Photos: Hands-on with the Eee PC T91 tablet netbook

Remember we introduced you to the Eee PC T91 convertible tablet PC back in January? Well, we've just had an extended play with one in the comfort of our own UK offices and you know what? We love this netbook more than bees love meat.

As we reported earlier in the year, the T91 packs an 8.9-inch display, which swivels 180 degrees on its central hinge mechanism to lay flat against the keyboard, facing upwards. The screen itself is also touch-sensitive, so you can prod your way around Windows XP with a stylus or a finger. It should be available in May for around £500.

So, is it as good as it seems? Our photo story takes you through just about every aspect of the machine, so take a look, read our captions and make your own mind up. By the time you get to the end, you'll think -- as we do -- that all netbooks should be made this way.

Enjoy.

Here it is with in 'normal' laptop mode. It's a little smaller than the vast majority of netbooks, thanks chiefly to its 8.9-inch display, but that means it's also lighter, and easier to jam into a man/handbag.

Here, we've rotated and flipped the screen into tablet mode. This orientation is particularly good for watching movies in crapmed spaces and browsing the Internet, as long as entering URLs isn't a priority.

The keyboard is rather tiny on this pre-production sample, but Asus promises us it will get better by the time it hits retail. We're not sure how they'll fit a larger keyboard -- doing so will probably involve making the multi-touch mouse trackpad smaller.

This is the hinge that makes it all possible. Also note the inscription on the silver panel -- this isn't the only Eee PC that will feature touch-sensitive input.

The right side of the machine is home to an Ethernet port, USB, mic and headphone jacks, and what looks to be a TV tuner aerial socket.

Windows XP isn't particularly hot when it comes to touch input, so Asus has supplied its own touch-specific user interface called Touch Mode. It consists of a Widget interface (centre) and an Easy mode (left).

In Easy mode, all the most common apps can be launched simply by touching the icons on screen. You'll also find lots of touch-specific applications, such as a notepad and a calendar.

In the Easy mode's Widget interface, you can view all your favourite widgets. Here, we're running a Yahoo widget that, among other things, lets us check out the weather.

A webcam lives above the screen, flanked by a pair of array microphones.