ASUS Eee PC T101 and other tablets may be on hold or worse

Posted by | 07/20/2009 | 10 Comments

asus-eee-pc-t101h-1Word out of Electronista is the ASUS Eee PC T101 tablet may be on hold ’til September, depending on sales performance of the T91. Worse yet, this may be only the tip of the iceberg for their tablet-style netbooks.

ASUS may also delay other future tablet netbooks, including the T101, scale down their production or cancel production altogether, the sources claimed.

Ouch. Not encouraging news for the tablet form factor. I mean, yes, it’s not running a version of Windows with tablet functionality, but it’s still an affordable convertible with a touchscreen. If it tanks, I see the blame being pinned on the tablet price premium (as usual) and lack of compelling usage scenarios to justify that price.

Via Engadget

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Category: Hardware

About the Author (Author Profile)

My name is Mark Sumimoto; I am Sumocat. I dabble in all areas of mobile computing, but my focus is Windows-based Tablet PCs and pen input. They’ve been part of my arsenal since 2004, and I’m proud to have pioneered the field of ink blogging, earning a spot as a Microsoft MVP for Touch and Tablets in the process. My current tools include a Fujitsu Lifebook T900, TEGA v2, and iPhone 4. Email me: sumocat [at] notebooks.com
  • Medic

    No worries. The trend now is the touch screen keyboard on mobile devices. An achilles heel will arise sooner or later on the input factor.

    Already there are many reviews on the fact of the spacing issue.

    Fact is that text input on a touch screen with digital ink will still be more ergnomical and natural, thus useful. The technology is already here. If only someone could invest more time in making inking more intuitive and make the ink to text recognition better. That will bring the tablet pc back in the spotlight. The usability of a tablet easily arise then. A basic platform is already there (i’m thinking Onenote and other notetaking apps).

  • SAM

    The 10″ is the one I’ve been waiting for, hope they still
    come out with it.

  • http://innovatingtouch.com Prometheus Fire

    Unfortunate, that leaves only 2 computers this year in the Netbook/Tablet realm (this, based on size and price). The Asus T91 which is getting mediocre-to-good reviews and the Always Innovating Touch Book (coming soon).

    While neither of these tablets/netbooks meet the standards of inking and mobile computing that Gottabemobile readers are used to and expect, they are setting a new standard for affordable tablet-style computing. If they can be considered 1st Gen. Netbook Tablets, then 2nd and 3rd should be more refined and still affordable.

  • Pyxus

    What about the viliv x70 and Archos tablet coming out in September ? They look promising….

  • John in Norway

    Kohjinsha also make various netbooks/tablets. Unfortunately, where they all fail is in not having an active digitiser. I remember saying to myself years ago that if they start pushing touch screens only there’s going to be heartbreak ahead for us inkers. Glad my m200 is still chugging along (indoors only, of course).

  • djasli

    I wish HP would update the specs of their TC1100. I am using one now as my one and only PC, and always on tablet mode, without the keyboard attached.

    It is on Tablet v.1 (w/o SP2), therefore the TIP still has the Letter Recognition (Graffiti) on it; and I am very good at it. That is how I input text.

    Mostly, I ink digitally, either via PDF Annotator, ON or Journal, and convert to text when I need to. Most of the time, I don’t.

    Best form-factor Tablet around, even if it is few years old. I am not interested in resistive touchscreen. Active digitizer is the way to go for best inking.

    If ever HP, or anyone else please, just built an updated TC1100 (TC2000, anyone?) with the same form-factor, I’ll be all over it in an instant.

  • SAM

    The Asus 10″ won’t have an active digitizer?

    For some reason I thought it was going to have a dual
    type digitizer.

    Must be getting it mixed up with something else

  • kawatwo

    Or it could just be the lack of a removable battery and/or decent battery life. If the built in battery could last a whole day of computin’ there might be more takers.

  • http://innovatingtouch.com Prometheus Fire

    The Viliv X70 and the archos tablet do look good. A lot pre-order promotions are circulating for the Viliv, but one reason those two devices don’t compete in this area is price. A device that costs $800 (the viliv) doesn’t compate directly with one in the $400-$500 range.

    As tech-heads, we see the promise of the cleaner and better technology behind devices like the Viliv, but looking at things as general consumers do then we need to realize that dollar value rules.

  • Sam

    I too am still using my TC1100 as my main computer. I still love it. Still the best form factor I have ever seen in a tablet and I have been looking for a new one for several years because the TC is pretty slow. I actually ran into a guy a few years ago that works at HP with the guy that created the TC1XXX form factor and he confirmed that it is totally dead. Not that it is any surprise but I am surprised nobody has made anything similar. AFAIK they sold very well for tablets

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