB HDD, etc. etc.) combined with a 10.1-inch multitouch screen, which both of the sites giving early impressions rated poorly. Responsiveness is said to be less than stellar, and while one of these previewers was able to improve it with some extra calibration, precision near the top of the screen still sounds bad. Build quality looks good (for an Eee) and the form factor certainly looks nice, but we're losing a little faith in this entrant after watching the video below. Check it out for yourself and see what you think, but don't write it off just yet: these are still pre-production models and a little firmware magic could whip this tablet into shape before its release -- whenever that will be.
posted February 28th 2010 11:56AM
anyway better then ipad .. atleast ..
@Atkins the ipad is a gimped tablet, why not?
@gurkha If your going to compare the iPad to this, than why not compare this and the kindle, it's pretty much just as relevant.
@gurkha
The iPad is more of a smartbook in slate form. It's not appropriate to compare the two devices. The iPad is designed to be an MID strictly for media consumption whereas this convertable netbook has a full OS and it meant to be used for productivity as well.
@AdamSpruijt
Except the kindle is an E-reader, not a tablet.
@Atkins You already prepaid apple for your ipad, huh?
@Bengal34 If it can do all the same functions then it is a fair compairison.
@gurkha
1). a block of wood is better than the iPad
2). the 1.6 Atom processor is faaar to slow to be useful today.
3). The usual screen (if this is what it has) fitted to laptops is a bastard resolution (1024 x 600 and is basically hopeless.
4). The multi-touch screen really does seem to have a problem.
Nice idea, let down by today's price-point technology
@AdamSpruijt Keyboard with a use, better than the Kindle...at least...
@Irondog
Would you feel comfortable comparing a high-end desktop with your average laptop?
@Bengal34
Get over it. The iPad is marketed and presented as a tablet device. As such, it has allowed itself to be compared to other tablets. The iPad is weak and underpowered before it has even been released and it is a pity Apple had dropped the ball and prepared such a disappointing device for the market.
If you don't want a tablet such as the iPad compared with a tablet such as this, then I implore you to go back in time and tell Apple R&D to stop dicking around.
Thank-you.
@Atkins, @Bengal34, @rederikus
i don't think you realise this, but you are all comparing the two already by listing the features, functions that they 'should not' be compared with. That in itself is a comparison.
comparison between the two devices is fair, abeit with their differences as they both aim to do basic computing.
@gurkha Considering this is a convertible, you have a keyboard when you need it. Having every option for as much functionality as possible is a good thing.
I’m guessing it will be a little while before we actually see 2TB cards hit the streets. More: http://bit.ly/asus-3e-swivel-device
That touch screen response at the edges is really bad, I thought Asus had higher standards.
@Cydoniac
i agree, though pretty much all resistive touchscreens are going to be this way, and i would really hate to see the hp slate be a resistive touchscreen tablet pc,i would love it to be capacitive.
I like it. I'm highly doubting that they will release the thing if they don't get the touch working properly. When they fix that I think I'm sold.
I didn't like the comment that "obviously the windows 7 isn't designed for touch tablets" That all seems to be just a hardware problem. If it isn't equiped with accelerometers that it isn't going to be able to switch orientations based on how you hold it. Also, the touch issues he's been having look due to the screen.
@Bengal34
I just read through the first review and included there is an update relevant to my post:
"
UPDATE: I’ve spoken with the ASUS representative in my country and they’ve said it’s a problem with the screen. I’ll be getting updates here as I receive a working model, so check back soon.
UPDATE 2: I’ve played with the screen calibration and almost made it work perfectly, except the top part of the screen where definitely is something broken as touch input there is very imprecise.
"
USB 3.0?.....
I obviously managed to miss the massive story of the UK switching standards with the US in power socket types?!
I got a Lenovo s10-3t last week.
I love it so much. Capacitive, crazy responsive and pretty snappy. It works great in netbook mode and tablet mode, and I'm actually using the tablet mode on the couch at home. I love the form factor, I just wish they'd throw ION in it.
@Ozymandias
ahh man I wanted to buy that lenovo tablet so bad but once I seen that it had no digitizer I lost motivation...do u like it w/o a digitizer? how do u take notes or write stuff on it?
Lol He says the UK charger is a US charger and the US Charger a UK charger...
Might buy one in case they manage to work out those problems. Wouldn't even need a second bag since it should easily fit into the document compartment of the notebook backpack.
Cannot wait for v2.0 of this, hopefully in time for when school starts.
Did they mention whether it was resistive or capacitive?
@Midnitte
It looks like it uses a (normal) stylus, so it's probably resisitive...
Why doesn't this thing use SSD? I know that SSDs are more expensive and have less storage (why do you need 320gigs on a netbook?) but they're lighter, no noise and since they are a lot faster they'd be much more approprate for a netbook due to its slower processor speeds.
@Bengal34
I have an eee with 160GB HDD, and just my music collection takes up most of it's capacity, another 160GB definitely wouldn't hurt. I like SSDs, but the cheap ones are still too small, and the big ones are still too expensive, so they're really not the best for netbooks.
Useless review, didn't show what it's like to draw on the screen. Simple MS paint demos are a must for any tablet review.
@(Unverified) Handwriting recognition on the t91MT is surprisingly good. I had never used it before on Windows and I was blown away. When you get the hang of it, it's better and easier than Inkwell on Mac OS X. A lot of that might be writing directly on the screen versus writing on a separate digitizer though.
Adobe Photoshop Elements is unusable though. No pressure sensitivity on the digitizer. And the screen is too small for Elements to handle gracefully. Tracking feels a little slow too. I plan to try it soon with my Wacom Bamboo and see whether that might be workable in an ultra-portable pinch.
Very true, better than iPad!
@Atkins For anybody homeboy!
OK, I just got the t91MT. First things first... The ASUS large button interface is a toss away. It's eye candy, but you don't need it and after two days you won't use it. The first thing you really need to do with this netbook is set processor performance to high. They really tune these for battery life at the factory. Second... That button he says brings up ASUS interface actually rotates the screen. Third, you need to calibrate the screen a few times to get it right. It was probably the third time that I really got that I had to tap very accurately on the cross-lines and then the screen was pretty accurate. Reminds me of my old Palm T|X.
Right now, the touch and multi-touch stuff in Windows is a little more gimmicky than useful. As a software developer, I know you can expect us to do our part to make our wares really touch friendly.
But if you want to know what a device like this is really good for... I write software that let kids create, share, and read digital picture books. Put it in tablet mode, stick a five year old on your lap, then let them use the software full screen and touch things to turn pages, read in natural voice, read in computer voice, etc.
I don't understand, glossy plastic is cheaper or what? Who can like fingerprints on their laptop/netbook/phone surface? Are they idiots (manufacturers)? :-///
This is definitely not a full laptop buddy...
It can play FLASH!!
It can plays FLASH!!
@Waroxy *GASP* Who cares?
I was actually hopeful for this one and was waiting for it but this just looks awful. The edge of the screen has no touch and it doesn't have an accelerometer to switch the screen position, its a no go for me at least in its current form
even just looking at the video, it already makes me wanna smack at the scree. hopefully it will be improved after it is out.
Now It makes sense why Apple didn't put a full flege OS on Ipad. The Window paradigm fails with a tablet UI.
I think this is just a lot of trouble to play flash.
@kvikramg have you used Windows 7 on touchscreen? its pretty slick/.
@kojo87 When you have a window maximized, the close button "x" is at the top edge. Isn't it a bit hard to reach.
@kvikramg i haven't had any problems with that. im using a 17" 4:3 monitor so you might have a point when using a smaller screen like this one has. since im using a desktop i haven't played with the on screen keyboard either. but what i have used i have not had problems with. i find it works quite well.
@kojo87
traditional keyboard/mouse OS add a wrapper of touch input.
That's a joke and EPIC fail in consumer product.
The new use paradigm just need new software to support.
So far, this new batch of tablets/slates have invoked the same response; wait till the updates make it good. I've seen folks say the 3rd or 4th gen iPad will be awesome. I'm in a holding pattern now on what to get. The next wave of interesting models are slated to hit in June or July. It's like being a sports fan after the season ends. Throw in the spate of $100-$150 devices that have been kicked around, and I know less now about what I'd buy than I did in Dec-Jan.
I am constantly looking for an upgrade from my old Toshiba Portege 3500 but it looks as though I might not find one the way things are going. Everytime I settle on one I find out the screen sucks or theres problems or it is underpowered. I'd really like a new tablet but it doesn't look like the technology has advanced as far as these are concerned. Does wacom make digitizers for tablet pcs anymore?
I was hoping the ipad would be the answer until I saw the prototype and said f---k that. If I buy a new tablet I need the following for me to consider it an upgrade.
1.) responsive screen both pen and touch
2.) ability to play and output High definition video
3.) Battery life of 6 hours or more
4.) full operating system (xp or mac osx)
5.) capable of some light gaming and digital video editing.
I use my current tablet for sketching and graphic design so I definitely need to be able to run the adobe suite of programs (including premiere which can't be done on my current tablet). Anybody have any suggestions?
@buzz86us
I suggest a wacom tablet.
@buzz86us
Hi,
Get the HP Touchsmart tm2 (I ordered min because your requirements were the same as mine). It has everything you ask for:
1. Multitouch screen with Wacom digitizer for pen input
2. HDMI output
3. Great battery life
4. Runs full Windows 7
5. If you get the ATI graphics option you could do some light gaming.
Anyway, I got the 1.6 GHz Cored 2 Duo CPU option, the AT graphics option, and 4 GB RAM, and with online coupon and HP instant rebate it came to $999 (same as their instant ship model which has lower specs).
@bleep I am not into the whole looking up at my screen to see what I have drawn thing, i'd much rather draw directly on the screen.
@buzz86us
Why some people always compliant iPad don't run full OS ?
Tablet PC already exist for year why not get real one instead complain iPad ?
There is no perfect product for reasonable price, why you guys don't understand ? Want full OS runs better than iPad and cheaper than iPad.
(and more function more IO ports) Okay. You can dream, but this is business. All your hope is not exist in current technology (at least in reasonable price and battery life). This is reality , guys.