The Gigabyte TouchNote T1028X is an ultraportable netbook with a 10.1 inch display. It is powered by an Intel Atom N280 processor. Specifications don’t set it apart from other netbooks currently available in the market; still the TouchNote T1028X isn’t just another netbook.
Display and Graphics
The most remarkable thing about this netbook is indeed its display. The 10.1 inch display is touch-enabled. It also comes with a default resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. There is probably no other netbook in the market with a touch-screen display featuring 1366 x 768 pixels. The display can be folded down over the keyboard to use the device in tablet mode.
The touch screen shows good sensitivity. You will not have any difficulty navigating through programs using either the stylus or your finger. Gigabyte has also included some software applications which make the touch-screen easy to use.
The display itself is average. Colors aren’t very bright or vivid. The high
resolution of the display is both good and bad. It reduces the need to scroll when viewing web pages. On the flip side, having so many pixels on a tiny screen puts extra strain on your eyes.
Ports and Slots
There are 3 USB ports, headphone and microphone jacks. Other notable features include integrated 3G module (optional), VGA, Ethernet, SD card reader, an ExpressCard/34 slot.
Design
The TouchNote T1028X is slightly heavier and larger than typical 10 inch netbooks. It measures 1.5 inches in thickness and weighs around 3.3 pounds. The lid features an attractive glossy finish which is prone to collect fingerprints. The screen bezel, palm rest and other parts of the computer feature a matte finish.
The TouchNote comes with a 6-cell battery which sticks out a bit from the back of the notebook. The battery is expected to give 5 hours of up time. The netbook is very upgrade friendly with the bottom featuring easy access panels for RAM, hard drive and wireless module.
Speakers
The speakers aren’t very audible. So if you like to listen to a lot of music on your netbook you will definitely want to use headphones or a set of external speakers.
Keyboard and TouchPad
The keyword is wide and it stretches from one side of the case to the other. The keys provide nice tactile feedback. But for some unknown reason Gigabyte has reduced the size of some keys. The touchpad supports multi-touch gestures. While sensitivity is good the touchpad does pose some problems. Its buttons are located on the left and right side of it. This is an arrangement you will take sometime to get used to.
Performance
Performance is snappy. Boot times are good and applications load almost instantly. You will not have any difficulty performing your day to day activities like web surfing and word processing. But remember that this machine is powered by an Intel Atom processor which doesn’t have enough power to handle CPU intensive tasks such as editing and transcoding videos.
Conclusion
In terms of performance and build quality this is one of the best netbooks in the market. The touch-screen works just like it should. On the flip side this is one of the most expensive netbooks in the market. In fact, this is not a netbook at all because netbooks are supposed to be small and cheap.
Gigabyte recently upgraded the TouchNote T1028X. It is now available from Amazon for $668. This model ships with Windows 7 and a 250GB hard drive. But like the previous version, the upgraded version also comes with 1GB of DDR2 RAM. The model with an integrated 3G module sells for $788.
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