Asus EeePC Touch Netbook Computer Review

The introduction of the Apple iPad has everyone talking about tablets. New slate tablets are coming on the market now almost daily. In this market, one device is getting virtually ignored: the tablet PC.

A tablet PC is a laptop that can convert into a tablet. These machines generally run Windows, making them instantly compatible with the average user's home computer. These machines generally come with an 11- or 12-inch screen and a price tag of over a thousand dollars.

Asus, the company that put netbooks on the map, has finally made tablet PCs available to the average user's budget. The EeePC Touch T101MT is a netbook-sized and powered laptop that sports a touch screen . For around the cost of a low-end iPad you can get a full-featured netbook tablet that will do everything that a tablet can do and more!

I purchased this EeePC Touch PC at Newegg for $449.99. It has a 1.66 GHz dual-core Atom processor, 1 Gb of RAM, 250 Gb hard drive, webcam, built-in mic, VGA out port, 3 USB ports, SD card reader, Ethernet port, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Windows 7 Starter. A web search showed this particular laptop (classified as a netbook on most sites) ranging in price from $449 to $589. Some similar models contained a single-core processor at a lower price point so shoppers need to be aware of the specs before purchasing.

This device contains a 10.1" touchscreen, making it slightly larger than the older 9" netbooks. When placed beside my old Acer Aspire One netbook this device was slightly wider and deeper but just a touch thinner than the Acer. They both weigh about the same.

It contains a chicklet style keyboard; the keys have a nice feel when pressed. The right shift key is smaller than the left key; I have hit the wrong key several times as a result of the size difference. Other than that one little key I find I can touch type quite intuitively after just a single night with the device.

The speakers that come with the device are quite acceptable for a netbook; this reviewer was expecting cheap, tinny sounding speakers with almost nonexistent volume and was pleasantly surprised by both the volume and the quality of the sound system. When I used the headphone port to connect the netbook to my car's audio system the volume was very pleasing in comparison to other devices I have used in the past.

The battery life is excellent out of the box; this machine has up to 6.5 hours of battery life. I have 85% battery left as I write this and the computer says I have 5 hours and 45 minutes of runtime left. This blows certain netbook tablets (like the new Dell Inspiron Duo) away.

While the computer comes with input utilities like a keyboard and a handwriting recognition module, this reviewer found them to be awkward and slow. I turned them off to instead use Microsoft's built-in Onscreen Keyboard and handwriting recognition module.

Some of the software bundled with the system is quite nice: the notepad feature allows you to quickly hand write notes and access them using your system tray or the dock at the top of your screen. The notepad software from Asus does not appear to be as sensitive as the notepad program for it would not register periods at the end of sentences. The online radio feature is merely a time limited trial edition so the reviewer did not explore it for a full version does not come standard with the system.

This computer comes with a cloud backup feature and 500 gigabytes of cloud computing storage for your backups with the built-in Asus Webstorage software for the first year of use, so that you can safely back up your important files.

The Asus EeePC Touch comes with a special button that serves two purposes: it alters the orientation of your screen when the computer is powered on, then activates the ExpressGate software while off for the "instant on" experience.

This reviewer tried the ExpressGate feature but to her extreme disappointment discovered that it does not work with the touchscreen. Touches to the screen were ignored as the system only recognized the built-in keyboard and touchpad.

Another downside to the ExpressGate software is that it immediately tries to drop you into Google Chrome and does not give you the option of selecting another feature. This reviewer had to fiddle with the system for several minutes to back out of Chrome just so that she could set up the wireless!

The music player on ExpressGate is useless; it plays neither Mp3s nor WMA files out of the box though it gives you an option to download an appropriate plugin for MP3 files. This reviewer tried 4 times to download and install the plugin and every time the installation failed.

When you use the computer with Windows your experience greatly improves. Microsoft has put a lot of effort into touchscreens and it shows on the EeePC Touch. After installing Microsoft Office I easily used OneNote to handwrite pages of material.

One thing this reviewer noted is that while the dual-core processor raised the speed and capabilities of this machine extensively, 1 GB of memory is insufficient if you are a serious multitasking computer user. I recommend that purchasers upgrade the memory to the maximum 2 GB for the best computing experience possible.

Asus raised the bar with the creation of this PC, however the bundled software is insufficient and users will be happier sticking with the features and utilities built into Windows 7 than dealing with the software that Asus provides.

One must note that until the iPad hit the scene that tablet PCs were a niche product with prices ranging from $1,000 to $4,000 or more with a Windows-based operating system so some software creators are playing catch up with the technology. This netbook is one of the first to put touchscreen technology in an affordable package for Windows users. The fact that this computer is not just a slate but has a fully-functional keyboard and touchpad places it in a league separate from the slates running Android or the Apple iPads.

You can take this machine and use it like a traditional laptop then flip the screen and use it like a tablet without the need of a separate device or operating system and the compatibility issues one encounters when dealing with multiple systems. With a sub-$500 price tag, this device could easily become the go-to computer for students who want something to not only do their homework on, but to hand-write and record notes on.

One disappointing thing Asus did to keep the prices low was to offer Windows Starter as an option for the operating system. While Windows Starter is acceptable for standard netbooks it lacks the tablet-specific features of Windows Home Premium and above. An upgrade from Starter to Home Premium really brings this machine to life! Not only does it enable multi-touch gestures on par with the Apple iPad, it gives you the option of typing or handwriting to enter text into the system. In fact, I am handwriting this article into Microsoft Word right now! The handwriting recognition module learns as you use it and is delightfully accurate out of the box. Home Premium comes with Windows Journal, a program similar to OneNote that enables users to handwrite lists, notes, or whatever else they desire along with an assortment of other programs designed specifically for tablets.

If you have the desire to make a quantum leap in your computing experience I seriously recommend investing in the Asus EeePC Touch. This machine is portable, has good battery life and has the potential to become your go-to computing device.