Amazing review courtesy of – alltouchtablet.com
Netvertible is a term that defines a convertible tablet PC with netbook hardware inside. It’s not an official term, but this also happens with touch tablets, which don’t have really an official naming yet. A netvertible is the best choice when it comes to buying a tablet PC shaped computer with the advantages that derive from the netbook specifications: size, battery life and price. To be frank with you there are also downsides to a netbook tablet PC and the biggest is performance, or the lack of it.
If you think netbooks are slow wait till you get your hands on a netvertible, which is even slower because of all the software that needs to run in background consuming precious CPU time just to detect and translate user touch in cursor coordinates (and sometimes levels of pressure). This doesn’t mean that it’s not usable, but it’s not what you would call a seamless user experience. In this article I’m going to make a list of the best convertible netbook tablet PCs on market today and list their pros and cons. At the end of the article you’ll also find a list of the upcoming netvertibles. So without further due, let’s jump directly into the fire with the first contender.
ASUS EEE PC T91MT – 434$
This is probably one of the oldest netvertibles on market today, but it’s got what it takes to be one of the most portable out there. There are actually two models,one that sells for 434$ and comes with Windows XP and a 16GB SSD + 16 GB SD Card bundle and one that sells for a little bit more, at 479$, and brings Windows 7 and a 32 GB SSD Drive.
Main specs:
- 8.9 inch screen with multitouch and 1024 x 600 pixels resolution and 256 levels of pressure detection
- Intel Atom Z520(1.33GHz, 512KB L2 Cache, FSB 533MHz
- 1GB RAM (max capacity is 2 GB)
- 32GB SSD or 16 GB SSD + 16 GB SD Card slot options are available
- two SD card slots for further expansion
- 8.86 inches, 6.46 inches, 0.99 inches and 2.12 pounds wight
- WLAN 802.11b/g/n @2.4GHz, Bluetooth2.1 + EDR
- Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows XP Home Edition options
- 4.5 to 5 hours typical battery life
- black and white colors are available
ASUS EEE PC T91MT has the advantage of very low wight which is always great when dealing with tablets that you’re supposed to hold in hand all day long. At a little bit over two pounds you’ll hardly feel the need to hold it with two hands. The Atom Z CPU is a little slow by today’s netbook standards but it gets the job done rather nice thanks to the low power consumption and is helped by the speedy SSD drive. Overall this is one of the most quiet netvertibles out there, another thing you’ll appreciate.
ASUS EEE PC T91MT can be used with both finger or stylus, so you can write on it and interacting with the OS by flipping your fingers all over. A customized ASUS touch optimized interface is available on demand. You can read more about ASUS EEE PC T91MT here on the official site or watch our video review.
Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t – 499$
Moving on to larger screens we get the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t with a 10.1 inch multitouch screen, capacitive model. This essentially means very sensitive touch inputs can be detected accurately by the S10-3t. Also this will increase power consumption a bit over classic resistive touchscreens and overall weight went up to 3.31 lbs, not much more than the ASUS EEE PC T91MT, but enough to realize it’s heavier to hold in hand for prolonged periods of time. Amazon lists only one model, at 499$ but more expensive models are down the pipe and will bring a slightly faster CPU (@1.83GHz) and 2 GB RAM.
Main specs:
- 10.1 inch LED capacitive multitouch display with 1024×600 pixels resolution
- Intel Pinetrail Atom N450 CPU at 1.66GHz
- 1 GB DDR2 RAM, upgradable to 2 GB
- 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
- Intel GMA 3150 with shared graphics memory
- Windows 7 Starter
- 8 cell battery for up to 10 hours battey life
- 6.9 inches, 11 inches, 0.59 inches and 3.31 lbs
- 802.11b/g/nBluetooth, 1.3 megapixel webcam
On paper and in real life the Lenovo S10-3t is faster than the ASUS EEE PC T91MT, but it’s also heavier and noisier, two things you might want to consider when buying a netbook tablet if mobility and noise is what you seek for. If you want to read more about the Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t you can do so here, where we’ve wrote more about it. We also have a comparison article with the ASUS EEE PC T101MT.
ASUS EEE PC T101MT – 499$
This is one of the most mediated convertible netbook today as it was announced a while ago and just surfaced in some online stores. Reviews are positive now, as the problems we’ve signaled in the first preview and hands on of T101MT were solved. If you get one now expect the same build quality and performance you get from the Lenovo S10-3t. Your choice comes down to price and whether you need to use a stylus (possible on the T101MT resistive screen).
Main specs:
- 10.1 inch LED resistive multitouch display with 1024×600 pixels resolution (multitouch needs Windows 7 Home Premium)
- Intel Pinetrail Atom N450 CPU at 1.66GHz
- 1 GB DDR2 RAM, upgradable to 2 GB
- 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
- 35W/h polymer battery rated for up to 6.5 hours of use
- WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth
- 0.3 megapixel Webcam
- Windows 7 Starter
- 10.39 inches, 7.13 inches, 1.22 inches and 2.86 pounds
Compared to Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t, the ASUS EEE PC T101MT is lighter, supports stylus handwriting, but has a lower battery life. The screen responsiveness is worse, but not by much, as you can see in the video demo from our second review of T101MT.
Gigabyte TouchNote T1028 – 538$
This is one of the most interesting convertible netbook tablets around, from my point of view, as it features a 720p resolution screen with a 10.1 inch diagonal (but not multi-touch). This means that you can be quite productive on the go with the Gigabyte TouchNote T1028, if you’re patient with the old generation ATOM CPU and your have eagle eye vision.
Main specs:
- 10.1″ Touch TFT-LCD WSVGA, 1366×768 with LED back-lighting
- Intel AtomTM Processor N280 1.66GHz
- 1 GB DDR2 RAM, upgradable to 2 GB
- 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
- 92% full-sized keyboard
- WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
- 3.5G Module HSDPA support + optional 802.16 WiMAX
- Battery Li-ion 6 cells ~4500mAh
- 10.4 inches, 8,4 inches, 1.61 inches and 3.26 pounds
- Windows XP Home Edition
Even if initially the Gigabyte TouchNote T1028 was pretty expensive, things have changed and they’ve aligned the pricing with competing products, so now the only reasons not to get the Gigabyte TouchNote T1028 is the Windows XP antiquated OS (which can be replaced by the way), the older generation ATOM CPU which is not so power effective as the new Pinetrail models and the lack of multitouch function. Anyway, you read more about it here.
Viliv S10 Blade – 1127$
Wow, an 1000$+ netbook tablet? Yes, but it’s the king of all netvertibles and comes in many versions you can choose from (some cheaper of course). For this kind of money you get a 2.0 GHz Atom CPU, a 64 GB SSD drive, a 720p display with multitouch and Windows 7 Home Premium OS, all in an amazing 2.67 lbs package.
Main specs for the whole series:
- Intel Atom Z CPU (Z530@1.6GHz or Z550@2GHz)
- 1 GB RAM
- 60 GB HDD or 32/64 GB SSD
- WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth, optional HSPA modem
- 10.1 inch resistive Multitouch screen with 1366 x 768 pixels resolution
- 42 Wh battery that will last up to 10 hours of continuous use and 7 hours movie playback
- Windows XP or Windows 7 Home Premium
- 2.67 lbs (1.21 kg) weight
- stylus and 3G antenna for better signal reception
Even if the Viliv S10 Blade is pretty expensive, starting at 699$ (see list of models here), which is at least 200$ more than other 10.1 inch competitors, you get more performance and high build quality. It’s up to you to decide if it’s worth the money. If you want to know more about Viliv’s S10 Blade take a look here at this preview article.
What comes next?
Haven’t decided yet? Well, there are a few models of convertible netbook tablets down the road expected to hit stores in a few months and here’s a list with some of them (actually only one for now):
- Gigabyte T1000 series – will come in two models: T1000P and T1000X, with the more expensive one featuring multi-touch vs single touch and a bigger 6 cell battery (vs 4 cells)
