1.5 years later.. Apr-08-2011 - A quick and probably one final update..
- Long live the King?
As sweet as the T91MT has been for me, I wish it also came with a GPS & 3G connectivity options. Thankfully, the playing field is changing with the coming Asus 10.1" Transformer, Motorola XOOM w/Android 3.0 OS, or the iPad2 tablets; one of which could become the next stepping stones in my electronic life. The T91MT will NOT collect dust even if I do go for any of the newer tablets because of its versatility, attached keyboard and being a Windows 7 OS.
- Memory upgrade:
Real life usage proves how valuable the upgrade to 2GB is. In many instances the 1GB is fully used, slowing down response time. With 2GB RAM not only is that not an issue, but there is now up to 762Meg dedicated to Video rendering instead of 250Meg with the 1GB. That translates into better video playback when streaming, saving the agony of waiting for the buffer to fill up. Switching from embedded video to full screen is now faster too.
- Performance:
If the additional weight is not an issue for you, go with the more powerful and larger 10" screen in the T101MT. The T91MT is long due for more power for sure.
- Battery life:
With battery lasting 5 hours at most, I ended up getting a second Charger to keep it running all day when I am at the office, saving the need to carry a charger around with me. They only cost 10-15 dollars and are a great investment.
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Updated: May-2010
After using the t91mt daily for 6 months, I still think that this is one of the best electronic products I have ever used. This is an update with some corrections and additions, including notes on Firefox, ready-boost, the iPad vs. t91mt, and using of the t91mt's keyboard/touchpad to control my Home Theater PC.
My personal learning experience with this Tablet was very satisfying . After using it for extended periods of time over the 4-day long Thanksgiving (2009) weekend, and then on my daily commute and at the office for occasional use, it easily fulfilled all of my expectations:
1. Reading any size of PDF files was a breeze. Acrobat 9 runs quickly on the T91MT. You can switch between portrait and landscape modes by a push of a button on the frame, and although it's a nice to have, I found it to be most useful to read just about everything in the default landscape-mode. Want to read Amazon eBooks? - just download the Kindle-for-PC and let the reading begin..
2. Internet use was as fast as on my dependable desktop. Both PCs access the Internet via wi-fi and downloads to the T91MT were even a bit faster than what I get on the desktop. (1MB/sec from fast servers!).
3. Web Browsers and Multi-Touch:
Update: May-2010 - Initially I defaulted to using MS-Explorer for a few of months because Chrome which I liked on a desktop does not support well the multi-touch features, but After trying out the Opera, Chrome, and Mozilla's Firefox, the latest version of Firefox turned out to be superior in any respect to the Windows Explorer browser. Firefox responds to ALL of the precious Multi-touch features, and most importantly, uses less RAM which proved very beneficial for speedy response. I still have 1GB of RAM and the usage of it dropped from a common 90% with the MS-explorer to 65% with the Firefox! Firefox also lets you configure the Browser's look, icons etc. to make the most out of the 8.9" screen.
Its zooming comes at much smaller increments than the huge 25% jumps of the MS Explorer, and that provides for adjustments to the pages.
Touch-ability: The scrolling of pages and zooming are quick - zoom in/out using two fingers sweeping away or toward each other. Right or left flicks with one finger will take you back or forward on the internet pages. You can also enable diagonal flicks (Control Panel --> Pen and Touch) to Cut, Copy, Paste and Delete at a fingers move.
3. Watching videos: An episode of a TV Series which I played with a "VLC player" was jumpy, but once I switched to Windows Media player, the picture was smooth again. Darker scenes are not very detailed/clear on the t91mt however. Streaming video was smooth for the most part. Upgrading RAM to 2GB improved thing dramatically.
4. Power levels: the T91Mt has several power levels. Should the video not run smoothly, or any other action not be fairly fast, it may be an indication that it is in 'power-saver' mode. To bring it back to higher power usage, simply click on the small battery icon on the the toolbar and select 'high power'. (it defaults to the latter when plugged in).
5. Battery: with declared battery life of of 5 hours, I initially carried the charger with me to the office and back, then realized that I can use it as one would use his cell. When needed, it comes out of 'sleep-mode' in only 3 seconds (!), or 'Hibernate-mode' in 20 sec. ready with Internet pages and other forms just as I left them, and goes back to sleep instantly at the slide of a button. After occasional use during a full day of several minutes at a time, there is still 3+ hours of life in the battery to last me the 45 min commute back home. You can improve on battery life by turning off unused bluetooth and other devices, or keep the screen brightness at just the right level or do other tweaks easily with the provided power options. Eventually I ended up buying a second Charge to keep at the office to be able to leave it on all day long.
7. CPU: If you are looking for a powerhouse of a multi-tasking-supporting machine that can play demanding games, then this machine (and most available netbooks probably) are not for you. For daily use of Internet, Music playing, eReading, and other common activities, the t91mt does a great job.
8. Sound/Equalizer: You cannot expect too much from the small standard speakers on the t91mt, so the sound quality is fair. It gets far better with headphones or a good set of PC speakers where the sound card does a great job. Both streaming audio from Pandora and mp3 on the local disk sounded great.
9. Booting / Other Comments: The initial booting+setup took ~15 min and was without any glitches. Just hang with it and reply to the prompts. Setting up the Wifi Connection was very fast. Windows 7 may be Vista based but is a delight to work with. Many functions are intuitive. To me it seems like Windows has really matured. The t91mt has no moving parts (except for maybe a tiny fan on the CPU?). It hardly gets warm, and is totally silent.
10. Update: May-2010
Readyboost - Buying a SD/SDHC fo add memory on its own is fine, but do not buy one for a 'ready boost' option because the internal SSD is already taken as fast enough, which is why the readyboost option is not there for added flash drives.
iPad versus t91mt: Initially I thought the iPad was going to beat the t91mt in every area. The iPad sure is an extremely potent device, but if I had to chose all over again, the t91mt would have still come up on top for me because it is a real computer that can multi-task (the iPad - cannot), can play flash (iPad - no), has a Keyboard/touchpad and can easily connect to a monitor (iPad - needs costly external hardware), has 2 USB connections (iPad - NONE!), is a totally open system - sweet Windows 7 onto which you can easily download anything (iPad - requires conversion + sync from external PC/Mac to be able to watch movies/play music) and the list goes on.
Being a sibling of the iPhone, those who own one will find the iPad a familiar territory of course and may take the iPad as a no-brainer decision. It's all about knowing what you are getting with an iPad, and just as important - what you don't.
Anti-virus: I use the free and excellent 'Microsoft Security Essentials' which gets the protection job done better than any other A-V I have used so far: It takes very little resources from the machine, never slowed Internet access and is continuously updated with new virus info. - Highly recommended for any PC you have.
Using t91MT as a remote control: Having the t91mt 100% of the time with me, meant I have it right there when sitting in front of the TV as well.
It played perfectly into also using its Keyboard/touchpad to control the HTPC. Just download this small free installation to your t91mt and to your HTPC and 10 min of configuration later, you don't need any dedicated wireless keyboard/mouse. Google for "synergy2 sourceforge" to find that download.
Final thoughts:
I was aware of this tablet coming out already in Jan-2009, and the wait was well worth it when I finally bought it in Nov-2009. Asus has created a well rounded and refined product with attention to detail, from a well laid out keyboard to a nice suite of software. I did not find any need for the Asus Gate utility and uninstalled it altogether. I mostly use the virtual keyboard, and although initially liked the stylus, I did not find it useful.
If you had in mind to buy any extras for the T91MT, an upgrade to 2GB RAM is highly recommended, you may also chose to go for an additional Memory because the T91MT may come with a 32GB SSD but about 12GB are taken by the system + programs software.
As with any sophisticated device, it may take a little getting used to. Normally the T91MT runs fast and the display is responsive, bright and sharp.
Initially I though I would wait for the 10" T101 by Asus, but the 9" is light & more compact and was a good choice to take anywhere especially when my daily commute requires the use of public transportation. It also comes with the great Windows 7 Home Premium, enabling multi-touch, which is not available with the Windows 7 Starter.
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