The Asus Eee Pad Transformer is a very popular device and I’ve seen a number of reports of it being used in productivity scenarios. The gaps between devices like this and traditional laptops are closing and so it’s no surprise that people are testing the limits.
Find out where these gaps are with the start of another good series over at Carrypad. The question is, is Android good enough to allow all the gaps to be closed through 3rd party software or are there jobs that will always need doing on a PC?
The ASUS 1015pn was already one of the most powerful 10″ Netbooks but here at CEBIT we’ve found it running the dual-core Atom CPU at 1.68Ghz. The Crystalmark test shows better CPU performance than the 1015b (AMD C-50) but worse 2d and 3d rendering performance.
Here’s the full result with optimus enabled and then with the 1015pn locked into Nvidia mode and externally powered. See our previous post for 1015b results.
Posted from WordPress for Android with the Galaxy Tab
The Eee Slate is the only Windows based product of the bunch but comes packed with a 1.33GHz Intel Core i5-470UM processor, 2 or 4GB’s of memory and either a 32 or 64GB SSD drive. The 12.1” (1280 x 800) IPS display is capacitive multi touch but also includes a Wacom digitizer for pen input using the included stylus. For a svelte 1.1kg it certain packs a punch and should move Windows 7 Home Premium along nicely.
This 7.1” Android 3.0 aka honeycomb tablet packs a 1024 X 600 capacitive touch display and also includes a stylus. The dual core 1.2GHz Qualcomm 8260 processor is capable of pushing out full 1080p footage through the devices mini-HDMI port. Front and rear cameras grace the device, the later with a flash.
The Eee Pad Transformer comes with a neat detachable keyboard for use as a tablet or a netbook style device. Packing Nvidias Tegra 2 processor, it too is capable of 1080p output via a mini-HDMI port and the 10.1” 1280 x 800 IPS screen is capacitive multi touch. All this combined with 16/32/64GB storage options, front and rear cameras and Android 3.0 should mean this could be quite the convergence device.
The Eee Pad Slider is specification wise, much the same as the Transformer, although only 16/32GB storage options will be available. What could be a great form factor for you tablet lovers who demand a keyboard, this comes with a slide away keyboard for the best of both worlds. Weighing a little heavier that the transformer its still well below 1kg and again comes packing Android 3.0.
All the products are now in the database and more images will be added soon.
Looks like it’s hard for most huge companies to do anything these days that hasn’t already achieved band-wagon status. I mean, what do we expect… that these companies will actually take a risk one of these days? Yeah, right.
Case in point, Asus is teasing a Windows Slate to be released at CES 2011 (which Chippy will be attending). They’re calling it the EP121, and it’ll have a 12” capacitive touchscreen, HDMI output, SD slot, webcam, and “full HD playback”. Exhilarating features, I know. Here’s their promo video:
.
But here’s the thing… I’ve pretty much already got one of these slates. The Onkyo TW317 is a solid 10” Slate running Windows 7, and is more or less identical to any Windows 7 Slate offering that we’ll see from CES. The TW317 has everything mentioned in Asus’ promo video (though the screen is slightly smaller) except for the full HD playback, which likely means that the EP121 will have NVidia Tegra. This is Asus we’re talking about though, so you can be sure that they’ll be demoing some useless applications produced in-house for photo-viewing, eBook Reading, and music/video playback – non of which will be as good as you’d find on something like the iPad. Beyond these things, it’ll be the same old song and dance… a Windows device with no keyboard/mouse and a shallow software overlay does not make for a good or productive computing experience. We saw this in the past, and we’re about to see it again as computer manufacturers try to ride the tablet bandwagon and fool consumers into thinking that a keyboardless/mouseless Windows 7 slate is even remotely as useful or usable as the iOS or Android devices that are currently on the market.
Nvidia’s ION and other discrete graphics options have really helped expand the netbook’s potential from mere web browsing to more advanced things like HD video playback and even some light gaming. The second version of Nvidia’s graphics options are now starting to hit the shelves. ION 2, combined with the dual-core Intel Atom 550 make the 10.1” Asus Eee 1015PN a small but capable machine.
Thanks to HDMI output and the capable Nvidia graphics, the 1015PN will definitely be great for anyone looking to hook up to the big screen. Combined with desktop viewing experiences such as Boxee, XBMC, or Hulu Desktop, the 1015PN will be the perfect HDTV companion, able to deliver 720p and 1080p (and Dolby 5.1 surround sound) content without costing a fortune and all in the size of a netbook which doesn’t need to be permanently hooked up next to your TV.
The 1015PN is available on Amazon starting at $429 but it’s going quick! Amazon is currently sold out of the white, red, and blue models and only has three of the black models remaining. It might be a bit more expensive than your typical 10.1” netbook, but if you’re looking for an HD content capable netbook, the 1015PN can deliver.
Almost a year later, they strike again with a pretty sweet deal for anyone interested in UMPCs. You can pick up a brand new Asus Eee T91MT convertible netbook for a cool $279. On our Eee T91MT tracking page, you’ll find the full specs and links to reviews, videos, and more. If you want to know more about it, that’s the place to go. Here’s a short list of the important stuff:
Windows 7 Home Premium
Intel Atom Z520 @ 1.33GHz
1GB of RAM (max 2GB)
32GB SSD
WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1
8.9” resistive multitouch screen @ 1024×600
2 USB ports, VGA-out, line-out (3.5mm), line in (3.5mm), ethernet port, SD card slot
If you are interested, head on over to Woot. Remember, this deal is only good until 1AM EST tomorrow!
This is an interesting one. The design looks slim, working and, well, almost complete! Intel’s reps tell us that it’s just a prototype and maybe this is something ASUS worked on before they decided on the 12” Eee Pad that we saw at the ASUS press conference but we like it and hope they pursue it on the Oak Trail platform in 2011. It looks like it’s currently on the Menlow platform.
The Viliv S10, Lenovo S10-3T and Gigabyte T1000 sit in the 1.2-1.5KG bracket and are therefore just outside the range that we normally focus on here at UMPCPortal but given the multiple usage scenarios offered by the touch-capable convertible form-factor they are still worth looking at.
The four interesting models in the 10” screen size range right now are:
Viliv S10 – 1GB RAM, Multitouch (1366×768) Z530 1.6Ghz Windows 7 Home Premium 32GB SSD. 779 Euro (expected)
Lenovo S10-3T – 1GB RAM, Multitouch (1024×600) N450 1.6Ghz Windows 7 Home Premium 449 Euro
Gigabyte Touchnote – 2GB RAM, Single Touch N280 1.6Ghz (1366×768) Windows 7 Starter, 569 Euro
ASUS T101 MT – 2GB RAM, Multitouch (1024×600), N450 1.6Ghz CPU, Win 7 Home Premium. 320GN HDD. 499 Euro
I’ve talked about the relative pricing of the four devices here but what about the features? Sascha got to play with the S10-3T, the T1000 and the S10 at CeBIT last week and here’s his hand-on video. [S10 appears later in the video here.] You can see how slim the S10 is compared to the other two devices.Viliv have done an excellent job with size, weight and styling. “They are kinda bulky” says Sascha as he holds the Viliv S10 and points to the other two devices!
Like the Lenovo S10-3T and Viliv S10 , the ASUS T101MT is a 10” convertible netbook with a multitouch screen. The T101H is based on the Pinetrail platform with the N450 CPU and GMA3150 GPU but, like the Lenovo, the base version only comes with Windows 7 Starter and 1GB RAM. The high-end version comes with Windows 7 Home Premium and 2GB of RAM that can be upgraded to 3GB. A 35Wh battery should keep the device going for about 4 hours.
There still doesn’t appear to be any information about availability or price but as I mentioned in the video, now that Windows 7 and Pinetrail is here, there shouldn’t be any major delays now.
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.
Kubel of MyT91.info seems to be one of the first guys to get his hands on the recently released T91MT, the first multitouch version of the T91 [Portal page]. In addition to an unboxing that was posted the other day, kubel now also has a full review of the unit.
The unit is pretty much exactly the same build as the T91, but it is rocking Windows 7 and a multitouch resistive touchscreen which kubel says only functions correctly with up to two points of input.
Though there was a T91MT intro video which appeared to show that the T91MT could understand varying levels of sensitivity, kubel says that this is not the case, and performance is what you would expect with a plain old resistive touchscreen. However, gesture support could possibly help with palm rejection when writing on the screen, but isn’t implemented in all applications.
I’m doubting that the T91MT would make for a good tablet if you want to take ink notes (you usually need an active digitizer for that) but the T91MT is most likely designed around the idea of touch rather than stylus input, hence the included finger oriented software.
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.
Good to know that you are never to far away from a day that our favorite deal-a-day site, Woot.com, will be featuring a good deal on an Eee PC netbook.
Today you have your choice of two different Eee PCs, both are actually from the 900 series.
First of all, at Woot.com you can get the Asus Eee 900 for $150 (+$5 shipping):
900MHz Intel Celeron CPU
512MB of RAM
4GB SSD
8.9” 1024×600 screen
Linux OS
Conditon: New
Or if you are willing to drop an additional $20, you can score the more powerful Asus Eee 900A for $170 (+$5 shipping) from sellout.woot.com:
1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU
1GB of RAM
4GB SSD
8.9” 1024×600 screen
Linux OS
Condition: New
Remember that these deals are only good for today and have a limited quantity. If you want one of these early netbooks, you better be decisive.
If you’re following the netbook scene closely you might have seen that an EeePC roadmap has been leaked (full info at the eeeuser forum) showing a range of 1005HA devices and an 1101HA. Minimum screen size – 10”
No 8.9” love. No lightweight love.
Now I know that Eee’s are aimed at the mass market but you’d think that there would at least be a thin-and-light device based on a basic T91 motherboard without the touchscreen and swivel features.
Is there anyone who hasn’t been eagerly awaiting a Disney branded netbook? Well await no longer, the day has come.
Disney and Asus have teamed up to provided just that – a Disneyfied netbook. Available in both Magic Blue and Princess Pink. In all seriousness, the Disney netbook from Asus actually looks to be a compelling buy as a computer for children. Featuring “intuitive and fun applications” as well as “robust safety features” to keep kids safe on the web. Specs are… well, let’s just say it’s a netbook:
1.6GHz Atom N270
160GB HDD or 16GB SSD
1GB of RAM
8.9” 1024×600 screen
Windows XP
All of this for $350, not bad.
I think the biggest issue with this netbook is that it doesn’t have a DVD drive to watch some of the Disney classics on, they could at least pre-load it with Beauty and the Beast, am I right?
