Customer Reviews

GIGABYTE TouchNote T1028 10.1" Touch Screen WXGA TFT-LCD / N280 1.66Ghz / 1366x768 / 1G SDRAM / 250 HDD / 6 Cell / New Version - Windows 7 Starter

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Have owned several notebooks and netbooks before, and so I really knew what I wanted this time around. I wanted something portable, not too heavy, with long battery life, and easy to carry in one hand and work with one handed. I occasionally ride on the bus (public transportation for the win), and there isn't always a seat. This netbook has a touchscreen that swivels and folds back over the keyboard, and the 6 cell battery that gives it a good 5 hours life in my usage is shaped so that it makes a nice handle when you're using it in "slate" mode. I upgraded it to 2 gigs of RAM and replaced the internal HD with a fast SSD drive, and the machine outperforms even some of my fullsize notebooks. The 768 of vertical resolution is also a major plus since so many sites are optimized for 1024x768 - with my old Asus (like most netbooks it was limited to a vertical resolution of 600) this meant a lot of scrolling.

If you're thinking about a notebook or netbook, you can't do wrong by getting this one!

Saw the Asus T91 in Spain about three months ago and became enthralled with the concept of a tablet netbook... I almost bought the T91 from [...] a month ago but I did my research.

I liked the small factor form of the 8.9" T91, but was worried about reviews that it was very slow due to the less capable Atom Z CPU it ships with. Therefore I pleaded with my wife to let me splurge US$200 more for the bigger, faster and I think better Gigabyte T1028.

Was it worth begging my wife for the extra US$200, I believe so!!!

As a netbook the T1028 is very expensive, priced on par with low end Core Duo laptops, and I am sure that tomorrow (i.e. Black Friday) a lucky few will even be able to buy a very decent and capable full fledge laptop with the US$615 it cost me from Amazon.com. But I needed a small form and light portable computer capable of doing the basic computer needs that I could take with me on business trips, like check webmail, chat, surf the internet, watch clips, etc.

Based on these requirements alone, the T1028 performs very well (I own a Sony FW373 laptop with 4GB of RAM and a Core 2 Duo P8600, and truthfully right now the T1028 loads up faster and even though the Sony is faster doing those everyday functions, I cannot see a huge amount of difference between the response time between the two). Compared to netbooks, I borrowed from my brother an Acer One with the same Atom CPU and RAM, but for some reason the T1028 runs much faster.

As a tablet the T1028 is just what I needed, lighter than the HP tablets, and about US$200 cheaper also. More capable than the so call "Ultra Mobile Personal Computers" or UMPCs from Samsung, Sony, Motion Computing, etc. and very well about half what those UMPCs cost, even used ones. Head 2 head with HP, Samsung, Sony and Motion Computing I would definitely bet on the T1028, maybe the only real competition would be the T91 due to price, but from what I read the slowness of the T91 hampers its chances.

The T1028 does not come with any Tablet OS, so I had to download some freeware and widgets to get the advertised functionality of the Asus T91's in house software... found one very usefull that lets me draw on top of the page and save the image, similar to how the sportcasters explain football plays during live broadcasts (technically speaking is called Inking).

To get on the good side of my spouse I downloaded Picasa from Google, transfered our photos from our trips and created a photo screensaver, turned the screen away from the keyboard but did not fully closed it back as a 100% tablet and we now have a 10.1" digital picture frame... I even went as far as to tell my wife that between business trips I will leave the T1028 configured like that in our kitchen as a full time digital picture frame and kitchen PC. I've now downloaded another software that displays a very nice looking flip clock and it will also serve as a kitchen clock for my wife. Finally with the inking program I downloaded for free she can leave me messages on the desktop wallpaper as quick reminders or message board.

I am very pleased with the T1028, my only cons would be the keyboard, it is not that its small, but that the manufacturer decided to shrink the ",", "." and "/" buttons, so I find it very easy to hit the "/" trying to press "." Even now that I am aware of this shortcoming I still hit the "/", this is very bothersome specially if you are entering email and web addresses, or if you want to write a grammatically correct sentence.

With my wife happy now, I am thinking of buying an Avermedia Expresscard 34 TV/FM tuner, but with that I would fully convert the extra computer I needed occasionally for business trips into a full fledge and capable kitchen computer center with TV/FM tunning, an inking message board for quick messages to the rest of my family, a kitchen clock and a digital picture frame, AND my wife can now chat, email her sister, call me thru skype while on business trips, listen to her mp3 without bothering me or asking me for my laptop...

The follow-up to Gigabyte's M912, the T1028 series improves upon the platform in almost every conceivable fashion. While it all starts with a larger footprint, the extra real-estate means a better keyboard on the T1028--a previous limitation of the M912. A bigger screen also accompanies the larger design and with 1366 x 768 resolution available, everything is as crisp and clear as you'd expect. Response and accuracy on the touch panel are significantly improved out-of-the-box, but also compatible with TabCal from Win Tablet 2005 or Win 7 once you get going with the stylus.

The multi-touch mouse pad is a nice touch. A bit too-touchy at times (zoom can be crippling and incorrectly interpreted for scroll at times...) The speakers are great for such a small footprint and at 1366 x 768 work well in a motel room. Webcam is optional and the boost in resolution (1.3 MP) has been something my video contacts have both commented on and appreciated.

Built-in array of BT, HSDPA & Wireless options offer a myriad of choices for connectivity.

Overall construction is an improvement over the M912 in every way. The copper poly-shell was eye-catching enough to help me add this to 'my cart' and the single poly-chrome hinge may seem to little for the job, but once you pivot the screen for the first time--you see just how much extra effort Gigabyte put into properly supporting this joint and its maintaining it feature set throughout the life of the product. The limit to 2GB ram seems limiting, but does not drag on an OS I've tried yet. Easy to access HD and Memory bays make upgrading and or swapping-out a breeze.

Overall there is simply no better touch-screen, tablet-convertible, net-book notebook on the market IMHO.

Those looking for a netbook tablet these days have very limited choices: basically, Asus and Gigabyte are the main ones I considered.

Having already owned another netbook, I knew that my uses were quire specific: browsing the web, typing emails, typing a few documents in word, and reading ebooks. I wanted a tablet specifically so that I could read ebooks in pdf format, having considered (and ultimately discarded) the Kindle DX as an option.

What I did not want was a full blown, video processing, photo editing, power hungry machine. For that I have a Quad-core desktop with 26" screen. I wanted something portable, as a secondary machine for leisure. And as such, the T1028 excells!

I chose the Gigabyte because of the sturdy design, and larger 10inchscreen with wider resolution (1366x768) on X and G models, specifically because of my ebook-reading requirement. I went with the T1028G model, which allows me to access a 3G network for wireless connectivity, when needed. However, the T1028X is very similar, only lacking the 3G module which can be added separately.

So far it has been an excellent product. As other reviewers have commented, the wider resolution of the display means that I don't have to scroll when viewing websites. As an typing device for emails and word documents, the keyboard is very comfortable.

More importantly for me, because of its sturdy swivel mechanism, I enjoy using it as an ebook reading device in tablet mode. Pdf's of course load up as they should, with full rendering of text and graphics, contrary to the Kindle DX which has issues if the pdf is too large or too complicated with multi-columns. As I have an extensive library of pdf's, this is one of my main uses and so far it has been a pleasant experience.

Finally, in terms of physical attributes: battery life is a healthy 4:30-5hrs (haven't measured precisely) with WiFi on and weight is similar (if slightly heavier) to my previous netbook (an Acer Aspire One with 6-cell battery). I don't mind the hump of the 6-cell battery at the back, on the contrary it gives me a "handle" to hold when reading in tablet mode. It is a bit thicker than most netbooks on the market currently (especially the newer, slimmer ones) but not uncomfortably so, in my opinion.

The only add-on I plan to purchase is 2Gb of RAM. Not that it needs it to function normally with XP, but RAM is cheap these days and it is an effortless upgrade which I hope will make performance even more effortless. Oh, and I also plan to buy a nice bag, to carry it with me to the coffee shop to do my reading.

Overall, I am highly pleased with my purchase, and recommend this product to anyone looking for a netbook tablet - especially for ebook reading of pdf documents. Considering that similarly sized tablets were 3-4 times as expensive a couple of years ago (Toshiba Portege tablets come to mind), this product is GREAT value for money!

[Update: 23 May 2010]
I am still very satisfied with the T1028, which performs as intended. Unfortunately, I am very dissapointed with the paint, which has started to peel at the top of the screen, right where you would hold to close and open the laptop. It appears other people are having similar problems as well, so it is possible this is a manufacturing issue.

Buyer beware...

I purchased this netbook about a month ago and I use it for work. It is an AWESOME machine for the price. I don't usually write comments but I want this machine to do well because it is an excellent purchase. The touch screen really works well-pen, pencil, finger they all work. I think the battery life is good but I usually plug it back in between patients (I'm a doctor and it works well with my EMR). The only problem, it fell off my desk and the display screen broke into several pieces. It's the first computer this has happened to. It turns on but the display sceen doesn't work. I hope it can be repaired or replaced. Overall, it is worth every cent.

I purchased this unit specifically for travel. I could not stand lugging a 13" MacBook Pro - the weight adds up very quickly on long trips. And I have zero regrets - because I get the same usability with nearly half the weight + tablet capabilities. I can't believe this type of configuration is not more prevalent in the major PC netbook/tablet manufacturers. I own two Fujitsu tablets T series which are heavy as bricks. This Gigabyte touch screen allows use with or without stylus which is just a fabulous benefit. I'm a designer and the sensitivity is as good as the Wacom Fujitsu screens. Running Autodesk Sketchbook Pro drawing program is a dream. Maybe minor but a plus in my travels is the smaller AC adapter box...about the size of a pistol double stack magazine.

The tipping point for me is the screen resolution. Other netbooks do NOT have the 1366x768 screen resolution - critical with limited screen real estate. I pull the Windows Dock to the Side (not the default bottom) to give me more vertical reading/work space. I don't know how people can live and waste so much time on 1024x768 screens.

The keyboard is quite usable; my only main pet peeve is that they reduced the "." period key to 60% size which is quite an oversight considering that's a frequent tapped item. And FYI the version I purchased had Windows 7 STARTER -- basic preferences like desktop screen background, etc. are limited.

My only design request would be backlit keys or an LED light to shine on the keys like some Lenovo/IBM Thinkpads. Especially in-flight travel or dark conditions, this would round out this puppy to the perfect travel companion. Currently, this is my go-to computer for any travel, hotel, etc.

Beyond these minor things this is a perfect product for the price. I opted for the 2 Gig version and run Adobe CS4 without any hitches. And consider if you're more of a creator (designer, sketcher, etc.) and this is the input device for you. I found the classic laptops were good for consuming/output of data -- not necessarily creating and making things. The tablet and this particular Touchnote tablet will change your behavior, in a good way.

This is a good little computer. It's solid, the keyboard is usable (with a little practice -- not too small for me), the tablet mode is very handy, Windows 7 is nice to use after using Vista on my desktop. The shininess of the display is a little annoying when I'm in a bright setting, but so far that hasn't been too much of a problem, and I expect that this was necessary in the design of a good touch screen.

The fact that this machine came installed with Windows Home Starter was very frustrating at first, as there is no hand-writing recognition support in that version of the OS. Who would put Windows Home Starter on a machine with a touch screen? That part doesn't make any sense at all. So I installed Windows 7 Home Premium and re-installed the hardware drivers that come with the machine (using a large thumb drive which I made boot-able using instructions found online) and now all is well except for a few tiny quirks that don't bother me too much (otherwise I'd probably try harder to figure out how to make this machine look just like the factory settings).

So far the battery life has been fine -- 6 or so hours if I turn off unused devices like blue-tooth and camera and keep the display brightness relatively low.

The speakers are not the best; it's sometimes hard to hear videos, etc. But then I'm used to high-end speakers with a sub-woofer on my desktop computer. Headphones might help. Thankfully, I don't use this computer for watching videos that much.

Running Outlook, Word, Excel, Power Point, and reading PDFs and web pages is what I use this machine for. Keeping everything I do on it sync'ed with my desktop(s) using a service like [...] is really handy. So if I'm working on something on one computer that I then decide to work on, on the other computer (e.g. with better speakers, bigger monitor, etc.), I can easily switch over without needing to use a thumb-drive or emailing files to myself.

I also installed 2 GB of RAM which might help.

OK I've had this for two months and it is fantastic. Though it is not perhaps as "touchy" as an iPad, with the real keyboard and the nice swivel as well as a good touch screen and a bright display, 160GIGs of storage... It is simply tons more performance with all of the standard software from the windows world for less than the price of the fully loaded ipad.

So I am happy with the battery life, the performance, the feel, the swivel, the connectivity the memory and storage... SO what do I not like.

First off I think the fan vents are in the wrong place... When I use it as a tablet I want to be holding it by the battery bump in my left hand... This means that the fan vents are pointing into my lap/chest when holding it close to me. I think they should go out the side where the charger plugs in.

Second the default values for the tilting of the screen when you swipe a circle with your finger are opposite for me... so I had to change the settings in the video options for page up and such to do what I wanted... not a biggie...

But the MAIN PROBLEM which is purely cosmetic is that the top outside of the case with the display has started to lose its paint along the edge. It is where my hand grabs the case to close it... I suspect that perhaps chemicals probably suntan lotion or other has caused the paint to warp and crack. YUCK. I thought the case was molded in this color otherwise I woulda just got black case.

For this reason I have to give it a 4 out of 5.

I am glad I got this Gigabyte 1028x even though I had only heard of Gigabyte for motherboards and videocards. The price was right for a
netbook with both a high resolution screen and ability to rotate and be like a notepad type screen. Recently used it in a childs
invention fair to show their powerpoint of high resolution images to attendees and it did fine, even though it was a 10" screen!
When I got it I upgraded to the 2 GB memory first. I was happy to the 6 Cell battery that I have easily gotten over 7 hours of
light use with it. As for getting wireless internet at other locations it was a breeze compared to my T60 Lenovo/IBM 15 inch laptop.
The other one would take 1/2 an hour rebooting it and even more to get a connection at some places while this got on without practically
having to tell it to look for a wireless location. It found them and then I tell it to consider it a public location and next it connected
with no problem. I dont travel without the AC adaptor just in case I need for heavier computing but probably don't even need to!
I have used with Skype, spreadsheets, videos, as a Playon Server for HULU even, and it did them fine in those roles.

I dont expect it to mulitask as it is a single core cpu but the trade off is long battery life with a better resolution of their
newer higher end dual core with I hear not more than 4 hrs of use without a recharge. I am very satisfied for the money spent
even after the upgrade to 2 GB of this multi-use netbook. The key thing I wish it has been pre-installed with Windows 7 versus
Windows Starter as some of the other similar netbooks but at higher price point do offer. But not a deal killer.
It runs Office applications fine without it. I read the Windows 7 Starter was designed to be good for lower powered computing
the netbooks do offer.
I may still try upgrading to Windows 7 but dont feel the need to. I just wonder how the non-starter version would handle use of the touch screen better for some Windows apps.

I considered Android tablet, but all the program I need to run were Windows base, so I decided to try this one.
I got mine used from Amazon.
This item was practically new, and came with Windows 7 Starter. It ran fine as it came, but I updated to Windows 7 Home Premium, and 2G memory.

Since I didn't upgrade with Anytime Upgrade path (I had enough licenses for Home Premium,) I had to install as fresh install.
After I installed Premium, I didn't need Gigabyte utilities. Just enabled Window 7 screen keyboard, hand writing recognition. Hand writing recognition working great with stylus.
To rotate screen, you have to use Windows screen setting, so it's not one touch as Gigabyte utility, but Windows version will let you rotate any directions.

So far, I haven't pushed battery life, but couple of hours use is no problem, and I put on standby when I don't use it for a few days, and when I wake it up, comes on fairly quickly and not much battery drain for the standby period.

Two thing I wish this one had.
1. I wish this screen was multi-touch. Windows 7 Premium supports it (Starter wouldn't support it.)

2. Wish this CPU had more processing power, and support 64bit OS. It does slow down quite bit when I open several windows.

Still for the simple stuff I intended to use for, it's a great item.