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A little background --
I've owned an Eee 701 and 1000H (both sold after good service) and currently have a Samsung NC10, so I'm familiar with many of the benefits and limitations of netbooks. I also use a Fujitsu tablet PC for my work, and I've come to really enjoy and appreciate the convertible tablet form factor. So when I first heard about the T91, it was definitely on my radar. I've also been keeping my eye on the Viliv S7 and the Always Innovating Touchbook, as both intrigue me for different reasons (the small form factor and great battery life on the S7, the removable keyboard on the Touchbook).
So I wasn't planning to get a T91 right out of the gate, but when they went on sale last week I got the itch to give it a try, so I ordered one. In the meantime, I read all the online reviews, most of which have been lukewarm at best, so by the time the T91 arrived on Friday I considered just shipping it back unopened for a refund. But my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to see what it could do. I figured that if I didn't like it I could still sell it on ebay for a decent price.
So what have I found over three days of light to moderate use? More good than bad. But first, I should let you know what I want out of this thing, as everybody's needs and usage scenarios are different. I'm not looking for it to be my primary machine, or to run Photoshop or do video editing. I have other computers for that. What I'm looking for is a small, lightweight travel computer to use mostly as a net tablet, eBook reader, to send/respond to email, and to watch movies.
What I like so far:
1) The form factor, to me, is close to perfect. The 9" screen at 1024x600 is fine for web browsing, eBook reading, and the other uses I mentioned. It's very light and can be held like a book in tablet mode for long periods of time. This is something I think a lot of the reviewers missed -- they complained about the small screen, tight keyboard, etc., but for me, the T91 is about mobility, and on that score it ranks high.
2) Build quality seems quite good overall. Solid hinge, keyboard is better than the original 701/900 keyboard, plastics are (or at least seem to be) sturdy.
3) Battery life. I'ts not quite 5 hours, but it's not far from it. I'm getting about 4.5 in moderate use.
4) Tablet mode. Web surfing on the couch, in the kitchen, in bed, are all easier and, to me, more comfortable with a slate.
5) The touchscreen. It's not capacitive, of course, and not multi-touch, but it's good at what it does. As for the screen brightness, it could be better, but it's not bad at all.
What I don't like so far:
1) Glossy black finish. Fingerprints are everywhere. If I keep this I'll definitely put a skin on it. If white would've been available, I would've got it in white. Still, this is a minor annoyance in my book.
2) The Touchgate interface is eye candy and not much more. Using it, I found, slows the system down. I've uninstalled all of it and am just using straight XP.
3) The customized version of Internet Explorer that comes with the T91. Again, it seems to slow things down more than anything. Firefox 3.5 works well.
4) The reviews said that the Atom Z520 is sluggish, and while it's been better than I expected after reading the reviews, it does get bogged down at times. Even fullscreen YouTube videos can stutter when not in High Perfromance battery mode. I tried some DivX movies using VLC and they seemed to play fine, however. Still, the jury is still out on this one. It's definitely not a powerhouse, but I think it should be fine for my purposes. I'm wondering if an extra 1GB of RAM or a faster SSD would help.
Tweaks I would recommend:
1) For Firefox, these addons: Grab and Drag, NoSquint. Both are crucial for a good internet experience.
2) I have the XP Tablet floating TIP working with instructions found here: http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.p … opic=21199
Again, this makes browsing the net so much better, and gives you a better onscreen keyboard and the ability to ink (and have your handwriting recognized) in forms, searches, etc. To get the floating TIP to work in Firefox you also need to install Gesso (which is free).
If you can't or don't want to do the TIP tweak, you can try RitePen, which accomplishes pretty much the same thing (and works well on the T91 -- I tried it). It has a 30-day free trial but you have to buy it after that.
That's it for now. As I said, I'm not completely sold yet, and the processor is the biggest question mark, but I'm liking it a lot more than I thought I would after reading the negative reviews.
EDIT: Almost forgot -- one other big annoyance -- the right click functionality in tablet mode is horrible. I'm hoping this can/will be fixed, though, with a software update.
Last edited by gmich (2009-07-19 11:05:03 pm)
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Thanks for the review, gmich. What type of SSD do you think would work with the t91? And do you know if there is an extra mini pcie slot inside? (since later version may have 3G/GPS module in it and i assume it uses mini pcie interface).
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Your comment on the sluggish video playback.. I have the Umid M1 Mbook (4.8" Touchscreen clamshell) and it has the same processor, graphics, and a 16gb SSD (a decently fast one at that, 50mb/s read, 40 write) and i mostly agree with you on youtube videos.. i think part of the issue is that flash videos are just hugely inefficient (even my eee 900ha lags on HD), although i can watch videos fine if they are from a video file. The processor really isnt that slow.. its just a touch under the n270 were all familiar with. What is the bottle neck are the immature intel gma 500 drivers. give it a month or 2 and we will hopefully start to see better performance out of it with newer drivers. Right now i would estimate that we are only getting 50-70 percent of the gpu's potential at the current moment. 2 + months ago the intel gma 500 was far worse
edit: when i overclock my umid to 1.7-1.8ghz, its total crystal mark score is higher than my 900ha.. of course not when my 900ha is overclocked to 2ghz
Last edited by mtotho (2009-07-20 11:31:02 am)
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@ mtotho
I hope you're right about the gma 500, and I understand that the processor on the T91 is only marginally slower than that on other netbooks with the N270. But I didn't have any stutter on YouTube videos on my 1000H or my NC10, even in full screen. So I am concerned that the processor is part of the problem. I tried some more YouTube videos today, and even when not in full screen, they stutter pretty badly unless on Super Performance mode, which really sucks the battery. (Seems to take it from 4-4.5 hours to 3-3.5).
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gmich wrote:
@ mtotho
I hope you're right about the gma 500, and I understand that the processor on the T91 is only marginally slower than that on other netbooks with the N270. But I didn't have any stutter on YouTube videos on my 1000H or my NC10, even in full screen. So I am concerned that the processor is part of the problem. I tried some more YouTube videos today, and even when not in full screen, they stutter pretty badly unless on Super Performance mode, which really sucks the battery. (Seems to take it from 4-4.5 hours to 3-3.5).
i connect my eee900ha to a 1680x1050 monitor, and even Youtube videos lag sometimes, and that is probably an issue of the graphics.. if the only variable is changing resolution which is controlled mostly by the GPU. Its hard to say whether on the zseries chipset it is cpu or gpu limitation. The spec sheet of the gma 500 reveals that it should be mostly better than intel gma 950, especially for videos, however gpu performance test consistently perform much worse on the gma 500 test -> driver problem. They have good(marginally better) drivers for windows 7/vista. Try loading windows 7 and downloading latest vista driver for gma 500.
Also, try over-overclocking. Download SetFSB (google) and choose the clock generator from the drop down box "ICS9UMS960BL" and try slowly increasing it to 1.6ghz and beyond. 1.6ghz is the setting of 542/760. I am easily stable at 1.6ghz and can easily go up to 1.8ghz and higher. Try playing with it. Go to 1.68ghz to match your other eee, and see if the youtube videos play any better (1 variable: GPU = find culprit)
Last edited by mtotho (2009-07-20 12:39:37 pm)
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If flash videos stutter, right click them, choose "Settings", then uncheck "Hardware Acceleration" in the new dialog box and reload/refresh the page to reload the Flash video.
GMA 500 drivers are causing any Direct3D fullscreen application to lag badly, and worst of all is the fact that Flash Player picks that up for GMA 500 because it meets all of the credentials for Hardware Acceleration. Hopefully Intel comes out with a better driver soon.
Last edited by runawayprisoner (2009-07-20 1:39:37 pm)
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If your interested in Gaming
http://mydellmini.com/forum/gaming/9131 … -12-a.html
Here is how to play full screen HD (atleast one method) on the gma 500. ignore the driver download part, its outdated, the driver on the t91 is the latest (the one im using on my mbook) as of 7.20.2009
http://forum.pocketables.net/showthread.php?t=2148
Better VGA driver if you update to Win7
http://forum.pocketables.net/showthread.php?t=3395
OVerclocking Info
http://forum.pocketables.net/showthread.php?t=3464
Last edited by mtotho (2009-07-20 4:15:07 pm)
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I got my T91 the other day but have been unable to load Windows 7 RC 32bit on it... blue screens during install with an ACPI error and recommends a bios update with I'm not aware exists... anybody get Win7 loaded?
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abeery wrote:
I got my T91 the other day but have been unable to load Windows 7 RC 32bit on it... blue screens during install with an ACPI error and recommends a bios update with I'm not aware exists... anybody get Win7 loaded?
hmm, well win 7 certainly runs great on the z series chipset, i dont know, anyone else confirm this? or is it just a freak problem with abeery?
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OK, a couple days later with the T91, my two main frustrations are the occasional sluggishness (a lot of the time it seems just fine -- then will get bogged down out of nowhere), and the horrible implementation of hold-to-right-click when in tablet mode. As mentioned in Liliputing's review, it's almost impossible to hold the stylus steady enough to get the right click to register. Anybody have an idea how to change the parameters of what counts as holding the stylus in one place? Would that be a registry edit?
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I was thinking of getting one of the T91. Wow didnot read about it at liliputing, so what about the Seashell? 1008??
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Just got the T91 today. First impressions: TINY screen and keyboard (first netbook), so have to be very careful typing. Somewhat confusing interface; not exactly intuitive. For example, I have a widget on the screen that I can't seem to make go away. Very shiny (all of it.) Seems fast enough to me, but then I've never had a blistering fast computer. Very cute, very sturdy. Nice and lightweight -- it will be much more portable than my several year old notebook. Overall I think it is going to take me much longer than I had hoped to get this thing to do what I want it to do, so I'll be posting questions!
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mehboob wrote:
I was thinking of getting one of the T91. Wow didnot read about it at liliputing, so what about the Seashell? 1008??
It's very cool. You don't realize how thin it is until you hold one in your hand. It's amazing!
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Just wanted to add a quick update for anybody else who's trying to tweak the T91. I found a great little program here
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/softwar … -also.html
that will take the place of the horrible touch-and-hold-to-right-click implementation that Asus provides on the T91. This program, called, RightEmu, works great.
Also, the XP Tablet funcationality can be installed (without installing the entire OS) with instructions here
http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.p … opic=21199
These two additions make tablet mode and pen functionality on the T91 a completely different (and better) experience.
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gmich: Thanks so much for the tips and tricks. I'm preparing for a trip so am pretty busy, but I'm also trying to bookmark or otherwise note down all the suggestions you've made for tweaking the T91. Contrary to many of the reviews, I'm actually liking the little thing. I think it has possibilities that haven't been discovered yet. For example, today I set it up as an ebook reader in portrait mode, using Mobipocket Reader with a light purple background against the black text, and I've found it is delightful. Touch screen ereading is the way to go. I'm thinking that that weird software it comes with is mostly going to get in my way, but I'm not going to remove it yet. Another thing I did was to set it to Windows Classic mode theme so I could widen the scroll bar for reading and surfing the net, which really helps. So I can sit at my tiny breakfast table, with the T91 folded to stand like an easel, and read the paper without a keyboard in the way. Nice! Anyway, I'll be interested to hear about other tips and tricks as time goes on.
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@ lmarie
If you're not using Firefox with the Grab and Drag add-on, you really have to get that installed ASAP. It pretty much eliminates the need for scrollbars, because you can just grab the screen anywhere and move it up/down or left/right.
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Will do today -- it was on the list, but I didn't know what it was for. Thanks!.
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whew. hassle! grab and drag "is not compatible with Firefox 3.5.1". my system got all locked up trying to install it. :S
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Sorry to hear you had problems. You may have downloaded the wrong version. It's definitely compatible with FF 3.5.1. I've been using it forever, as do many tablet PC users, and I have Grab and Drag now on my T91 w/ FF 3.5.1 (as well as on another larger tablet running 3.5.1). It downloaded with no problems and works flawlessly. Not sure what the hitch was with your install.
This is the correct link:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1250
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The T91 used an SSD.
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Is Asus Expressgate available for the T-91? If not, is it something that we can just download from Asus webpage and install? Thanks!
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gmich wrote:
Sorry to hear you had problems. You may have downloaded the wrong version. It's definitely compatible with FF 3.5.1. I've been using it forever, as do many tablet PC users, and I have Grab and Drag now on my T91 w/ FF 3.5.1 (as well as on another larger tablet running 3.5.1). It downloaded with no problems and works flawlessly. Not sure what the hitch was with your install.
This is the correct link:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1250
I think that when I looked up Grab and Drag in the Firefox Add-On list, it gave me an (older?) version. The one you refer to is different, and yes, it works -- I did however end up having to use Firefox's Safemode to disable all my add-ons before I could finally untangle it.
Grab and Drag working fine now. Thanks!
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gmich wrote:
Just wanted to add a quick update for anybody else who's trying to tweak the T91. I found a great little program here
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/softwar … -also.html
that will take the place of the horrible touch-and-hold-to-right-click implementation that Asus provides on the T91. This program, called, RightEmu, works great.
Also, the XP Tablet funcationality can be installed (without installing the entire OS) with instructions here
http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.p … opic=21199
These two additions make tablet mode and pen functionality on the T91 a completely different (and better) experience.
RE: THe right click utility situation....
Iam on my 3rd day of owning the T91 and I think it is a fantastic tablet. Loving its form factor, the absence of a fan and the surfing experience using the screen is great. Not perfect by ant means but very enjoyable. Iam glad that I didn't go for the more expensive Viliv x70 (the convertible interface is really the way to go).
One of the limitations is the inability to use the right click utility while in tablet mode. Iam going to check out your suggested rightemu suggestion, but I had a thought that I wanted to share. The touch gate button is exposed when in tablet mode (touchgate is pretty much useless) and I wonder if something could be written to change the touch gate button into a right click feature? I have now idea how to do it, but someone on the board may??? I think it may be the answer to a better browsing experience.
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jkkmobile now has a T91 in hand. He did a live session overview today, and will be posting some modding videos in the coming days -- replacing the SSD, etc. Should be interesting.
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