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Asus T91: Multi-touch tablet netbook

OMG! Asus has just announced the Eee PC T91 convertible tablet. A tiny netbook with a swivelling screen? NFW, homes!

Rory Reid
2 min read

If you thought the Eee brand was staler than a tech reporter's pants after a week in Vegas, think again. Asus has just unveiled a range of new Eee products that'll have you fawning over Eee machines like its rivals simply didn't exist. For at least a couple of minutes.

The first of these is the Eee PC T91 convertible tablet -- a tiny netbook with a swivelling screen that can be used in standard laptop orientation, as well as in touchscreen tablet mode. Yes, you're reading this correctly -- the display can be twisted 180 degrees and folded flat against the keyboard, making it slightly reminiscent of a giant iPhone, minus the whole cellular calling business.

The swivelling display houses an 8.9-inch panel that can recognise multi-touch gesture user inputs. On initial inspection, it looks like an ordinary netbook, but when you get bored of using the machine in standard laptop mode, you can twist the screen into tablet mode where you can perform two-finger gestures such as pinching, stretching, scrolling and twisting, in order to manipulate media without using a keyboard or mouse.

Inside the ridiculously attractive white chassis is an Intel Z520 CPU, 1GB of RAM, Windows XP Home, a 160GB hard drive, integrated WiMax, 802.11n, a GPS sat-nav chip and a TV tuner. Oh, and did we mention the screen twists around and lays flat against the keyboard? Yes? Do you understand that this makes the T91 the most versatile netbook since post-neanderthal man invented mechanisms for slicing bread? Do you want one? Us too.

Seriously, have a look at the pictures and tell us if we're overreacting here. You'll probably find we aren't.

This sort of hinge usually adds weight to the overall design, but the Eee PC T191 is actually not much heavier than most netbooks of its size.

It's an Eee netbook, so it's super-small. Better still, the screen can be twisted and tilted into tablet mode, making it even smaller and super-er. Touchscreen capability is a huge bonus.

You can either use your fingers -- nature's stylus -- or an actual stylus. How quaint.