It’s been almost a year since Asus first showed off a 10 inch Eee PC netbook with a touchscreen display that swivels and folds down over the keyboard for use in tablet mode. But a variation of that netbook has finally made its way to the FCC, which could mean that release is imminent.

Wireless Goodness spotted a few documents related to the Asus Eee PC T101MT at the FCC web page this morning. There’s very little information about the netbook available in the filings, aside from the fact that the laptop will support 802.11b/g/n WiFi. But we can also surmise based on the MT in the name that the Eee PC T101MT will have a capacitative touchscreen display that supports multitouch gestures.

Given the fact that Asus has waited over a year to bring this notebook to market, I’m also going to go out on a limb and predict that it will have an Intel Atom N450 Pine Trail processor rather than the slower Intel Atom Z520 used in the 9 inch Eee PC T91MT touchscreen tablet or the Intel Atom N270 CPU found in most other Eee PC models. And I’m not the only one who thinks so.

The Eee PC T101H is a 10 inch convertible tablet-style netbook from Asus. The company first showed a demo of the netbook at CES in January, 2009 but it has yet to hit the streets. And now Netbook News.de is reporting that Asus plans to show off a revamped model at CES 2010. The new model could be available as soon as Q1, 2010.

This will be the second convertible tablet from Asus. The first was the Eee PC T91, which has an 8.9 inch display. But that model had an incredibly tiny keyboard and an awkwardly slow processor. The Eee PC T101H will have a larger keyboard, a larger 10.2 inch touchscreen display, and a faster processor.

According to a Netbook News.de tipster, the updated T101H will have a multi-touch display, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 pineview processor, 1GB of RAM, a 16GB solid state disk, and 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, and optional GPS, 3G, and DVB-T modules. The laptop will also reportedly have an accelerometer and a battery that’s good for up to 8 hours.

It’ll ship with Windows 7 Home Premium. Now for the bad news. The laptop will reportedly have a starting price of nearly 700 Euros, or over $1000 US.

I’m going to take all of this with a grain of salt for now. After all, we’re talking about an anonymous tip regarding a product that was technically introduced more than 10 months ago.

The Eee PC T91 is the first touchscreen netbook from Asus to hit the market. And DigiTimes is reporting that it could be the last. While the company has already announced to launch a larger, 10 inch touchscreen netbook called the Eee PC T101H this fall, according to DigiTimes industry sources say Asus wants to see how the T91 fares first.

In other words, if the Eee PC T91 is a flop, don’t hold your breathe waiting for the Eee PC T101H. Asus could delay its launch, scale back shipments, or cancel the laptop altogether.

And that would be a huge shame. Because let’s face it: The Eee PC T91 has some issues. But they aren’t all related to the touchscreen or the Asus Touch Gate software. In my review of the T91, I primarily took issue with 3 things:

1. The sluggish 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z530 CPU and 16GB SSD
2. The cramped, tiny keyboard
3. The operating system and software which didn’t go far enough to include touch-friendly features

All three of those things could easily be addressed by a 10 inch model released this fall. Just swap out the Atom Z530 CPU for a faster Intel Atom N270/N280 processor, or hold out for the more energy efficient Atom N450 CPU which should be out later this year. The 10 inch model will almost certainly have a larger keyboard. And if you wait until October, you can release the netbook with Windows 7 preloaded instead of Windows XP. While Windows 7 Starter Edition isn’t expected to have many touchscreen-optimized features, Windows 7 Home Premium will.

The problem, as I see it, is that Asus decided not only to make the Eee PC T91 the company’s first touchscreen netbook. Asus also decided to make it the company’s smallest netbook with an 8.9 inch display. And in order to do that, the company had to make some design choices like using a slower processor and SSD in order to allow for a fanless design and decent battery life in a small form factor. So performance suffers. But I don’t think you can judge the idea of all touchscreen netbooks based on the success or failure of the Eee PC T91 in the market. It’s quite possible that if Asus had released a 10 inch model right off the bat, it would have met more positive reviews, especially if it had a faster CPU.

The Asus Eee PC T91 has been getting a lot of attention over the last few 7 months. The 8.9 inch convertible netbook/tablet was first introduced at CES in January, and it’s due out in the US later this month. But the T91 wasn’t the only touchscreen tablet Asus introduced at CES. The company has also been working on a version with a larger keyboard and a 10 inch display called the Eee PC T101H. It’s expected to be available in the US before the end of the year.

Yesterday, Asus UK confirmed the specs for the Eee PC T101H, although it’s worth keeping in mind that there are often minor variations from country to country. So the US version might not be identical. But here’s what Asus Tablet has to say about the UK version:

• Display: 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel resistive multi-touch panel
• CPU: 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 w/GMA 500 graphics
• OS: Windows 7
• RAM: 1GB
• Storage: 16GB SSD + included 16GB SD card
• Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3G Module, Digital TV tuner
• Battery: Li-polymer, 5.4 hours
• Camera: 0.3MP
• Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Colors: Black, silver

Another thing that sets the T101H apart from the T91 is that the 10 inch model has a chiclet-style keyboard with a large right-shift key located to the left of the up arrow. The Eee PC T91 has a small shift key on the right side of the up arrow, much like the one on the Asus Eee PC 701 keyboard.

In related news, a number of sites are pointing out that at least one US-based retailer has begun taking orders for the Eee PC T91, which it claims to have in stock for $499. I’m 99% certain that this company is jumping the gun. From everything I’ve heard the netbook isn’t quite ready to ship yet, but it should be available soon.

Update: BuyDig has changed its website to reflect that the T91 is not yet in stock.

via Portable Monkey

Asus has been showing off its Eee PC T91 touchscreen tablet-style netbook since CES in January. But the company finally made an official product launch at Computex this week.

While the company’s inability to find a hand model over the age of 3 makes the computer look like it has a 17 inch screen, the Eee PC T91 actually has an 8.9 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel touchscreen display that can be folded down over thekeyboard for use in tablet mode. It has a low power 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 CPU, 1GB of RAM, and a 16GB SSD. It incorporates Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n/ WiFi. It will also have an optional TV tuner or GPS receiver. The netbook comes in black and white versions.

There’s also a custom program launcher designed to make the computer easy to navigate using the touchscreen. You can find a video overview of the interface at Laptop Magazine’s web site. Incidentally, Laptop’s Joanna Stern points out that while the Eee PC T91 is on display at the Eee PC T101H with the 10 inch screen that we first spotted at CES is nowhere in sight.

CeBIT may have come and gone, but after a big trade show it always takes time to sift through all the information. And jkkmobile just today got around to posting a video showing a hands-on demonstration of the upcoming Asus Eee PC T101H convertible touchscreen netbook.

Basically the Eee PC T101H is a larger version of the Eee PC T91. It has the same 1024 x 600 pixel display resolution, but a larger 10 inch display. The T101H also has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 CPU, while the T91 has a slower 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 processor. According to jkkmobile, the T101H also has an Elantech multitouch touchpad which offers more features than the Synaptics multitouch touchpad on the T91.

Both laptops features resistive touchscreen displays that can be swiveled and folded down over the keyboard. And Asus has designed a suite of applications including a program launcher, multimedia, and productivity apps designed to take advantage of the touchscreen.

You can check out jkkmobile’s video overview of the Eee PC T101H after the break.

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Asus unveiled its first netbook with a touchscreen at CES in January. The Eee PC T91 has a 9 inch screen with a swivel allowing you to fold the display down over the keyboard and use the computer in tablet mode. Asus has also developed a suite of touch friendly applications including a new program launcher to make the computer easy to use.

Sascha from Netbook News.de is visiting Taiwain, where he got a chance to check out the Eee PC T91 in person. The machine still had some rough edges at CES (the touchscreen didn’t work very well), but they seem to have been worked out.

Underneath the fancy user interface, the Eee PC T91 is running Windows XP, which allows you to use it as a standard laptop. Asus will also release a 10 inch version soon, the Eee PC T101H.

You can check out Sascha’s video overview of the new user interface after the break.

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Asus showed off a demo of the touchscreen interface that will be used on the company’s upcoming Eee PC T91 and T101H touchscreen netbooks at a press event in Germany. And Johannes from Eee PC.de has captured the video and uploaded it to YouTube.

Asus showed what I believe was a shorter version of this video at CES, but it looks like the team has put a little more work into the demo. The video now runs about 5 minutes and shows a ton of different ways users will be able to interact with the computers using the touchscreen.

At the most basic level, you can use your finger or a stylus like a mouse and click anywhere on the screen. But Asus is also developing some touch-enabled applications like a custom program launcher and what looks like a desktop widget engine filled with little programs for showing the time, weather, and other information. The video also shows a custom, touch-enabled photo browser and editor, music and video players, a calendar and schedule application, and a utility for taking notes.

It appears you can also scroll through web pages by dragging the screen with a finger.

You can check out the full video after the break.

via jkkmobile

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Sure, Asus played up the Eee PC T91 netbook with the 8.9 inch convertible touchscreen during the company’s presentation this afternoon. But when all the talking was done, you know what I discovered? An Asus Eee PC T101H hanging out on the stage. It’s basically the same machine as the T91, except it has a 10 inch display and a shiny new keyboard with the shift key located to the left of the up arrow!

The keys are also flat and MacBook-like, rather than the concave keys you find on most existing Eee PC mini-laptops. I personally prefer the concave keys, but I know a lot of folks have been waiting forever and a day for Asus to change the location of that shift key. And for thos people, I have some more good news: The Asus S121 also has a nice large shift key to the left of the up arrow.

In fact, Asus reps I spoke with said that pretty much every new Eee PC will feature the new keyboard layout with a larger shift key on the left side of the up arrow. The one exception is the Eee PC T91, which seems to use the same keyboard as the Eee PC 900/901 series.

The pricing on the Eee PC T91, T101H, and Asus S121 haven’t yet been finalized, but I think it’s fair to say that the S121 with its 512GB SSD is going to cost quite a bit more than your typical netbook. The goal is to keep the price for the Eee PC branded tablets comparable to other Eee PC netbooks. 

The tablets on display at CES weren’t quite 100% functional, but Asus expects to have them on the market early this year, possibly within the next few months.

You can find a few more photos of all three machines after the break.

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