There’s an interesting line-up in the top 5 on the product portal today:
This is how the list of top 5 most-viewed devices looks on UMPCPortal today. Two UMPCs/MIDs and three low cost. lightweightm touchscreen notebooks.
The Viliv S5 has been #1 for a long time now and looks like it will stay there if recent reports are anything to go by. jkOnTheRun, Pocketables, JKKMobile, UMPCFever and yours truly have all filed positive reports based on testing experiences. Much the same is true of the UMID too. I’m guessing it would be #1 if you could actually buy one outside the Ebay channels because it seems to fit a more popular ‘microblogging’ niche than the Viliv S5. I could well be wrong on that one though so we’ll have to wait to see what the price is.
Positions 3-5 are interesting though. Over the last year, netbooks have totally dominated the UMPPortal charts with the Aspire One and MSI Wind taking the most viewings. These two both still appear in the top 10 but it’s these three new convertible touchscreen devices that are creating more buzz now.
Of the three, I personally think that the ASUS EeePC T91 is the most interesting for readers here. I was reading an advertising supplement from Stuff Magazine a few days ago and there was a lot of focus on the T91 as a Mobile Computer. They’re calling it the smallest, lightest TabletPC in the world which is actually incorrect but you can see where the marketing people are trying to push it. ‘Up to five hours’ battery life, 32GB SSD, fanless, multi-touch trackpad and GPS, 3G and DVB-T (options) in a very small sub-1kg package and an (expected entry-level) sub-500 Euros price has to be worth looking at. The same goes for the EeePC T101H although it’s not going to be as portable. Bigger disk, screen, keyboard and CPU will increase the weight, size and price up out of the cheap netbook space. I suspect it might even come in at a higher price than the Gigabyte Touchnote T1028M that I have myself. Both are excellent choices though and if the extra size, weight and price is not a consideration for you, they will be more productive than the T91.
Bubbling under in the mobile convertible space is, to my eyes, an even more interesting mobile produtivity solution though. The Viliv S7 would go head-to-head with the T91. It will weigh even less, come with a range of CPUs up to 1.8 or even 2.0Ghz and have a similar battery life and keyboard. 3G and GPS will also be options. I tested a working model at CeBIT and was impressed.
It’s fair to say that all of these devices are new, all are getting a lot of press and that their appearance on the top 5 may not be long-term but touch is moving into mainstream computing very quickly indeed and it’s good to see sub 1kg options appearing at great prices. I feel sure that these devices will be around in the top 10 for quite a while and that we’re going to see more and more devices taking touch and mobility cues from the ultra mobile PC and Tablet PC world.
Touchscreen PCs attracting the most interest at UMPCPortal http://cli.gs/VVNSgX
Chippy, there is one more ARM11 convertible netbook – Skytone Alpha 680 – that will cost $250
http://www.skytone.net.cn/en/products.php?bigclass=4&smallclass=13&show_type=1
http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&um=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=skytone+alpha+680
Also Skytone is working on Alpha 300 (nettop) and Alpha 700 (9″ keyboard-less tablet)
their previous model – Elonex one
http://www.umpcportal.com/products/Elonex/One
And also there will be Always innovating convertible ARM Cortex-based tablet
http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/home/index.htm
I heard from Viliv that actually they will be launch Viliv S7 around May with CPU speed 1.3Ghz version! Not 1.8 nor even 2.0Ghz.
When I asked when they will released for 1.8Ghz version, they said if they can’t guarantee when is the exact time, it could be end of the year or even next year! That’s too bad when other umpc already launched for 2.0 Ghz version..
Well let’s see…
Drat. If that’s the case, Viliv S7 just lost its place to the Asus T91.
I second that, S7’s appeal once you was sold on the form factor seemed to be that the specs were high-end for a netbook. Not sure I’d feel so good about laying down semi-serious bucks on something that performs no better than a $300 netbook.
Just wish there’d be an updated and bugfixed version of the Everun note. Discreet gfx option should be standard on high-end netbooks.
Yeap + the touchscreen. Seems S7 specs cpu wont make any different with the s5 but with keyboard ,cam, sd port, n larger screen, so its great if the price won’t be much different too with s5.
May I know what do u mean with bugfixed version of everun note? I got my new everun note and so far so good, lets hope I dont get any faulty unit ones!(knock3x…!)
+ I got my brand NEW D24s only for $635usd directly from korean online shop! yaiiy! ;-)
i’m sure companies like Fujitsu/Dell/HP get 1st opportunity at getting the new highend 2.0ghz CPU’s. companies like Viliv probably have to wait until the new CPU’s are in high volume before they can get orders.
i could be wrong, but guys like Steve & JKK would probably know.
I was interested in the Always innovating convertible ARM Cortex-based tablet
until I realised that you have to pay $100 US just for the attachable keyboard.
I’m going to wait for ARM based networks to be drastically cheaper than the x86 competition.
1. Not only keyboard, but additional battery and two internal USB ports
2. Even with it, it will cost only $400, and how much will cost Eee T91?
For me, internal USB is very useful because by nowadays there no tablets with built-in WiMAX (but there will be problems with drivers for ARM). And detachable keyboard is useful when using it as handheld e-book.
ARM11 based Alpha 680 will be drastically cheaper, but also it is drastically slower))
For that price, there are better alternatives that are x86 with an OS not aimed for smartphones.
Hopefully they atleast have half a day battery life to appeal to atleast one type of user.
What alternatives?? The only is T91 (with more modest form-factor), and do you know its price?
Bad news for those in North America waiting for the T91–several weeks ago, allassus.com, which had been taking pre-orders, canceled pre -orders and announced that Asus had indicated that they will not ship the device to North America. It’s got me wondering if they’re anticipating patent issues and that’s what’s controlling their decision. One thing wrong with the T91’s design, IMHO, is the fact that the battery is sealed and cannot be replaced by the user.
What about the T101H? Might it face the same issues? Or is the cancellation of T91 orders due to Asus phasing out 9-inch netbooks?
From what allasus,com said, it sounds like T91 production isn’t the issue–the product just isn’t going to be shipped to North America. When I hear statements like that my first thoughts are always drawn to possible patent issues. Clearly, certain companies already hold US patents on convertible pc/tablets. Whether they’re broad enough to enable them to compel the payment of royalties for similar designs, who knows. If Asus decides not to ship the T101H to North America also, then I would say it’s very likely that they’re concerned about possible royalty demands from existing patent holders.
WTF! are u serious!
what about Australia? I’ve been looking forward to this notebook for half a yr ><
SOB!!!!
All I want is a 9″ touch screen under 1kg, with a processor that can decode hulu, a battery that will last 3-4 hours, and a price tag of under five hundred bucks. Why is that so difficult?
Frank? Does it need to be a tablet? Does it need to be x86?
is there a release date yet?
I’m really really desperate to get eeepc touch 10inch ><
neosin,
Since you aren’t in North America, don’t worry. It’s the North American market that won’t see the T91. If Asus doesn’t ship the T101H to North America either, then it confirms to me that it’s a patent issue and they don’t want to pay royalties to existing US patent holders for the swivel convertible PC/tablet design and/or other features currently covered by existing patents.
Hi,
Just a small sidetrack, but I thought it would get lost on the torrent of T1028 posts if I didn’t put it under the latest one..
After reading the review on this site, I bought an T1028 at mobilx.hu.
But I have a problem with the netbook, the wifi is far far too weak.
At present I am getting significantly weaker signals on all the networks I connect to, than both my older laptops (regular 15.4″).
And I’m not talking about going from “Excellent” to “Good”, sometimes the network isn’t even picked up, or “Weak”.
At my home network I have a modded router which outputs at a strength of 110mW.
I can still connect at 40+m distance with both older laptops at “Very Good” connection strength.
However, I receive a weak signal already at 10m distance with the T1028.
Solutions I have tried:
– Install Vista instead of XP. (I read Vista has better Atheros drivers).
– Update to latest Vista & XP drivers. 7.x.x.244 from Atheros website
– Update to latest modded Vista & XP drivers. (Found on latopvideo2go forums)
– Switch antenneas and see if they are connected correctly.
I hope anyone here can help me because so far I have not found any official forums for the T1028.