Several days back we looked at the then just released Asus Eee T91MT which featured an resistive multitouch screen. We were also treated to a little T91MT promotional video showing off some of the things that you could do with the T91MT. One of those things appeared to be pressure sensitivity, but after some hands on time with the T91MT, kubel from myt91.info found it to lack pressure sensitivity of any sort which was somewhat of a disappointment.
Fast forward a bit and now kubel as found that the T91MT really does have pressure sensitivity with one caveat, it isn’t enabled by default. Not sure exactly how many levels of pressure the T91MT can detect, but it is nice to see this technology in a resistive touch screen.
Not too long ago we wondered what happened to the T91 which seemed to launch only to quickly succumb to a total lack of supply in the face of big demand.
There still doesn’t appear to be one simple answer as to why the Asus Eee T91 [Portal page] went through some awfully turbulent supplies at its initial launch, but it would seem that to a certain extent things were waiting on Windows 7.
The T91MT is the first multi-touch version of the T91 and it ships with Windows 7 (the regular T91 ships with XP). It still isn’t even official on Asus.com, but I suppose that isn’t stopping vendors like Amazon from selling it.
Seems like ‘kubel’ from recently established MyT91.info is one of the first to get his/her hands on the T91MT and has already provided an unboxing with a full review soon to come.
We’ll have to wait on further reports, but a glance at a T91MT intro video on YouTube seems to imply that the unit is capable of pressure sensitivity and palm rejection despite lacking an active digitizer which is quite an interesting proposition.
Update: Kubel from myt91.info has left us some info in the coments, and among other things say that the T91MT does not appear to have a pressure sensitive screen (ie: can’t tell the difference between a hard touch and a soft touch). This is disappointing to hear, but then again we can’t really expect full tablet PC features on a little netbook sized (and priced) convertible.
Remember that hot upcoming touchscreen swivel netbook that was totally going to bring forth the era of the tablet-netbook? Yeah, you know that one that was topping the Portal popularity charts for some time several months back? Yeah, that one! The Asus Eee T91. This device is nearing the anniversary of its announcement and has yet to hit the market in sufficient numbers (we reported on the T91 back at the beginning of January!). Not because of lack of demand, mind you, but because of lack of supply, it would seem. This once hot device has since fizzled and according to the portal, has lost much of the popularity that it had previously acquired.So what happened? It’s hard to say exactly, but the links section on the T91’s Portal page can help us reconstruct the story.
At this point, anticipation is really ramping up for the device.
Production model reviews start showing up from major sites around mid-July. But after all of this media attention, hands-on’s, and reviews from many websites, the T91 seemed to be released in a very limited quantity, and never hit the market with enough force to satiate the demand, or the attention that the T91 was being given at the time. A shame too because it seemed as though a lot of people were looking forward to this device. We reported on the 1st of August that T91 shipments were delayed to distributors (in our comments alone you can see that people were upset by this news), and the new shipment date should be sometime in September, but it isn’t even clear if that date was ever met with additional supply — if it was, it was too little, too late.
While the T91 did pop up for sale on Amazon and a few other sites, it quickly sold out and hasn’t been in stock since. So what’s the deal Asus, why was there such a lack of supply at the release of the T91? It really seems like they missed a good opportunity to capitalize on the anticipation of a product that people were actually looking forward to. The T91 had the distinction of being different than just another model number in the Eee line-up. Search popularity was well in line with a model that Asus is still selling plenty of, as seen by the following Google Trends chart in which ‘Eee T91’ search term is represented by blue, and ‘Eee 1008HA’ in red:Demand was there, but we don’t really have any explanation for the lack of supply. Much of what I’m seeing could be mostly from a US perspective, but I believe that the missing T91 is a world-wide phenomenon (correct me if I’m wrong). I’ve dispatched some questions to Asus to see if we can officially get to the bottom of this, and I’ll let everyone know as soon as I get any word back.
I’ve just gotten word that all Asus Eee T91 [Portal page] shipments have been delayed due to a production delay. Details are short but it may be that manufacturers couldn’t meet the demand that they promised resellers. As a production delay, this should affect all distributors. The earliest distributors expect shipments to arrive on the 4th of September, slightly more than a month delay. Sad news for anyone who was hoping to order (or already has ordered) a T91.
Sony- Netbooks are Here to Stay; Touch Enabled VAIOs This Year – Sony recently hoped into the netbook game after sitting on the sidelines since the genre appeared. Now they are recognizing the netbook as something that they need to get involved in. In addition to the release of their VAIO W [Portal page] netbook, they are planning on releasing touchscreen computers after Windows 7 lands.
Asus Finally Launches the Eee PC 1004DN – Another one that we’ve known was coming for a while: The Asus Eee 1004DN [Portal page]. Asus’ first netbook with optical disk drive and the Intel GN40 chipset. Asus has now released it in Taiwan.
Active Media Offers SSD Upgrade Option for ASUS Eee PC Netbooks – Upgrading your netbook for a fast SSD is one of the single largest boosts in performance that you can get for your device. Luckily the cheap but fast SSD space is heating up in recent months and that means improved performance at lower prices for consumers!
Video: Dell Latitude 2100 promo video (landing page text in German, video at bottom) – The Dell Latitude 2100 [Portal page] is a slick looking education oriented netbook. A cool promo video highlights some of the features that help make it useful for the educational demographic.
Broadcom demonstrates video accelerator for netbooks – Broadcom has developed a part for inclusion in netbook platforms called Broadcom Crystal HD which works to accelerate video processing, apparently enough that a Mini 110 [Portal page] can play back 1080p video at full framerate, which is pretty impressive.
HP Mini 110 Netbook Gains $30 HD Display Option – Speaking of the Mini 110, Kevin C. Tofel from jkOnTheRun let’s us know that the unit can now be configured with a 1366×768 resolution display, up from the previous 1024×576 option. Along with the aforementioned Broadcom Crystal HD option, you are getting real HD playback (1280×720) from a netbook!
As just revealed by our short little poll, many of you really looking forward to the Asus Eee T91 (so are we!). Asus just recently officially announced that the Asus Eee T91 would be released on the 15th and Dynamism says that they are expecting their shipment on the 31st. The first model available will have a slick black casing and will cost $499 from Dynamism. Seems like the T91 will be in high demand and low supply upon initial release, Dynamism recommends pre-ordering quickly if you want in on the first batch.
Several days ago I put up a post asking which device was most anticipated by readers of our site. 648 of your responded and I’m here to share the results. Take a look at the graph below:
For readers who didn’t have a chance to participate in the poll from the previous post, here is the list of devices which readers could have chosen from (click the link to be taken to the product’s Portal page).
As I watched the results roll in, the Eee T91 stayed the leader for nearly the entire duration of polling. The CrunchPad came in second, followed by the Archos 9 and then the Always Innovating Touchbook. There was a good amount of ‘other’ responses. in fact enough to tie the CrunchPad for second place (I’ll add more devices to the poll next time!). What I found interesting was that some people filled in the ‘other’ dialogue with existing devices, and some filled it in with devices that they would like to have, but might not be products at this point. Here is a short list of ‘other’ entries for existing products:
And a short list of ‘other’ entries featuring devices that don’t yet exist:
Apple tablet
Archos 5” Android device
LG UMPC (this person must be old school!)
Next Nokia Internet Tablet (several people called this the N900)
Viliv S5 with keyboard
Interesting suggestions everyone. Thanks for participating in this poll. Its good to know people are looking forward to these devices. We have quite a few nice products lined up that we’ll be reviewing for our readers. Chippy has the Viliv S7 coming eventually, and we’ll also hopefully have our hands on the Asus Eee T91, and the Always Innovating Touchbook in the near future.
Nothing like waiting months for an official announcement only to get two sentences through twitter! Oh well, I suppose this is as official as Asus will get for now. As you can see above, the Asus North America twitter account has tweeted to let us all know that the T91 [Portal page] will be available on July 15th in limited quantity. And I suppose that’s really all there is to it. Good luck securing one from the ‘limited quantity’. (Points for the video game allusion in the title)
Eee T91A: Windows 7, multi-touch capacitive screen
Eee T91GO: Integrated 3G, GPS, DTV tuner, normal resistive touchscreen
With this early information it seems like we might be breaking the news up into more or less models than there actually are. It seems more likely that you’ll be able to get a T91A(GO), which would have the integrated goodness but Windows 7 and multi-touch, or a T91(GO) which would be Windows XP, integrated goods, and resistive screen, or the two different models without the built in stuff (ie. the T91A and T91) though that is just speculation. Of course Windows 7 helps us predict some release dates. I think it can be safely said that the multi-touch version won’t be out until on or after Windows 7 hits the market.
Just a quick poll to see which devices people are waiting for. There are seveal very nice devices that are still on their way to the market. See the following links below to review the devices before making your choice (also feel free to fill your own answer into the ‘other’ area). Please only vote once.
How long will Asus continue to tantalize us with the Asus Eee T91 [Portal page]? It seems like ages ago that we first saw the tablet-netbook that promises to bring the tablet PC experience to the masses. While it seems that the T91 is either already released, or in the process of being released in the UK, we’re still left wondering when it will hit US shores. Regardless of the release date, Asus has seen fit to continue to taunt us by putting up an official product page on their US site. Nothing too exciting here, just some ever tempting images of the (supposedly real) device and some marketing hubbub, and we’re still left wondering if the multi-touch version will ever be released, or if it was just a prototype.
After seeing the unit get ripped apart by the FCC and go hands on with plenty of people, Asus has just officially announced it via a press release on their site. While the usual marketing mumbo jumbo is present (they are really pushing it by claiming to have 82GB of total* storage space), we are still left without a price or release date. It seems that Asus is trying to push their touch oriented software hard; we’ll see if it is really useful or just shows off the touchscreen, eventually. At least they were kind enough to leave us a nice table of specs, but unfortunately I’m not seeing anything that we didn’t already know about the T91, maybe with the exception of a “well-designed stylus”… I hope they aren’t talking about the same one we saw in a hands on video a few weeks ago. Hopefully the 5 hour battery life statement is accurate (fingers crossed!).
Asus Eee T91:
Model
Eee PC™ T91
Operating System
Genuine Windows® XP Home
Display 8.9″ LED-backlit / Resistive Touch Panel
CPU
Intel® Atom Z520
Chipset
Intel® US15W
LAN
Onboard 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet controller
Wireless Data Networking
WLAN: 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth V2.1
Memory 1GB (DDR2)
Storage Total 82GB (16GB Solid State Drive + 16GB SD Card + 30GB Portable Hard Disk Drive* + 20GB Eee Storage)
Interface
1 x VGA port (D-sub 15-pin for external monitor)
2 x USB 2.0 ports
1 x LAN RJ-45
2 x audio jacks: Headphone / Mic-in
Camera
0.3 M Pixel
Reader
3-in-1 MMC, SD, SDHC flash card slot
Audio Hi-definition audio CODEC
Built-in high quality stereo speakers
Digital Array Mic
Battery Life
Li-Polymer battery, 5hrs**
Dimensions 225mm (W) x 164mm (D) x 25.2 ~ 28.4mm (H)
The still upcoming Asus Eee T91 tablet netbook [Portal page] is looking better every day. I’m pretty excited for this device and what it could do to spice up the otherwise (dare I say) boring netbook space. Electricpig has a hands-on gallery of the T91 which looks to be a production model. This is the first I’ve seen of the included stylus as well which looks like a wimpy telescoping pointer. I wish they’d include a more substantial stylus, but I suppose there are many third-part options out there.
The much anticipated Eee T91 tablet netbook [Portal page] has just taken one step closer to seeing an official US release. The FCC has gotten their hands all over the computer and given us plenty of nice internal photos as well as the user manual. Looks like the FCC took down the page for the T91, possibly due to too much trafic, or on Asus’ request.
As jkk points out, internal photos show that the SSD is 50mm, which should allow the use of Dell Mini 9-sized SSDs. We can also see the internal GPS module which could be taken out to make room for a GPS+3G module giving you internal 3G without too much trouble. There is also space for a SIM card slot which could be soldered in or may be added to later models. The battery, as we can see, is also non-removable.
The manual on the FCC’s site seems to be the finished English manual. It doesn’t reveal anything particularly new, but does show us much of the Asus software that will be found on the T91. Unfortunately there was almost no mention of the touch interface that Asus was working on (video here) in the manual. No word yet if that means that it won’t be initially packaged with the T91.
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Several days back we looked at the then just released Asus Eee T91MT which featured an resistive multitouch screen. We were also treated to a little T91MT promotional video showing off some of the things that you could do with the T91MT. One of those things appeared to be pressure sensitivity, but after some hands on time with the T91MT, kubel from myt91.info found it to lack pressure sensitivity of any sort which was somewhat of a disappointment.
