Customer Reviews

GIGABYTE TouchNote T1028 10.1" Touch Screen WXGA TFT-LCD / N280 1.66Ghz / 1366x768 / Black LED / 2G SDRAM / 250 HDD / 6 Cell / New Version - Windows 7

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a software engineer I am VERY picky about the hardware I use, and the Gigabyte T1028 is truly fantastic. I immediately replaced the supplied Windows 7 Starter edition with Windows 7 Professional, using the supplied driver disk to update hardware drivers. The installation went flawlessly.

In no particular order, here is a list of positive features:
. The T1028 runs very quickly and smooth. Quite responsive.
. The tablet-style touch screen is nearly perfect.
. The display quality is excellent!
. The built-in card reader is very convenient for data transfer.
. USB ports on left and right side is quite convenient.
. Works perfectly with my Logitech VX Nano wireless mouse and external DVD drive.
. The keyboard, though small as it must be, is easy to type on.
. The T1028 is well built...I take it in an out of my car every day and it shows no sign of scratches, loose hinges, etc.

The only minor "con" is that the built-in speaker is low quality - however what can you expect in a Netbook? The audio from the headphone jack is quite sufficient and sounds fine.

Highly recommended!

Where to start? I dont know what this device is but its not just a netbook. It has the power and speed to act as a notebook. It has a near-full size keyboard. Its screen swivels and then turns into a touchscreen kindle-like device. It has the speed to run Windows 7 Professional (you have to pay extra to upgrade from starter). It is fast enough to play full motion DVD video over its wireless N from my Windows Media Center. It can do touch screen with your finger or stylus. Its touchpad has multiple finger actions. You can change from landscape to portrait.

There is a slight hesitation in the CPU when tasked but for the size, cost and intention, the hardware is fast and well suited. I can run Slingbox video streaming while multi-tasking and surfing the Internet. There is a limitation in the video card. It cant run DirectvtoPC or play BluRay video. Its not powerful enough. But so far that is the only limitation I have found. I am not a PC gamer so I dont know if this can handle games but pushing streaming wireless video is pretty intensive.

I thought about getting the iPad but didnt want the restrictions that come with it. I have an iPhone and love the user navigation. It is well thought out and made for non-techie users. This device is not as intuitive but is more powerful, more flexible and can do everything a PC and netbook can do without the size and bulk. The extra size battery is great for additional battery life but does add to some weight and size. One advantage, it acts a handle when running this in portrait touchscreen mode.

Overall this is a well designed, feature rich powerful netbook/notebook/touchscreen/iBook device. I havent tested everything yet but thats part of the appeal for this device. It has a built in camera, SD card slots and VGA hookup I havent tried yet. I highly recommend this device for folks that want it all. And its been extremely stable with full driver support in Windows 7. Kudos Gigabyte.

I purchased this Tablet Netbook when I saw that Microsoft had cancelled the netbook that they were working on. I had heard that netbooks were running pretty fast on Windows 7, and I was encouraged by the reviews I had read on this item. My hopes were to: (1) Have a small PC that would be easier to use while traveling, especially on airplanes or on vacations when I only needed to get to email, (2) Use this in meetings to take notes with OneNote (an app that I grew to love many years ago with some older tablets - but they had been too bulky to make using OneNote's handwriting practical), (3) use this as my personal PC (replacing my rarely used MacBook) to store music (iTunes), photos and other personal files, (4) still be able to use all of my Microsoft desktop apps, as well as the Internet explorer browser to get to some web apps that required internet explorer.

This PC was a letdown in almost all of those categories. Here are some of the highs and lows:

Keyboard: The keyboard is a pretty good sized for such a small machine. However, they've made a few decisions about placement of keys (such as the "/" key) that has forced me to spend a lot of time correcting typos. I'll probably get used to that so, overall, the keyboard is "good".

Mouse: The mouse seems similar to most tablet PCs - but I find it very awkward to use (even more awkward than mice that are typically included on laptop PCs).

Screen: The screen could probably be 20% larger. When you open thnis machine, you immediately see a broad border around the screen. The screen surface is also highly reflective - I can't write on the tablet with it lying flat because I see too much light reflection in the screen - so I have to prop up the machine with something. The resolution is very good for a screen this size. Unfortunately, this also means that it is cramming a lot of resolution into a very small screen - fonts are sometimes very difficult for me to read (if you're under 40 and/or have good vision, this may not be a problem for you).

Tablet: The big reason I purchased this machine was because it was a tablet - I could write directly on the screen. However, this screen is sensitive to both touch and to pen input. So, if you rest your hand on the screen while writing, it doesn't work. It appears that the touch capability was intended to make this "ipad like" - where you can click on icons without having to use the mouse or keyboard. Unfortunately, this capability of of very limited utility - the handwriting would be a much better capability (in my opinion), but it is almost useless for the handwriting because of this limitation. I give the tablet screen two stars.

Speed: For the most part, this little machine is speedy enough for most needs. I can use Outlook, Word, Excel and Powerpoint without a hitch (although the screen and mouse problems negate much of this usefulness). However, one of the main reasons I purchased this was to be able to store my music and, on occasion, listen to the music directly off of this machine. When I try to play my iTunes music, there are many "slowdowns" in the music - it's tolerable, but very annoying (especially since my phone can play music more smoothly than this device!)


I sure would like to find a netbook that addresses these issues (or even a low end laptop PC). I believe there is a market out there for individuals who want to stay productive in a Windows environment, but with a very small form factor and tablet capabilities. Sadly, this device falls far short of my expectations for this.

I have an iPhone 3G so when I saw the iPad I thought this is something I would like to have. But I didn't like the fact
that I had no access to Flash. Although Apple has execellent resolution on their products I wanted something more than a glorified pad. So I started looking for touch pads but I wanted Internet access and the ability to run my office programs.

I live in Japan and I wanted my manuals and OS in English. PC Micro Store did not want to ship it to Japan and cancelled my order.
And I would have given less stars, but I had it shipped to FBC USA INC,Gardenia, California in which it was delivered to me in Japan and it only took 3 days to get to my door just outside of Tokyo.

I was a bit apprehensive knowing I was taking a big chance that the product might not be what I expected. The surprise was it lived up to my expectations and more. I ordered the ram upgrade but I intend to go with Windows 7 Ultimate since I need access to the Japanese language having some Japanese software. I was also thinking SSD. No moving parts better battery and hardly any heat from this hard drive.

The resolution is great if not excellent. The sound with headsets is a great joy I think real stereo. There is a bit of a learning curve for the touch screen. Battery life is 5-6 hours if you have proper power management. You really can't go wrong with this TouchNote and the Gigabyte site is pretty comprehensive. I really like this product and I like the brown color which I think is a touch of class. (With battery attached 8in wide 10.5" long and 1.5" thick about 3lbs) The best feature is being able to upgrade memory and hard drive.

I have had the TouchNote for a couple of weeks. It is everything I had hoped for. The screen is good (but not as crisp and clear as my MacBook). It runs app quite well. I really wanted this thing for the touch screen capabilities and these are awesome. I can use the paint tool in Corel Photopaint and it is much better than using a mouse or a touchpad device like Wacom Bamboo. It is like you are really painting. I find myself intuitively clicking with the touch screen rather than the mouse. I thought I would mount a stylus because they are very useful when the pointing has to be more precise than a finger affords. Then I noticed there was one built in. The notebook is very light and the battery lasts forever. There are some built-in apps that are very useful, e.g., an on screen keyboard (for when you have the keyboard folded under for use as a tablet) and a rotator that changes the screen from portrait to Kindle-like landscape. I plan to use this for travel and for image analysis. It is so much easier to draw an ROI directly on an image, rather than using a mouse or external pad. This is a great computer and may see more use than my MacBook. The MacBook overall is nicer, but it doesn't have a touch screen, and is heavier. I was hoping the iPad would be more of a computer than it is. Once I saw how limited it is, I got the TouchNote. 5 STARS baby!

I bought this unit for a friend and spent 7 hours straight on it whilst changing it to Win 7 Ultimate in Spanish and loading it with drivers, utilities, software and then tweaking, so this is the extent of my knowledge.
I own a Lenovo S103t that seems near identical in usage, but it is quite different and this is what I would most like to share with folks who are contemplating the purchase of the Gigabyte (GB) unit.
The GB is superbly well built, IMO.
It felt solid, looked smart and was a pleasure to use the entire time.
It is not quite as fast (tiny difference) as the Lenovo, by way of it sporting an N280 CPU, rather than the N450 which is a lot more suited for Win 7 systems.
The actual power difference is only 5% to 10% but the N450 seems to have superior communication with the SATA hard drives.
That being said, the GB was still quick enough and should not factor into the decision to purchase it or not, unless there was an identical model with the N450, at the same price.
I could go through every component and make comparisons but the truth is that both the GB and the Lenovo units are excellent in virtually all aspects.
So allow me to explain the major differences and why these differences would play a major role in deciding if you want to buy the GB.
The touchscreens are as different as oil and water.
One is resisitive and the other is capacitive.
The results of that difference is that one (the GB) is stylus friendly and the other (the Lenovo) is finger friendly. The GB would be (IMO) a more professional business type machine, which excels in handwriting. If you want to hand write documents or sign them with precision, the GB is a better choice. The Lenovo can do it too with a special stylus, but not as well.
On the other hand, the Lenovo's capacitive screen allows for 2 finger touch which allows you to use many apps that require that capacity.
The ability to expand and/or shrink internet pages and/or photos by simply reaching out to the screen and spreading two fingers to expand and closing your fingers to diminish size, is absolutely marvelous, practical and lots of fun too.
So that is the big difference between the two. If you are wondering why the Lenovo is chosen as a comparison, it is because it is one of the few machines in this class (10 inch netbook) that has a capacitive screen. In short, the GB is still fun to use but specializes in business usages. The obvious example of the advantage of a resistive screen that works so well with a stylus, is when someone sends you a document that is to be signed, rather than printing it out, signing it then scanning it to send it back, the GB would allow you to simply sign it on screen and then send it back. Also, students appear to be attracted by the idea of being able to scribble notes in class on resistive screen units. For me, the choice is quite simple. If I want to play with my netbook, I prefer the capacitive screen from the Lenovo, so as to operate it in a similar fashion as iPhones and iPads. If I am looking for professional usage, the GB is the best choice. Both units offer much greater value than one would expect to get at that price. Both units have excellent keyboards for their price range, both are fast enough, although not very powerful.(one must pay attention to not keep too many things open at the same time, lest the computer slow down in a serious way. Having 12 webpages open, along with two Messenger programs and Skype, is sufficient to slow it down. The next page you open will take twice as long as usual.)
Hopefully, I have explained the differences well enough to benefit anyone considering the purchase of a touchscreen netbook.

If you have made the right choice and want a business type touchscreen netbook, the GB is superb and I would highly recommend it. It's beautiful classy looking, solid and functional computer.
It is the type of computer one feels proud to open in public and it attracts attention from everyone around.

My HP DV2000 crashed and so my dad bought me a new laptop. Well, this is the laptop that he bought for me. I was so excited to use it because of its touchscreen. As soon as I started using it, it never disappointed me. I upgraded the Win7 starter to Win7 Ultimate and it runs very smoothly. I installed a program that is known to crash on Desktops and laptops, but with my netbook, it runs pretty well. I don't like that the CPU speed slows down so quickly especially when I have more than 5 programs running all at the same time. However, for its size, this netbook is pretty fast. The handwriting recognition is good, though, I can't lean my hand on the screen while writing. That's a little bit annoying but I got used to it.

This netbook is good for easy tasks and even heavy duty ones, based on my experience. I highly recommend this netbook.

Only thing that I wish they can change is the processor. I wish they can have a netbook like T1028 that has a faster processor.

No offense to Amazon and their Kindle EBook reader but I much rather have 1 device that does more then 1 thing and this GIGABYTE Tablet does in fact perform that. If anyone does the math, an EBook reader no matter how many Bells and Whistles it may have, only performs 1 function and that is to have the user READ a book in electronic format. Many of us read our books and magazines in the most common and some strangest places. This Touch Tablet was bought by me for a friend that was stuck on getting a Kindle. My friend has certain needs and based on those needs, I recommended this. He is a Casual game player, a fan of Bigfish games. He likes to surf the internet and do his email. He has MP3's and is an [...] listener. The T1028 performs this and many other functions but you have to weigh the pros and cons yourself. The most important compelling reason that I chose this over most netbooks or touch tablets is the fact that it has a SIM card slot for wireless communication. Not many others have this function. Hope this helps.