When the news about the Nav 9 (then the 8192NN) first hit last month there was a lot of negative feedback about a $1200 asking price. We held back from reporting the story, instead choosing to contact the guys at Netbook Navigator to see what was going on. Since then we’ve had a good back-and-forth about specifications, pricing and target markets and as a result of all the feedback they’ve had, Netbook Navigator have re-positioned their product with a much lower entry point. You still get the multi-touch (resistive) screen, Windows Home Premium and 16GB SSD (which is going to be tight for Win 7) but the entry level pricing is a much more interesting $799.
Details, specs, gallery, links on the Netbook Navigator Nav 9 in our database.
Clearly there are many that will be comparing this to a $499 iPad (funny that the Apple product is lowering the pricing bar!) but remember that this is a productivity-focused tablet with support for everything you’re used to on your desktop. Yes, your USB printer will work, Skype, Bluetooth and USB keyboards and you’ll get full Adobe Flash support for YouTube support up to HQ mode.
Others will be comparing it to the ASUS T91 MT and at $484, no-one can argue with the serious competition that Netbook Navigator have there. [Sidenote: Anyone got the T91 MT? If so, let us know how you’re getting on with it.]
You’ll pay for all this multitasking flexibility with a very poor 2.5hr battery life but there’s a factory option ($50) for a large capacity (x1.5) battery. 3G and large SSD options also exist.
Personally, I’m not a large format tablet fan and would not look forward to multi-touching this 2lb device while holding it in one hand but, as with everything, there’s always a customer out there and if the build quality is good, this lowers the entry point for sub 1KG multi-touch tablets nicely. Battery life needs to be improved to 4hrs minimum on the next round of these devices though.
Source: Netbook Navigator.
New article: Nav 9 Multitouch Tablet. Pricing and Full Specifications Updated. http://bit.ly/d7VU0g
RT @umpcportal: Nav 9 Multitouch Tablet. Pricing and Full Specifications Updated. http://bit.ly/d7VU0g
RT @chippy RT @umpcportal: Nav 9 Multitouch #Tablet. Pricing and Full Specifications Updated. http://bit.ly/d7VU0g
Never normally respond to articles like this but
If you goto http://www.aliexpress.com/ you can find lots of these Tablet pcs at much lower prices than this all with similar specs, I was thinking of buying from aliexpress but don’t know how secure the buying process is. In fact if you go to their wholesale site you can find plenty of Apple IPads for sale!!
Jim, as an experienced salesman, I can tell you that wholesale sites like the one you mention typically only sell in bulk quantities to other resellers. If you try to purchase a single unit, they will only send a base model prototype. If you want to upgrade, you need to meet their MOQ (minimum order quantity). Not to mention that since you are ordering from China, you need to pay for international shipping, handling and customs, which drives the prices much higher than what is listed on the website.
The average consumer is much better served buying from a domestic reseller.
I am one happy owner of the ASUS T91MT and let me tell you: I am totally satisfied with this little thing. I have just returned from a very important and quite distant trip and the T91MT was with me there, satisfying not just very basic needs (e.g., accessing Internet via an EDGE/HSPA compatible USB stick) but also providing me for the VPN access to corporate mainframes (via TN3270) and Lotus Notes (and I hope you know what it means – to run a full-blown Notes on your PC). Its tablet capabilities along with multitouch worked well as well: reading, browsing, processing downloaded photos was a real pleasure.
Even my wife who usually is quite sceptical about new gadgets this time confirmed that purchasing the T91MT along with the 3G USB stick was the very wise decision.
One important notice: I have NOT installed an additional 1GB of RAM … but I added a 16GB class 6 HCSD card as a second “SSD” (addition to the installed 32GB SSD) and was running Win7 Home Premium with no bells and whistles of the otherwise rich and hungry visual effects.
All in all, the T91MT is a very good and useful machine, an iPad is just a useless toy for me, comparing to the T91.
Thanks for the feedback UMPCwatch. Would you be interested in doing a guest post about the T91 MT abd how you’ve been getting on with it?
Sure … with pleasure :-) I had been waiting for this particular model and was not disappointed … and have had mostly positive experience with it.
Awesome. Contact me through the ‘contact’ form and we can take it from there!
Hi Paul
yep I realise the prices quoted on various chinasites are without shipping and customs but I have been sent a few quotes for units of a similar or higher spec which include those charges, yet still come in under the price quoted in the article. As far as I can see, at least in the UK (where I live), there are no retailers of such devices, and on sites like ebay, they usually ship from the US at about £799(approx $1250!). I wasn’t really suggesting that people should buy from China, more that this unit or very similar units have been available for a long time. also my comment about IPADS being available from these sites would suggest a lot of caution should be excersized before contemplating a purchase, as clearly they cannot be selling true apple IPADS.
I’ve been using the T91MT for several weeks now. It’s a solid netbook, but there are some issues worth mentioning. For one, as someone who has used a number of different Atom based netbooks, there is a point where the excitement wears off and the performance trade-off’s get frustrating. With the T91MT these manifest themselves in a couple of specific areas:
First, the multi-touch (really just 2 points) works ok, but as is typical with resistive touch devices there is a lag. And it seems that sometimes the CPU is just too busy to process the screen touches – screen interaction doesn’t take a priority to other functions. So you don’t have the immediate response to your touch that you see with something like the iPhone.
Second, the battery is not removable in this little gem, which forces some special compromises. With all of the power saving modes enabled I expect this might go up to 5 hours on a charge. But the price you pay is in performance, which impacts usability of this device, especially when it impacts the performance of the touch functions. If you turn back the power savings options the battery drains much more quickly – I don’t get more than 3 hours with active use. But the touch screen is more responsive.
That said, the T91MT is one of the better netbooks I’ve owned, including the MSI Wind, Asus 1005, Lenovo S10e. In the end I’ve not been using the multitouch features enough to justify the difference in price.
I’m hoping we see some capacitive screen netbooks, or even better some form of hybrid that allows for not only capacity but active digitizer capabilities.
I also have no interest in the iPad. I have used an iPhone for years and have enjoyed the device immensely (though I’ve recently switched over to the Google N1). Without a full featured browser, multi-tasking, and a more open architecture (ITunes the only option for transferring files, data, programs?? Really??), I’ll take a pass.
Funny, youve mentioned “superiority” of capacitive screen! Here’s a funny article about that. At least you’ll never go hungry and with growing popularity of iPhones, iPads and other capacitive screen products you can surely invest in Hot Dog stands! Or should we call it iSousage now?
engadget.com/2010/02/11/south-korean-iphone-users-turn-to-sausages-as-a-cold-weather-me/
I just wonder, how would you “multitouch” your iSomething with iSousage? Probably have to use two of them like chop sticks. It’s time to get some training with sushi :)
There is no even a word abt 3G again!!!!!!! Nothing interesting for 800 USD!!!
The ASUS T91MT has a good price point however it uses a Intel GMA 500 & it runs with a CPU speed of 1330 Mhz! I had the T91MT & out of the box it is very slow, was not really happy with it. it needs to be tweak with a little if you want to get the best of it! and at $484 you can’t go wrong! As for the Slate everything in the slate is a step up! more power in the most important areas! (the cup is 1.6, the graphic chipset is the Intel GMA 950, 2 gigs of ram!) if you need a keyboard than the ASUS is the way to go. however if you want HD videos, less slow down in a mobile system this is the way to go! That is of course if you are willing to spent the extra $ for it! :)
If you want something mainly for note taking, handwriting recognition is key. I’m not seeing anything about how the Nav 9 works for that. Both the ASUS T91 models and the Lenovo do this poorly, from user reviews I’ve seen. I’m not getting a clear picture on the Gigabyte machines either, and anyway they are heavier. I’m afraid those of us who want handwriting recognition are going to get overlooked, because that’s not what tech writers are interested in.
I’ve used windows 7 on ASUS T91 as well as on my Samsung & handwriting recognition works very good after the OS learns how your style of writing is. On my Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium that is all I use when I’m writing anything (emails, browsers address simple text input ect.) I really love the way windows learns how you write, your style & no matter how you write even if you make a mistake with a letter in a word, you will get the correct word. Now the only thing about my Samsung Q1UP is that its not multitouch so I’m hoping when I rest my palm on the screen to write it wont register as an input like my Samsung. Did not do a good job of this also. The only notebook I used that did a commanding job with this was the HP Touchsmart tx2z. You can write naturally with your palm resting on the screen & it wont register. Now its not a UMPC but its just an example of a feature I would to see in the nav 9.
Wow, thanks THADON10. Good to know about the ASUS T91 – that was the first one I looked at but backed off because people said you couldn’t rest your palm on the screen, but I don’t think any of them had upgraded to Windows 7. Some said they could comfortably write with their palm resting on the side. I have not found one in a store to try out, and I don’t want to buy one only to find I have to hold my hand up off the machine to write.
How does that work for you on the ASUS T91? If that problem is solved, I will order one today I think! I really want something lighter than the 4 lb. laptop I have now.
No problem Elisabeth but please keep in mind that the system I was using were the ASUS T91MT! Not the ASUS T91. The “MT” at the end of the name stands for “Multitouch”: the 2 are mostly the same however, the other 1 (the T91!) don’t have the mulititouch functionality & it’s shipped with windows XP while the other have windows 7. The Multitouch in the T91MT did not function as you would think or would have like it to. sometimes when my palm rest on the screen as I am writing, it would register, other times it won’t.Asus have a video demonstration showing that you can indeed rest your side of your palm while writing like normal but it’s not the case & I felt like this was very misleading. My advice to you is to try it out, buy it from Amazon & if you are not happy with it send it back for a full refund. That is what I did because I was very disappointed with the little beauty. simple thing could not be done (like playing a simple AVI movie file that’s not even a 720p movie file!) I was disappointed BIG TIME! But that is the advice I can give, try it 1st. before you make a mistake ;)
This article sounds well, but how everything is related together?…