iPad, here’s your stinkin’ iPad!
I’ve got mixed feelings about the iPad. on one hand it’s a beautiful purpose built device, and on the other, it has its deficiencies… no flash/silverlight, no webcam, no multi tasking, no widescreen, closed os etc.
However, Andy Coates got me to thinking about the Eee PC T91MT that we used as a demo machine during our Windows 7 media demos later last year.
Feeling less in love with the iPad all of a sudden.
So, things about the Eee PC T91MT, check it …
8.9” Multitouch display.
Convertible keyboard for proper text input (unlike many other convertible tablets, this keyboard locks into place quite solidly)
Runs Windows 7 so you get all of the Win7 touch lovin: gestures, handwriting recognition etc
Runs Windows 7 so that you get a full OS meaning your can run almost any app that you already run today.
Ohh, and it also means you can run Silverlight, Flash and anything else you damn well please.
You want eBooks? It runs Kindle for Windows, a very awesome multi touch Windows app.
Webcam, 32GB SSD.
Weighs 960g.
Did I mention it runs Windows 7? Yes, from memory Windows 7 multitasks :-)
Ohh, yeah, forgot to mention, it usually sells for $685 or less.
So, for less than the cost of an iPad, you get a fully functional tablet with a fully functional operating system at a very compelling price that you can buy today.
Food for thought, no?
-mk
Does it have an iPad emulator?
@vaughan: of course it does. Disable flash, stick tape over the camera, uninstall the kindle reader, turn off all the USB ports, only ever run app at once and you’re there!
;)
I don’t think the iPad has been designed for geeks like us – it’s a computer/internet appliance for everyone. A lot of people I know never had a computer before their iPhone. I also think it’ll be hacked to run non-apple store apps fairly quickly. SSH into your server from this – I could live with that.
Hehehe, nice one Ben. Still, it ain’t as sexy as the iPad. But does that really matter?
RT @delic8genius: If only @asusau was visionary enough to seed a Eee PC T91MT with me, god knows i have the reach http://bit.ly/9q453T pls RT
RT @delic8genius: If only @asusau was visionary enough to seed a Eee PC T91MT with me, god knows i have the reach http://bit.ly/9q453T p …
if @asusau was visionary they woulld seed me an Eee PC T91MT, Jebus knows i have the reach http://bit.ly/9q453T pls RT
Ok, so I loooove the Windows7 platform (probably a little bit more than humanly natural), and I’m also the proud owner of the Eee PC T91MT; but I’m still very eager to get my hands on the iPad and put the two head to head. …once I do I’ll post back with my thoughts.
@Ben, Harsh but fair buddy; love your style.
RT @delic8genius: if @asusau was visionary they woulld seed me an Eee PC T91MT, Jebus knows i have the reach http://bit.ly/9q453T
iPad, here’s your stinkin’ iPad! http://bit.ly/9PTU76
RT @J4Jonathan: iPad, here’s your stinkin’ iPad! http://bit.ly/9PTU76
RT @delic8genius: if @asusau was visionary they woulld seed me an Eee PC T91MT, Jebus knows i have the reach http://bit.ly/9q453T pls RT
RT @delic8genius: if @asusau was visionary they woulld seed me an Eee PC T91MT, Jebus knows i have the reach http://bit.ly/9q453T pls RT
that’s exactly why Microsoft and the rest of the PC camp just don’t get it…
.. the iPad is a totally “new product category” aimed at a market that currently doesn’t use a computer or doesn’t really need all the complexities of a PC.
Feature, feature, feature, feature. List ‘em, put checks and crosses against ‘em. Rank ‘em and score ‘em. Go nuts, but you’re missing the point: the iPad’s going to be successful or not because of how well it does a few things, not because of how much capacity it has to do a hundred things very few consumers may ever want to do.
Customers are never going to need to know how to use a computer to do everything the iPad can do.
And each subsequent version of the iPad will probably seem to us geeks like it’s capable of doing less, like it’s less flexible, like it’s even more locked-in. And the vast majority of the community who are not geeks will love it all the more for that. They don’t want a Swiss army knife, they want one good blade that just cuts a frickin’ apple without having to choose which blade to use, wonder if they have it the right way up, and how to get it out and back in again.
Sorry @tom, i don’t belong to a camp. I’m just throwing some thinking out there for those comparing on spec.
@alan, i agree with you entirely, its far more than the specs.
All I’m saying is, for this geek, the Asus could very much give me what i need and more. I will still be very tempted by the iPad when I’m in the US in march. Wonder if I will resist.
@delicatege, ah… the predicament… give in to the inner Geek and purchasing the latest gadget you must… why else would you have people that buy a new iPhone/ iPod every time there is a minor upgrade…
@gregheadaz Why would anyone want an #iPad when this is available http://bit.ly/bbgYRe – BTW: Did you see my latest blog on iPhone Vs BB
I already have an iPod Touch. Why would I need an oversized iPod Touch that no longer fits in my pocket? ;-)
So, it would have been really cool if you had one to show in your demo’s not just talk about them.
Fell kinda flat when you were talking about them in Canberra Monday,
80 people, and no hw to show… :(
Wow, what a brilliant alternative to the iPad… great find! If I ever get an urge to consider buying an iPad, I’ll go for this instead.
Though, the battery life is only 5 hours on the Eee PC T91MT (not sure about the iPad and haven’t researched into it but surely they’ve got it running on more battery life than that?)
The T91MT has been on the market for months, and hasn’t exactly been a breakout hit. It’s ranked #26 on Amazon in the netbook category, and even ASUS has 12 other netbooks that are bigger sellers. The reason is simple: multitouch Windows 7 just isn’t a good experience overall. The T91MT has a touch screen, a trackpad, a stylus, and a keyboard, and all of them are probably necessary at one point or another, because touch-enabled Windows 7 is so schizophrenic. You need the stylus to manipulate the tiny scrollbars and interface widgets in the desktop-oriented Windows, so that necessitates a resistive screen that won’t work nearly as well as the iPad’s capacitive screen.
The iPad, meanwhile, only has a touch screen, because that’s all that it needs. The entire operating system, and all of its 140,000+ apps are 100% optimized for a touch-control experience. Gestures are effortless, and interface animations are smooth and responsive to the lightest touch (I’m basing that statement on my experience with the iPhone), unlike the ASUS, which requires quite a bit of pressure because of its resistive screen. The iPad’s lack of Flash (and plugins generally) is a valid complaint, but the tradeoff is that within its self-imposed boundaries, the iPad experience is nearly flawless. Apps load instantly, and they’re generally simple, attractive, well-designed, intuitive, and fast, and require nothing more than a finger to operate.
Until and unless Microsoft creates a variant of Windows with a redesigned finger-based interface, and prods developers to rework their software offerings to enable a fully immersive touch experience, machines like the T91MT are doomed to failure — or at best, mediocre sales as a niche device. Maybe Microsoft has an ace up its sleeve with its upcoming Windows 7 Mobile… we’ll see. If not, they will likely cede this segment of the market to Apple, if they haven’t already.
@whibr01 t91mt http://bit.ly/9q453T
@Ben Buchanan
That gave me a hearty lmao.
@buddhistMonkey
“The iPad, meanwhile, only has a touch screen, because that’s all that it needs. The entire operating system, and all of its 140,000+ apps are 100% optimized for a touch-control experience. Gestures are effortless, and interface animations are smooth and responsive to the lightest touch (I’m basing that statement on my experience with the iPhone), unlike the ASUS, which requires quite a bit of pressure because of its resistive screen. The iPad’s lack of Flash (and plugins generally) is a valid complaint, but the tradeoff is that within its self-imposed boundaries, the iPad experience is nearly flawless. Apps load instantly, and they’re generally simple, attractive, well-designed, intuitive, and fast, and require nothing more than a finger to operate.”
In other words, it’s an oversized, clunky (and overprized!) iPod Touch. Why on Earth would anyone in his right mind pay money for that garbage instead of getting a iPod Touch or a iPhone with the same functions and capabilities plus their portability?