Acer Review, Asus Review – Netbook 10

We’ve been following the status of the 9″ Asus T91 twist-tablet netbook for the last few months, and the 10″ T101 doesn’t seem to be making an appearance anytime soon. Neither does the GPS-3G-TV Tuner bearing model we’ve been expecting forever. So let’s revisit its main competitor, the 10″ Gigabyte TouchNote T1028 netbook and see what it has to offer.

There are two versions of this netbook: the T1028M with a standard screen resolution of 1024 x 600, and the T1028X with a higher resolution of 1366 x 768. You can buy the the higher res Gigabyte T1028x for $680. A steep $180 more than the Asus T91 which is now selling at $500.

So, is the Gigabyte T1028X worth its price tag?

Here’s what the makes the Gigabyte T1028x better:

1. Bigger screen size
2. Better screen resolution at 1366 x 768. Great for playing 720p videos.
3. 3G sim module
4. Removable battery. The T1028X ships with a six cell battery that lasts about 5 hours, not bad for a twist-tablet netbook.
5. It comes with a more powerful 1.66GHz Atom N280 processor. The Asus T91 comes with a slower but more power-efficient 1.33GHz Z520 processor
6. More storage. The Gigabyte T1028X offers a 160GB hard drive, and the netbook is easily upgradeable. Compare this to the Eee PC’s 56GB hybrid storage (16GB SSD, 16 GB SD card, 20GB online Eeee storage).
7. Ships with an extra stylus. Scoff at this now, I guarantee you’ll find the extra stylus will come in handy sooner than you expect ;)
8. Satisfactory pre-loaded touch software. Neither netbook ships with the Tablet Edition of Windows XP, and Windows 7 is two months away. Gigabyte’s own pre-loaded TouchNote ensures the netbook’s touch screen is usable.
9. On-Screen keyboard, multi-gesture touchpad,

Here’s what the Asus T91 has going for it:

1. Affordable price. ($500 vs. $680!)
2. Smaller, more portable lighter (2.11lbs vs. the Gigabyte T1028X’s 3.3lbs.
3. Touchpad buttons are located below the touchpad. In the Gigabyte T1028X, they’re located along either side of the touchpad – not ideal and takes getting used to.

Other things to keep in mind:

• Both netbooks have decent keyboards. The T91 sports a smallish one with bigger keys, and the Gigabyte T1028x sports a good keyboard but the main punctuation keys (period, comma, question mark) are smaller than they should one’s used to.
• Both netbooks struggle with playback of 1080p (high-def) videos.
• Both netbooks are sturdy with good swivels – important when it comes to a twist-tablet netbook.

Bottomline

Both netbooks are good buys. The Asus T91 is good if you’re looking for a smaller, more affordable tablet-netbook. The Gigabyte T1028X is good if you’re looking for a slightly larger 10″ screen netbook-tablet that offers more juice and supports 3G. If you can afford it, and/or you’re tired of waiting for the larger Asus T101 to make an appearance (probably around the end of October after WIndows 7 is released), the Gigabyte T1028x is a great tablet-netbook.

Related posts:

1. GigaByte T1028M TouchNote Review: Asus T91’s main competitor?
2. Gigabyte’s 10″ Convertible Touchscreen Netbook Available for $679
3. Early Look: Gigabyte S1024 Thin Note
4. GigaByte M1022 Booktop Review – Where netbook meets nettop
5. Asus Eee PC T91 Review : Good (Not Great) Tablet Netbook

Filed under: Gigabyte Netbooks