Asus Eee PC T91MT Multi-Touch Tablet Netbook: Pros Outweighed the Cons & I Pre-ordered It

Photo courtesy of Amazon (probably by way of Asus)

I don’t see any sign of the Eee PC T91MT Windows 7 based multi-touch tablet netbook on Asus’ websites. But, I did see it for pre-order on Amazon.com for $549. So, despite a few reservations about it, I clicked the “Pre-order: Add to Cart” button over the weekend. So, what are my reservations?

- Storage is limited to a 32GB SSD (Solid State Drive – flash drive). Amazon’s product description says 500GB of online storage is also included. But, what will that cost after the first year? And, how fast is it over relatively slow WiFi hotspots? And, oh yes, is access to it encrypted?
- Screen size is 8.9-inch instead of the 10.1-inch screen I’ve been using since September 2008. I have an 8.9-inch Acer Aspire One netbook. So, I know I can work with an 8.9-inch screen. But, still…
- Battery is said to be rated at 5 hours. So, in real life, I’ll probably get 2.5 to 3 hours of actual useful life. This will not get me through the day at, for example, a conference with spotty A/C outlet access.

So, why do I currently have it on pre-order (I could change my mind)?

- I’ve bought two Asus netbooks so far. They have both worked well over the past year.
- The T91MT is the only multi-touch netbook I could find
- It is a convertable (keyboard or tablet configuration)
- Although 32GB of storage is not much, it is SSD and could me fast Windows 7 startups
- I played with a Dell desktop PC with a touchscreen while in Costco over the weekend and was very impressed by Windows 7′ touch user interface (see video below)

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