I’ve had a Gigabyte Touchnote for four months and so, as it’s now making it’s way over the the US, now is the right time to give you some thoughts on the device having used it and played with it as my only netbook/notebook since I bought it.

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Liliputing and Netbooknews.com both have Gigabyte Touchnote T1028X’s in their hands and videos and first thoughts are starting to appear.

Certainly the price is the main point of note with the T1028X. It looks like a netbook but has a low-end notebook price. In reality, it isn’t really a netbook. With the touch-capable high-res screen, convertible form factor, upgradeability, smart manager and gesture software, multi-touch mousepad, fast SATA drive, N280 CPU and pre-wired 3G antenna you’re getting way more than with the average netbook. Gigabyte would have done well to at least make the device look a bit more stylish though. There are more stylish options out there and if you’re going to spend money like that, you want something to show off right?

Here is the initial hands-on from Liliputing.

Expect a Touchnote T1028X video from Netbooknews.com in the next few days. I’ve spoken to Sascha already and he seems to really like it so far.

More information on the Gigabyte Touchnote including my reviews and tests. I’m writing up some long term testing notes today too.

‘The T1028X is available and nobody seems to notice it’ says Hellion151 in a recent forum entry.

He’s right. The Gigabyte Touchnote T1028M appears to have been superseded (my netbook is officially ‘old’ now) by the newer version of the Touchnote. The T1028X. Key features of the new model are:

• Increased resolution to 1366×768 which reduces finger usability but increases screen real-estate.
• N280 processor. Slightly faster at 1.66Ghz (faster FSB too.) There aren’t many netbooks out there with this processor option.
• 6-cell (54wh) battery as standard.
• Increased Price. Mobilx have it for 497 Euros before tax (that’s 622 Euros for anyone buying it for private use in the EU.) Mini-Laptops.nl have it too [thanks Dave]

You still get the ExpressCard/34 slot, the fast 160GB SATA drive, the battery meter (check battery levels when turned off) and the built-in 3G antenna and easy access to RAM but there’s one other feature too. Increased screen contrast. The T1028M has a slightly milky finish to the screen when you’re in bright ambient light so if the increased contrast is significant then it will work well for video fans and outdoor fans. I’ve seen the T1028X in flesh but it was on a stand at Computex. I didn’t notice any difference but I didn’t really take the time to compare with the T1028M. I have a few pics here.

At 622 Euros, its not a cheap netbook but to be honest, it’s not really a netbook. With the upgrade capability (I have 3G with excellent reception and a Runcore SATA drive in my T1028M) and the touchscreen features you really get far more than any other netbook out there.

Have you bought a T1028X? What are your thoughts? We’d love to hear them. Were you waiting for the ASUS T101H?!

Footnote: Despite having written a lot about the T1028M, I have never written a full review. Would people be interested in a full review of the T1028M based on long-term usage or would you prefer that I get hold of a T1028X and do a quick review and live session?

Specifications and article links for the Gigabyte Touchnote T1028M.

The Gigabyte Touchnote T1028M [details] is a great convertible netbook. I’ve been using one as my main laptop for nearly 4 months now and I’m very very happy with it. Of course I’ve retro-fitted one of the new Runcore Pro IV SSD drives and added a 3G modem which connects to the pre-wired antenna turning it into more than your average netbook but even without the SSD and 3G it’s a great convertible netbook. The only niggle I have is with the 3hr battery life. My Ultimate Netbook U20 battery pack does a good job of back-up power duties but to make things a little more compact I bought the 6-cell battery pack option.

At 68 Euros plus tax, I wasn’t too exited about the price but it turns out that its more than just another 2 cells. The 6 cell pack has 170% the capacity of the standard battery and is returning 5.5 to 6hrs on-net working time. As I write this I have over 2hrs left with 36% battery remaining with the Wifi on and the backlight at 70%. With the standard battery as a spare, I have a full day’s computing available without having to worry about mains power.

The sizing is good too with no noticeable increase in height and only a small section jutting out from the rear.

Unfortunately the 6-cell sticks out too far for it to fit into the supplied case but if you attach the standard cell and put the 6-cell in the case pocket you’ve got up to 9 hours of netbooking!  Total weight of the T1028M with the 6-cell attached is 1450gm. (3lb 3oz)

If you’ve got the M912 or T1028M and need enough battery power for a full days work, the extended battery is the answer.

With the addition of the extended battery on the Touchnote I’ve run out of ideas for improvement. I honestly can’t think of anything that I don’t like about the device now. Agreed, it’s cost me way way more than any netbook available but there’s nothing out there that comes close. The T101H would be the only competitor but there’s still no word of a release date for that. If you’re waiting for the T101H, you might want to take a closer look at the T1028. (Note: The high-end version, T1028X, with the N280 and 1366×768 screen is available in the U.S. from the 2nd August)

T1028 M Product page.

I bought the extended battery at Mobilx.eu.