MyT91.info

Update: Expecting palm rejection and sensitivity to be a global feature enabled by default, I initially made the mistake to claim this tablet had neither. It does have limited palm rejection and global pressure sensitivity in any application that supports it (but it will have to be manually enabled). Sorry for rushing this review and missing this, but this review is a work in progress.

ASUS teased us with the T91SA (and took their time bringing a very limited supply to a high demand market). Now we have the refreshed T91MT  featuring a multitouch display, a larger Solid State Drive (SSD), and Windows 7. But will this $50 upgrade impress or let down? So, following the tried and true notebookreview.com review method, let’s take a look at the T91MT.

ASUS Eee PC T91 Specifications:

• Intel Atom Z520 (1.33GHz, 533MHz FSB)
• Intel US15W Chipset
• Intel GMA 500 Graphics
• Windows 7 Home Premium
• 8.9” LED-backlit LCD with Multitouch
• 32GB SSD
• 1GB DDR 667MHz
• 10/100 Mbps Ethernet
• 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth v2.1
• 0.3 Megapixel Webcam
• 2x MMC/SD/SDHC Card Readers
• Measuring 225mm x 164mm x 25.2-28.4mm, Weighing 2lbs
• Integrated Lithium Polymer (5 hours battery life)
• 1 Year Warranty
• MSRP: US$549.99

Build and Design

The ASUS Eee PC T91MT marks the company’s second attempt at a netbook tablet. The first, the T91SA, was a hit. Unfortunately, ASUS didn’t have the supply or logistics to get it to a hungry market. What limited supply that did come was stripped down with a non-tablet edition of Windows XP.

The T91MT has an identical design to that of the T91SA. It’s very thin and light, measuring just one inch thick and weighing two pounds. One major difference, at least to the North American market, is the introduction of the contrasting white and black color theme (although ASUS does have a black model in the works). The only other visual difference is in the screen finish, but we’ll get to that later.

Build quality, like the previous model, is very solid. The hinge is very well designed. It’s tight and “pops” into place when rotated. The keyboard has almost no flex, something that you don’t normally see on other Eee PC models. The key style and print is identical to previous 8.9-inch models, but the keys are somewhat stiff and provide an improved typing experience over any previous 7-inch or 8.9-inch model in the Eee lineup.

The bottom of the netbook is very flat, covered in stickers, and includes a single RAM access cover. Next to the RAM is an on/off switch and reset button (since you can’t physically pull the battery to ensure the power is off like you can on other netbooks). While this cover provides easy access to upgrading the memory, it does not provide access to the SSD or WiFi modules. You will have to completely disassemble the netbook to access those components (it’s not a difficult task, but it does involve removing many small screws from the bottom and from under the keyboard).

ASUS includes a soft slipcase that is identical to previous models (cotton, not neoprene). It offers very little shock or impact protection, but does protect the netbook from scratches that commonly magically appear during storage and transportation.

Screen and Speakers

The 8.9-inch LED-backlit screen on the T91MT is bright (despite what the pictures may show) and, as mentioned before, semi-glossy (but not as glossy as the T91SA). White is a bit on the peachy side (similar to how the 900HA had a hint of blue), most likely due to the touchscreen, but you will probably only notice it with a comparison to another screen. My unit also arrived with uneven brightness and light leakage (pictures to come shortly).

The multitouch touchscreen comes shipped uncalibrated. The ASUS calibration utility does a poor job of calibration. The Windows 7 calibration utility worked, but the crosshairs on the lower right corner initially would not register. If you stumble upon this issue, just use the right-click button to go back to the previous crosshair, and try again. It took several repeated attempts to get the crosshair in the lower right corner to register- but after it did, the screen calibrated and was very accurate thereafter.

While color accuracy at various horizontal viewing angles was poor in the T91SA, the T91MT suffered no such extremes in color variation that I could detect. In fact, horizontal viewing angles were acceptable, producing only a modest color and contrast variation, which the camera over-emphasises below. Also, the camera makes it appear as if it is dimmer than it would be in person. As a person that uses his camera as a profession, you would think I could at least get this right…

Vertical viewing angles were average, with over-exposure when viewed from above, and color inversion and under-exposure when viewed from below. Although there may be other reviewers that disagree with me. Again, the camera was a bit under-exposed here and exaggerates viewing angle issues.

It appears that in switching to a different (multitouch) screen, ASUS has gone with a screen finish that is somewhere between the appearance of a matte and glossy screen. Like the T91SA, the T91MT does reflect somewhat, but the reflection is blurry and less of a nuisance. Below you can see my blurry reflection, outdoors, in direct sunlight.

I would strongly advise against using the T91MT outdoors unless you are in the shade. This is not a bright-environment-friendly device.

The speakers, like other 8.9″ Eee PC models, are located under the palm rests. Unfortunately, sound quality is of the T91MT is not good, even for a netbook. Sound can only easily escape out of the bottom left and right vents, and I suspect the speakers are not even pointing toward these vents, which leads to a tinny and muffled experience. They do work, and there’s volume when needed, but they are inferior to most netbooks.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Keyboards are a very subjective topic. Different users have different preferences, so I will refrain from commenting on how much of an improvement this keyboard is to any other 8.9-inch or 7-inch Eee in the past and how much I love it (oops). Regardless of your preference, I will say that the keyboard is similar to, but stiffer than the 900HA. It provides a decent amount of feedback to the typist. While it might not be as impressive as a chicklet style keyboard on some 10.1″ and larger netbooks, it is arguably the best that ASUS could do with such limited space.

The touchpad is a multitouch Synaptics unit. The texture (a simulated, but not convincing brushed aluminum look) provides for a surface that is neither too glossy (where fingers stick when gliding) nor too textured (where your fingers feel like they were sandpapered raw after a few minutes of use). Just like Goldielocks’ porridge, this touchpad is just right (at least in Goldielock’s opinion). The buttons are under a single rocker-style glossy metallic-finished button. Button travel is very shallow, but feedback mostly comes in the form of a sharp click.

Tablet Features

In case it wasn’t obvious, the T91MT can swivel and fold into tablet mode. Screen rotation (manual) is performed by pressing and holding the dual-mapped button to the right of the power switch. As you press and hold the button, you will be given a roughly one-second window to select the rotation you want by letting go of the button (it’s much easier using it than it sounds).  If you tap the button, rather than hold it, it will switch between Windows desktop and Touch Gate (a simple touch interface that sits on top of Windows 7, much like the Sony Vaio Space of the Pentium 1 and later era).

Rather than explain the Touch Gate and Eee Docking software, here’s a video from ASUS that starts on first-boot of the T91MT. As demonstrated in the video, there is pressure sensitivity, but it must be enabled in the application you are using. Palm rejection, on the other hand, is limited to two programs (Journal and Sticky Notes).

The T91MT does not feature an active digitizer. Any object can interface with the touchscreen, and any object can apply varying degrees of pressure. The multitouch touchscreen is only capable of up to two simultaneous points. Any more points of contact, and the touchscreen will start to behave like a singletouch (where it will pick a point somewhere in the middle).

As mentioned before, only Journal and Sticky Notes works with “IntelliWriting” (what ASUS calls a very limited palm rejection feature). However, the multitouch feature can help prevent inking with your palm on other applications. In Windows 7, when you multitouch and drag, the active window will attempt to scroll (sort of like two-finger scrolling on the touchpad). So that means if your first point of contact is your stylus, and your second point of contact is your palm, the T91MT will think you are trying to do a multitouch gesture, and will stop flowing ink and switch to scrolling. Though this isn’t true palm protection, it does help remind you that you may have a second unintentional point of contact on the screen.

Ports

The ASUS Eee PC T91MT has all the standard ports as a normal netbook, except they swapped out one USB port and replaced it with a second card reader.

It’s worth noting that on the right side, to the left of the microphone jack, there’s a rubber plug. This is where the TV antenna is supposed to go, had ASUS decided to bring a tuner to the North American market.

Performance and Benchmarks

The Intel Atom Z520 does a great job when it comes to energy efficiency and heat output, but at 1.33GHz, this processor trails behind the 1.6GHz Atom N270 that is found in most netbooks.  You will notice a slightly slower experience with this processor compared to other netbooks, but it’s not a deal breaker. The T91MT is still a very capable netbook, and the Z520 is fit for use in such a compact system. I would have just preferred to see a slightly more powerful processor, like the Z530. Below are a few benchmarks.

wPrime to 32m:
139.663 seconds

FutureMark:
128 3DMarks
1571 CPUMarks
1257 PCMarks

HDTune:
Minimum: 34.1 MB/s
Maximum: 57.8 MB/s
Average: 49.4 MB/s
Access Time: 0.4 ms

Overall, the system performed as expected. The CPU is slower than the more popular N270 @ 1.6GHz, but not by a huge margin. GMA 500 graphics will give you a little more than half the performance of a typical GMA 950 powered system, but it does have one up on GMA 950, and that’s hardware HD video decoding. See this thread by EeeUser forum member Faman for information on how to get up to 87fps on H.264 1080p content, and up to 80fps on VC-1 1080p content.

I ran into one problem during my review: One of my preferred benchmarking and hardware analysis programs, PCWizard2009, would not run on the T91MT, and would lock up the entire unit. This seems to be the only issue of instability that I’ve experienced so far on the T91MT, and most likely points to a hardware detection issue within PCWizard2009.

Heat and Noise

The ASUS Eee PC T91MT has no fan, yet still manages to keep readings well below the I-just-burned-my-genitals-temperature. With no access to an IR-gun, I would have to estimate the top stays below 90F and the bottom stays below 100F, with the only peak being right where the memory is located.

With no fan, the only noise you will hear is capacitor resonance if you put your ear up to the unit. A slight high-pitched squeal can be heard when the system is in sleep mode, but you would have to be really listening for it to hear it.

Battery

One of the biggest complaints about the T91 is its lack of a removable or consumer upgradable battery. Nevertheless, the Lithium Polymer battery manages 5 hours, 10 minutes with Windows 7 power mode set to Power Saver, and Super Hybrid Engine set to Power Saving Mode (WiFi and Bluetooth enabled, screen brightness at around 40%, mostly idle). Under constant use, you can expect better than 4 hours of battery life. My biggest complaint has just become one of my smallest. I’ll be running BatteryEater to determine the worst case scenario at a later time (and will update this review once the results are in).

Conclusion

If you are in the market for a compact, low-cost tablet without the need for an active digitizer or powerful hardware, it’s hard not to recommend the ASUS Eee PC T91MT. Unfortunately, it does lack a TV tuner, GPS, and 3G- and the Z520 leaves much to be desired in terms of performance. But overall, this is a great convertible tablet netbook at just the right price.

Pros

• Low-priced multitouch tablet with pressure sensitivity.
• Good build quality.
• 5 hour battery life was an unexpected surprise.
• Very small and light.
• GMA500 capable of some HD video decoding (with a few tweaks).

Cons

• Battery is internal.
• Stylus collapses during use.
• Z520 offers less than stellar performance.
• Palm rejection is not a global feature.

You can find the T91MT at Amazon.com for $523 with free shipping.

If anyone has specific benchmark requests or you have any questions about the T91MT that you think I can answer, feel free to post a comment. I’ll try to accommodate all requests and update this review with our findings.