Unfortunately there are no plans for the Gigabyte M912V to be released in the US. So I went the early-adopter route and got the Asus Eee 901 released today.

http://www.gottabemobile.com/Gigabyte+M912V+Update+Real+For+Asia+Amp+Europe+Only.aspx

not in traditional laptop mode, touch screens suck in that instance & a touchpad is critical. sure touch screens can be fun for a few minutes like that, but try spending 4-5hrs working in front of it constantly reaching your arm out & across just to navigate.

only time touchscreens shine is in slate mode, IMO even better than when using a mouse on a desktop.

Coombi: While I’m not a big fan of tracksticks, a touchpad is somewhat redundant with a touchscreen. That said, this is the first low(er)-cost notebook positioned directly against the Fujitsu P16-series.

On a different note, I especially like the optional come-on-get-happy Partridge Family color scheme shown in the laptopmag article linked above.

something else nobody has mentioned, but it also has a touchpad unlike the P16xx which only has a trackstick.

Goofy little PDA software articles? This is still jkontherun isn’t it? What’s more appropriate for a blog about professional mobility than posts about PDA software. You can’t get much more mobile than a PDA and tethered phone these days. Heck you don’t even need the phone anymore.

Sorry for the off topic rant.

The Gigabyte M912v has blown away my lust for the MSI wind. Now let’s see if they can actually release this thing at that sub-$700 price and before my professional development money runs out in September.

LearnX, sorry we can’t please everyone no matter how hard we try. The Laptop Mag article you link to is a good one as most of theirs are. It was from a month ago from the GigaByte booth at the Computex show when this device was first announced. The actual release of this device is now so our article is as timely as can be, in fact you’ll probably see this on many sites right about now.

nice, cant believe i am just now hearing of this. guess thats what i get for visiting jkontherun more than other sites, other people have been blogging about it for over a month. IMO, this is the kind of stuff jkontherun should be writing about instead of those goofy little PDA software articles Kevin seems so fond of.

here are some positive hands-on impressions with video

http://blog.laptopmag.com/hands-on-with-the-gigabyte-m912

Yeah, I’ve heard of this. I’d like to see some reviews. Even if it’s not inkable/HWR, that twist screen has its advantages for web browsing and ebooks. And that 160GB HD sounds niiiice.

I have to say that if you take a look back at this from a technical-philosophical point of view, if this product is the harbinger of things to come we could be seeing a radical change in the way that information is created, consumed and shared. We are just a small stone’s throw from the slate computers of Star Trek. Couple a Tablet PC that is usable and affordable with the ability to work in the cloud (thanks for the example Kevin) you have a whole new way of working with colleagues and clients. Work and projects become much more “connected”. I know we have seen the future coming with notebook prices falling, but I can see how an affordable Tablet would be a much more accepted tool to use in the business environment. As a CPA I can see how a client of mine would react much more positively to my scribbling away with a stylus versus typing on a keyboard with a screen that cuts me off from their view.

Just my point of view

The price has been removed from Gigabyte web posts.

You’re all right, Vista Basic does not include the tablet bits so this thing is only a touch-screen notebook at the base level. Perhaps they will end up offering a Vista Business or above option.

I was looking into buying a HP mini, but I haven’t done so since it is using a Via(yeah I know prejudices…). I cannot understand why all those netbook are using those crappy 1024*600 Displays.

Anyway at since I live in happy euroland where an EEEPC 900 costs 400€ I can afford those extra 50€ for the Gigabyte^^ even though there might be additional shipping costs…

Correction – Vista Home Basic does NOT have Tablet PC features. It’s the only version of Vista that doesn’t. Which brings to mind the question – what good is the touchscreen with the OS software offered?

Michael

why only offer XP & Vista Basic? there is no XP Tablet or Vista Home Premium & up? why not at least offer it for those people willing to pay a little more? … does Vista Basic even have all Tablet implementation?

that battery looks pretty pathetic, would most definitely have to buy another 1.

i dont get why when a manufacture comes so close to perfection they fall short in a couple critical areas that would be quite easy to fix for those of us willing to pay a little extra.

i have a big powerful primary laptop for all my heavy computing but was looking for a small secondary PC. so last year i was looking at getting a P16xx series but then this cheap/mini laptop craze exploded. so i thought i would sacrifice tablet functionality & just get a EEE/Wind/2133 instead just to save money. now i dont have to do that & can have the best of both worlds!

WHOA, holy crap Batman where did this thing come from? this is pretty much exactly what ive been looking for, a cheap alternative to the P16xx series. i thought this market space was only going to be comprised of mini laptops, had no idea mini convertibles were on the way too.