14 DAY TRIAL // The main effect of the iPad launch, when looking at the IT industry from a broader perspective, was that the profile of the multimedia tablet market was raised by a great deal. A side-effect of the launch, whether consumers like it or not, that all product types with “tablet” in their name suddenly saw a higher level of attention. This was the case with, among other things, ASUS' Eee PC T101MT convertible tablet, which has now reached US stores and has finally started shipping.
The keyboard-equipped slate PC was first revealed to be in the making in mid-February and its specifications have been known for a couple of weeks. The Eee PC T101MT was listed last month and was shown to be powered by an Intel Atom N450 central processing unit, with a clock speed of 1.66Ghz.
The system configuration also included up to 2GB of RAM, the Intel GMA 3150 integrated graphics, a 10.1-inch screen with a maximum resolution of 1,024 x 600 and a hard disk drive (HDD), whose storage capacity is of 160GB. Furthermore, for connectivity and I/O, the convertible tablet has 10/100 Ethernet, Bluetooth, 802.11n WiFi, a multi-gesture touchpad, a 0.3-megapixel webcam and an SDHC card reader. The only part that the portable machine lacks, in fact, is an optical drive.
Since the device was meant to combine performance with mobility and versatility, it makes sense that ASUS would try to make its new portable PC as long-lived as possible, battery-wise. As such, the tablet comes with an eco-friendly 35W/h polymer battery that allows the product to operate for up to 6.5 hours on a single charge.
The ASUS Eee PC T101MT comes pre-loaded with the Microsoft Windows 7 Starter Operating System, is accompanied by a one-year warranty and is now up for order on Amazon, for a price of roughly $499.