The Gigabyte Touch Note T1028M is one of a handful of new netbooks out scheduled for release in 2009 that has a touchscreen display that can be folded over the keyboard for use in tablet mode. But while Asus, Acer, and other netbook makers are developing their first touchscreen netbooks, this is Gigabyte’s second go at the form factor. The company released the Gigabyte M912 8.9 inch convertible touchscreen netbook in 2008. And according to Chippy at UMPC Portal, Gigabyte learned a lot from its experience with that model and built a much better machine in the 10.1 inch Gigabyte Touch Note T1028M.

He’s been testing a Touch Note for the last few days. While we already knew that the netbook had stellar specs (including the touchscreen, an ExpressCard/34 slot, a SIM card slot and 3G antenna, Bluetooth, and 802.11n WiFi). But Chippy found that it also has a fast 2.5 inch hard drive and that the UMTS 3G modem offered stellar reception.

The battery lasted about 2.5 hours to 4 hours depending on usage which is respectable if not spectacular. And the glossy screen does reflect glare under some lighting conditions. But other than that, Chippy had few complaints. Personally, I’m not a big fan of placing the touchpad buttons on the left and right side of the touchpad instead of below. But since the Touch Note has a touchscreen display, giving you another method for interacting with the screen, I could probably learn to live with the awkward touchpad layout.

The Gigabyte T1028M Touch Note convertible tablet style netbook may not be shipping from US distributors yet. But European retailer Mobilx has it in stock, and Chippy at UMPC Portal got a loaner to check out. To start things off, he’s posted a detailed unboxing video, which you can find after the break.

The netbook features a 10.1 inch touchscreen display that can be folded down over the keyboard for use in tablet mode. It looks a lot like the Gigabyte M912, but bigger. It has a larger keyboard, and Chippy reports it runs cooler than the M912 and the fan isn’t as noisy.

As you can see in the video, Gigabyte also ships the Touch Note with a nice looking slip case that has a side pocket, something you won’t find on the cheap slip covers some other computer makers include with their netbooks.

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Gigabyte’s latest touchscreen netbook, the T1028M Touch Note is expected to begin shipping at the end of April. Retailer Mobilx already got their hands on one, and they’ve added an internal 3G card and forwarded the photos showing just how easy it is to do this to UMPC Portal, where you can find a complete gallery.

There are also some great photos of the PC in tablet mode. The Touch Note looks a bit chunky compared to some of the thinner netbooks, but that swiveling 10 inch touchscreen looks pretty nice.

Gigabyte plans to introduce three new netbooks this year. They were first announced at CeBIT earlier this month, but the company just added a few promotional videos to its YouTube channel today. There’s not much new information in the videos, but if you’re lusting for any additional information about these machines, you can find all three videos after the break.

Here’s a quick refresher on the new Gigabyte netbooks:

• Booktop M1022: This model comes with a special docking station that lets you connect a monitor, keyboard, and USB doohickeys so you can use the computer like a desktop around the house and then grab it and go for computing on the go.
• Thin Note S1024: This model is a slim and light laptop that still has room for premium features like an ExpressCard slot.
• Touch Note T1028: This netbook features a touchscreen that can be folded down over the keyboard for use in tablet mode.

It looks like Gigabyte might have tweaked the model numbers a bit. At CeBIT, these computers were labeled as the M1022, M1024, and M1028. But the videos change the letters around for the latter models.

via NetbookNews.de

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As expected, Gigabyte is showing several new netbook models at CeBIT. One of the most interesting is the new Gigabyte Touch Note M1028, which has a 10.1 inch touchscreen display that can be folded down over the keyboard for use as a tablet. Gigabyte was actually one of the first companies to release a netbook-sized convertible tablet PC.

But the Gigabyte M912 was small, with an 8.9 inch display and a small keyboard, and carried a high starting price of around $700. Now that there’s more competition from other computer makers with touchscreen tablets, it’ll be interesting to see if Gigabyte can keep the price lower.

SlashGear is reporting that the Touch Note M1028 will come in four different configurations. Two models will have 1024 x 600 pixel displays, while two will have higher resolution 1366 x 768 pixel screens. All will have 1GB of RAM (upgradeable to 2GB), and hard drives up to 160GB. It loks like the netbook will have the new 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, and three models will use the Intel 945GSE integrated graphics chipset. One of the higher resolution models (the Touch Note M1028P) will have the Intel GN40 chipset which promises improved HD video performance.

The netbooks will have either a 4 cell, 4500mAh battery or a 6 cell, 7650mAh battery. All four models will come with 802.11a/b/g WiFi and Bluetooth options. At least one model will have 3.5G mobile broadband and WiMax options. And all models will run Windows XP Home Edition. Another unusual feature is that the Gigabyte netbooks will have an ExpressCard slot in addition to 3 USB ports. Very few netbooks make room for the ExpressCard slot, but it’s nice to have if you have peripherals that can take advantage of it, like an ExpressCard 3G modem or TV tuner.