GigaByte T1028M TouchNote Review: Asus T91’s main competitor?
Gigabyte netbooks look great, and target very specific groups of people. The M1022 Booktop is designed to make information portable, the the T1028M TouchNote goes after a niche crowd looking for touch screen tablets. The netbook has features very similar to those of Asus’ T91 which is estimated to release in the UK in July for 449 pounds ($740). The TouchNote on the other hand has been available to resellers since April 30th for $700.
There hasn’t been a head-to-head between the two yet, so there’s no saying which one is the better tablet netbook. Also keep in mind that the TouchNote is an upgrade to Gigabyte’s previous 9″ tablet the M912.
Rating: 6.6/7 Rating: 
Features
- Convertible Tablet - It swivels and rests flat on it’s back. Voila! It’s a tablet. It has a solid hinge, and doesn’t feel flimsy.
- Touch Screen – not made for handwriting input, the touch screen is finger friendly. The TouchNote recognizes gestures up, down, left and right, which is helpful when reading documents on screen.
- A little cheaper than the T91 – A $40 price difference may be the only thing (apart from 3G connectivity) that separates the two tablet touch screen netbooks. Stay tuned for updates in July.
- Lots of External Ports – we’re talking VGA, 3 USB, PCI express card slot, and a 4 in 1 card reader. Mostly the VGA though.
- Easy to upgrade - lots of options from Gigabyte (such as a model with the Intel Atom N280 processor), and slots on the back.
- Very 3G- friendly - The TouchNote is designed for 3G with a sim card slot and a pre-wired internal antenna that has excellent reception. It may be one of the first netbooks to have an internal antenna.
- Good quality build – made well with a good finishing, the TouchNote doesn’t feel like cheap plastic.
- Comes with a bag – specially designed for the TouchNote and for accessories with a pouch on top.
- Good Speakers - stereo speakers, which can play quite loud.
Drawbacks
- Mouse Buttons placed awkwardly - the TouchNote does the annoying thing the Booktop and HP netbooks do. Mouse buttons on the side. You can get used to it, it’s just not ideal.
- Poor Battery Life - about 3 hours on the 4 cell battery. Comes with a 6 cell option too — this is one of the biggest differences with the Asus T91 which comes with a built in battery of about 4-5 hours of battery life. So it’s still a drawback, but better off than the T91.
- Heavy – 2.9lbs to 3.3lbs depending on the battery. The T91 weighs an amazing nothing at 2lbs.
- Glossy screen - making it unusable outdoors (just like the T91).
- No stylus - it’s all about the finger-friendliness in this one.
If you have a couple of minutes, here’s a great overview of the netbook straight from the unboxing. [Via UMCPortal] If not, scroll down for ratings & specs.
Rating – 6.6/7
- Value for Money – 0.8
- Speed and Performance – 0.8
- Screen – 0.8
- Keyboard –0.8
- Portability & Battery Life –0.4
- Looks and Design – 1
- Extensibility & connectivity – 1
- * Bonus Point – for being so 3G-friendly with the slim card slot & the built in antenna.
T1028M TouchNote Specs
- Processor – Atom 270 / N280
- Chipset – Intel 945GSE
- OS – Windows XP
- Memory – 1GB / 2GB RAM
- Storage – 160GB HDD
- Display – 10.1” (1024×600 or 1366×768)
- Connectivity –Built in Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11 b/g/n, 802.16, Optional WiMax
- Ports – 3 USB, 4 in 1 card reader, slot for sim card (for 3G connectivity), VGA
- Battery – 4 cell/6 cell
- Dimensions – 1” – 1.2” thick
- Weight – 2.9lbs with 4 cell, 3.3lbs with 6cell battery
Bottomline
You’ll be comparing this one directly to the Asus T91 (and the 10″ T10H) netbook. So let’s see where it stands. The T91 comes from Asus which has a great reputation, is far lighter and comes with a stylus, has a much stronger processor and they’ve had the last few months to improve the touch screen software. The TouchNote on the other hand is cheaper, heavier, built and designed very well, and comes with special features to make 3G connectivity very smooth. It might come down to stylus vs. 3G and price on this one. Wait for a month, let’s see what the T91 has to offer.
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Filed under: Netbooks
Just a correction: the T1028 comes with a styles. Neatly placed in the cover of the screen.
Unless I’m mistaken, one of the biggest differences between Asus T91 (T101) and this one is the storage. Whereas Asus is limited to a 16Gb SSD + SD card slot, Gigabyte includes a 160Gb HDD. Sure, SSD is cool, but I like to carry my mp3 collection around and even 160Gb could prove limiting if you want to store DivX too… BTW, do you know if the HDD can be replaced by a higher capacity one ?
Best regards,
Vince
Vince, I found this on the Gigabyte website – the netbook is designed for easy upgrades, so a larger HDD is definitely possible:
http://www.giga-byte.com/FileList/WebPage/nb_090303_t1028/t1028_webpage_upgrade_en.html