Hasta La Gadget!

As promised, we’ve made a run over to check out Viliv’s forthcoming S7 netbook tablet, bringing along the ever-popular VAIO P to see how the two stack up (as well as an Eee 1000H for good measure). As you can see, the S7 actually isn’t that much larger than the Sony, maybe 30 percent thicker and a little bit wider, but also a bit shorter. The thing manages to find room for a track pad on top of the keyboard, but it’s an awfully small one, so thank goodness for the (non-multi) touch screen. Also small is that keyboard, which is one of the most painful we’ve yet experienced on a netbook, featuring arrow and punctuation keys that even a pygmy would fat-finger. But, compromises must be made when making machines small, and small this one is. Viliv has written a custom skin that overlays the Windows XP install, demonstrated in a video below. It’s reasonably pleasant to use (minimizing the need to rely on that tiny trackpad), but is also easy to exit if you’re not feeling it. We already know the specs of this tiny convertible, so the only mysteries left are “when” followed immediately by “how much.” The answers we received to those questions are unfortunately a bit vague: “before this summer” and a rather predictable “less than the VAIO P.” We’re guessing it’ll be a lot less. Oh, and for those examining the gallery, don’t worry about the rough edges you might spy: this is a pre-production S7, so things should be a good bit more polished when it hits retail.

Continue reading Video: Viliv S7 hands on and VAIO P comparo

Filed under: CES, Laptops, Tablet PCs

Video: Viliv S7 hands on and VAIO P comparo originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We got a quick look at ASUS’s new Eee PC tablets today, the T91 and T101H. The netbook heritage is unmistakable — you only have to peep the 8.9-inch and 10-inch respective screen sizes and Atom processors — but the two machines offer up full-on swivel tablet functionality, and look pretty good doing it. The chiclet keyboard on the T101H is a slight improvement over the standard Eee PC keyboard on the T91 — which is a tad less firm, and with less room for distinct spacing. We found the hinge to be just alright, only rotating in a clockwise direction, and showing bit of “give.” Otherwise it’s pretty standard Eee, with ASUS’s standard march toward sexy and the deepest stack of SKUs in the industry.

Filed under: Tablet PCs

ASUS Eee PC T91 and T101H touchscreen tablet hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been expected for months, now Asus has announced its Eee PC T91 convertible tablet ripe for a fresh Windows 7 tossing. The 2-pound (right, two!), 1-inch thick tablet features an 8.9-inch LED backlit touch panel riding atop Intel’s Z520 Atom processor. It also features a TV-tuner and built-in GPS. No other details yet but it won’t be long.

Update: Added video after the break of this svelte convertible floating in air with its incredibly dreamy UI. It’s destined to make all your touchable dreams come true. No, really.

Continue reading Eee PC T91 convertible tablet lives (Update: Video!)

Filed under: Laptops

Eee PC T91 convertible tablet lives (Update: Video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS hinted at some alternative Eee form factors in the Spring of last year, but it’s a Japanese modder that’s showing the company exactly how it shouldn’t approach an Eee-branded tablet PC. It’s a touch tough to understand exactly what’s going on, but here’s what is (partially) clear: the hack job took around ten hours to complete, and the outer edges are inexplicably covered in aluminum foil. It’s encased in some sort of transparent housing — which we suppose is pretty nifty for showing off the internals — and the retrofitted touchpanel provides the tasty tablet functionality. Apparently this guy spent around ¥11,000 ($128) over and above the cost of the Eee PC in order to construct the final result pictured above — the question is: was it really worth it?

[Via Fashion Funky, thanks Bob]

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

Japanese DIYer shows ASUS how not to make an Eee Tablet PC originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 12:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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