If you’ve been scratching your head trying to figure out whether the upcoming Gigabyte M912 mini-tablet PC comes with a 1024 x 600 pixel display or a 1280 x 768 pixel display (I’ve seen reports of both resolutions), it looks like Chippy over at UMPC Portal has solved the mystery - there’s more than one model.

I mean, I already knew there’s be several models with different hard drive sizes and operating systems. But here’s the breakdown on the screen resolution. While all models will have an 8.9 inch screen, the M912V and the M912X will have a 1280 x 768 pixel display using inverter technology while the M912M has a 1024 x 600 pixel display using LED back lighting technology.

The M version will have an 80GB hard drive, while the X and V models have 160GB hard drives, Bluetooth, and presumably higher price tags.

Engadget Chinese is reporting that Gigabyte plans to follow up its too-recently-launched-to-be-called-successful M912 8.9 inch netbook tablet with a 10 inch version. Makes sense, since everybody and his kid brother are releasing 9 and 10 inch versions of their netbooks these days. But wait, there’s more. Engadget says “reliable sources” are telling them that the laptop will also sport the upcoming Intel Atom 330 dual-core CPU.

If this is true, it means we probably won’t see the upgraded unit for a few more months, which wouldn’t surprise me because, seriously, the company is still in the processof pushing the original M912 out the door. But it also means that we could see a price increase for a computer that’s already one of the most expensive machines in the netbook category. In fact, it’s arguable whether you can really call the M912 a netbook at all, thanks to its tablet design and $700 to $900 price tag. If the price goes any higher, it’d be hard to compare the M912 with an Asus Eee PC with a straight face.

That said, I wouldn’t necessarily say no if someone were to show up at my door with a $1000 tablet with a power saving dual-core CPU.

[via SlashGear]

The Gigabyte M912 is the first netbook-class device to feature a touchscreen display that can rotate 180 degrees for tablet-style use. What sets the M912 apart from your typical tablet PC computers is the fact that it sells for under $1000, weighs less than 4 pounds, and has an 8.9 inch display.

But it also runs Windows Vista Home Basic which isn’t really optimized to make use of a touchscreen. And according to a recent review from Laptop Magazine, Gigabyte hasn’t bothered to bundle any additional software with the M912 to address the situation. So if you want to get the most out of your touchscreen, you’re going to want to install some third party applications.

Laptop Magazine also points out two other problems with the device:

1. The Gigabyte M912 runs a lot slower than other netbooks in its class (if you can honestly say any other netbooks are in its class), taking more than 90 seconds to boot and taking an excruciatingly long time to launch some applications.
2. It gets rather hot under the keyboard when you use it in clamshell mode. It gets even hotter in tablet mode. Like 106 degrees Farenheit hot.

That’s not to say the machine is a complete failure. It’s still probably the cheapest tablet PC you’re going to find anytime soon — even if it doesn’t actually ship with a tablet PC operating system. And while programs are slow to load, the review does point out that the computer does a decent job of multitasking.

Sure, we saw Chippy unbox a Gigabyte M912 the other day. But he got his hands on a pre-production unit. Laptop Magazine, on the other hand, found an eBay seller who was willing to ship a unit with the official packaging from Taiwan.

The packaging looks pretty decent. And the computer comes with a nice case, a 6 cell battery, and a few other goodies. Laptop Magazine will soon be putting the computer through the paces and posting the results. But there are already three things I can tell you about the Gigabyte M912:

• It’s one of the only netbook-class computers to include a swiveling touchscreen for use in tablet mode.
• It costs substantially more than the entry level netbooks like the Asus Eee PC 701.
• The M912 may not ever be released in the US, so it’s good to know it can be found on eBay.

The Gigabyte M912 may not be coming to the US anytime soon, but if you happen to live in Germany, it looks like you should be able to pick one up within a few weeks. Eee PC News.de discovered that the Notebook Shop is selling M912s in several configurations — including two versions that are described as having no operating system.

Now, since there are two models listed that run Windows Vista and two that are listed without an OS, I’m going to assume this is a typo and that the computers are actually running Ubuntu. We already saw the M912 running Ubuntu Netbook Remix at Computex, so we know it’s capable of running the OS. and Gigabyte doesn’t have to pay any licensing fees to include Ubuntu, so I can’t imagine why they would sell a piece of hardware without any software when there’s a perfectly usable OS available for free.

But even if this isn’t a typo, and Gigabyte is selling a computer in Germany with no OS, this is actually a good thing as it makes it perfectly clear to customers that they can choose the operating system they want to use. The Notebook Shop is charging between 459 € and 569 € or $726 and $901 for the Gigabyte M912, depending on the operating system and amount of RAM you select.

While companies like Asus, Acer, HP, MSI, and Dell are busy putting out low-cost ultraportable laptops with a clamshell design, the Gigabyte M912V has a tablet PC style design. That is to say, you can operate it either in clamshell mode like a typical laptop, or you can swivel the touch screen and lay it down flat to use like a tablet. So while the M912V has a $699 price tag, which makes it more expensive than many of its competitors, it’s still an exciting little device. Unfortunately, it looks like only Asian and European customers will get to experience that excitement first hand.

First the good news. That Gigabyte M912V tablet PC that showed its face at Computex? It’s real, and it’s spectacular (at least on paper). Now for the bad news. While the M912V is certainly cheap by tablet PC standards, at $699 it’s one of the most expensive “low cost,” Intel Atom-based ultraportable machines scheduled for release this year.

We already knew the Gigabyte M912 ultraportable tablet would run Windows Vista instead of XP. But if you look closely that this hands-on video from Laptop Magazine, you can see that it’s also capable of running Ubuntu. And not just any old Ubuntu. That looks to me like Ubuntu Netbook Remix, the new version of the open source operating system customized for low cost computers with Intel’s low-power Atom CPU.

We got some initial details about the Gigabyte M912 low cost tablet PC yesterday, but the folks at TweakTown stumbled across a working unit at Computex today and managed to jot down a few more details. So here’s the rundown:

Gigabyte has gone out of its way to make sure the company’s first low cost ultraportable stands out from the crowd. Not only will the Gigabyte M912 feature a swiveling tablet-style touch screen, but Engadget Chinese reports that it also runs Windows Vista instead of Windows XP.

It looks like Gigabyte is getting ready to launch its first low-cost ultraportable. And the company is setting itself apart from the crowd by making its entry into the field a tablet PC. Engadget got a little hands-on time with the Gigabyte M912 this morning. And we’ll probably be seeing a lot more of the computer once Computex kicks off tomorrow.