Industry insiders report that ASUS will be launching a new device named the Eee Pad in the 3rd quarter of 2010. The device which will look similar to ASUS’ latest T91 offering, albeit without a keyboard and will sport a 4 to 7-inch capacitive touch screen display with multi-touch as well as haptic feedback.

The device will be directly competing against the Apple Tablet which has just been delayed until the 2nd quarter of 2010. More details to follow up in a few hours.

(Picture above is an artist rendering.)

Update: ASUS Eee PC T91MT was confirmed a few weeks ago and is now up for purchase on Amazon.

An industry insider has just leaked the roadmap for the upcoming line-up of ASUS Eee PC products for the next year. Apart from several new Eee PCs, it contains news on the future of the ASUS Eee PC T91.

Apparently ASUS has not decided to scrap the T91 altogether but instead follow it up with a multi-touch version, called the T91MT (not the T91A as reported before). It sports a 32Gb SSD (solid state drive) and its price will be at $549 or around EUR 399. Additionally, the roadmap also contains the Asus Eee PC T101P. This is the first time we hear it being called P instead of H. Does the P stand for the Intel PineTrail spec? We’ll hear later. The T101P will be released in 2010. Under the hood, it will sport a standard Atom N450 processor, Pine Trail and running Windows 7. That sounds like a winner to us! [Via Netbooked]

And we have the second spotting of the beloved ASUS Eee PC T91 in the wild! Now at ExcaliberPC up for grabs in black. Just like at BuyDig, the price is $499 USD. The specifications are shown: ASUS Eee PC T91 Netbook – Black, Intel Atom Z520 Processor, 8.9″ WSVGA (1024×600) LED-backlit / Resistive Touch Panel, 16GB SSD + 16GB SD + 20GB Eee Storage, 1GB DDR2 Memory, High-Speed 802.11n & Bluetooth V2.1, 28.5Wh Battery – Up to 5 Hours of Battey Life, Microsoft Windows XP Home Preloaded. The official model number is shown as T91SA-VU1X-BK. Its slogan is “Fun at Your Fingertips” Here’s a print-out of the website:

Sleek and Stylish Portability

Anticipating that the Eee PC T91 will spend a sizable amount of its time cradled in users’ arms, ASUS’ designers made sure to keep it extremely slim and light. The Eee PC T91 measures just 225cm by 164cm, and weighs a mere 0.96kg—making it one of the smallest and thinnest gadgets with an 8.9″ display in the world today.

Intuitive TouchSuite software

The Eee PC T91’s unique software applications, collectively known as TouchSuite, allow users to perform a myriad of fun tasks with their fingertips, such as touching up photos, creating photo albums, leaving handwritten desktop memos for loved ones, and sketching cartoons or custom emoticons.

Touchscreen and Convertible Tablet PC Form Factor for Flexibility of Use

The Eee PC T91’s tablet PC functionality makes it easy to cradle in one arm, enabling users to read documents, scribble ideas into digital notebooks and surf the Internet while traveling on foot. The Eee PC T91 is also equipped with a TV tuner and Global Positioning System (GPS) for extensive entertainment options and advanced navigation capabilities on the go.

“Hybrid Storage” for Massive Storage

With the Hybrid Storage options, the Eee PC T91 allow users to choose between different ways to enjoy easy access to data storageon-the-go. Users can choose from: Built-in Shockproof Solid State Drive (SSD) of up to 16GB, exclusive Eee Storage of up to 20GB which allows users to upload and download their files via an intuitive drag and drop interface, and also download games, wallpapers and customized software to enhance their Eeexperience, and expandable storage via through the Disk Expander Card of 16GB.

Extended Battery Life with Super Hybrid Engine

With the exclusive ASUS Super Hybrid Engine’s increased power efficiency, the Eee PC T91 can deliver an impressively long battery lifespan—eliminating worries about power while on-the-go and easily keeps users connected for 5 hours, unplugged computing.

Always-on Connectivity

The Eee PC™ T91 is equipped with 3G plus (HSUPA) technology*, enabling high-speed Internet access anywhere. With support for 802.11n, you can now enjoy faster surfing speeds than previous a/b/g wireless standards. This allows you enjoy quick downloading and streaming of large multimedia files; and with a full range of applications, help enhance your communications and computing experience.

Online retailer BuyDig is showing the ASUS Eee PC T91 for sale and in-stock (“Usually ships in 1-2 business days”) on their website. It includes Windows XP and free shipping for a total price of $499. If this is true, then the culmination and wait is finally over and right here we have the first sale of the product. The T91 has not appeared at other retailers such as Amazon, Amazon UK, BestBuy or NexTag. The T91 model offered is ofcourse the base version including an Intel Atom Z520 1.33GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB SSD (and a 16GB SD card) and 1024 x 600 resistive touchscreen.  Wireless connectivity includes WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, but no integrated 3G. Will you wait for the T91go with its 3g, GPS and TV-tuner, th eT91A with its multi-touch screen, or are you going to get the base model? Leave your answer in the comments!

An anonymous tipster just sent us these photos of a supposedly first batch of ASUS Eee PC T91 models shipped to the electronics store Currys in the United Kingdom. On Friday, AsusTablet.net was told by an anonymous ASUS insider that the model had been delayed in shipment by logistical problems, being not too specific, but that it would hit retail stores this Monday, this might be true as we see from these photos just sent in. The photos show the outside of a shipping box with a transit sheet that notes ASUS Computers International GmbH in Germany, where ASUS has its distribution hub for Western Europe. The shipment is destined for Currys Digital in Hertfordshire, UK, where Currys distribution headquarters is located. It all seems to make sense. The date stamp shows today, Sunday 21 June 2009. Does this mean the T91 will be sold tomorrow at Currys? The shipment also seems to have passed through Amsterdam during airmail reading from the AMS on the DHL sticker. Will this mean the T91 will also be sold in stores in the Netherlands this week? We hope so. What is interesting from the photos is that Currys requested 260 units but received only 193. Is ASUS experiencing a shortage in units or problems in production of the T91, which does require new types of production processes (even for ASUS) as it is its first touchscreen netbook.

An anonymous ASUS insider told AsusTablet.com that the Eee PC T91 is still shipping but is delayed in distribution to the retail channels due to a “logistical mishap” in distribution. The problem is reportedly solved now and the device can be expected in stores from next Monday, the 22nd of June. Reports last week in news channels all around the world mentioned that the T91 would start shipping this week but it still not here. The reasons are now becoming clear. It is one of the many delays the T91 has experienced. This is interesting as other ASUS Eee PC devices have never been delayed as much as this model. This makes us question if there are structural concerns with the Eee PC T91. Is ASUS experiencing problems with the model and delaying it purposely to resolve these before retail availability? We might never know…

Although the device has still yet to hit stores, drivers for the Asus Eee PC T91 have just been posted up on the Asus website: The page shows a hint that a Linux version of the There are currently 14 drivers available for the T91. These are:

• Asus T91 BIOS (1) [BIOS History]
• Asus T91 BIOS-Utilities (1)
• Asus T91 Chipset (1)
• Asus T91  ATK (1)
• Asus T91 AUDIO (1)
• Asus T91 VGA (1)
• Asus T91 LAN (1)
• Asus T91 TouchPad (1)
• Asus T91 Utilities (4)
• Asus T91 Wireless (1)
• Asus T91 BlueTooth (1)

Asus just posted the Eee PC T91 on the comparison list of its netbook devices: Check it out here

Asus has published a US product page for the upcoming Eee PC T91 convertible tablet style netbook. This will be the first mini-laptop from the company with a touchscreen display that can fold down over the keyboard for use in tablet mode. Some important features announced on the product page:

• Up to 5 hours of battery life
• Size of a B5 paper, 225 by 164 mm
• Weight is 0.96 kg
• 8.9″ Display
• Total internal storage is 32 Gb: A shockproof SSD drive of up to 16Gb, online storage called “Eee Storage” of 200 Gb and an expandable SSD storage slot for another 16Gb
• Selected models support 3G+ (HSUPA) technology enabling them to be used on the go and connecting to data networks of your cellular provider.

The Eee PC T91 has an 8.9 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display. The version that ships with Windows XP will reportedly have a resistive touchscreen, which means single-touch only. The version that ships with Windows 7 later this year will include a capacitive display capable of recognizing multiple inputs to take advantages of the gesture and multitouch support in Windows 7. The product page:

Eee PC T91 Fun at Your Fingertips Genuine Windows® XP Home Unique TouchSuite software for intuitive user experience Convertible Tablet PC Form Factor for Flexibility of Use B5 size and weight 0.96kg light Up to 5 hours** long battery life with Super Hybrid Engine

Sleek and Stylish Portability Anticipating that the Eee PC™ T91 will spend a sizable amount of its time cradled in users’ arms, ASUS’ designers made sure to keep it extremely slim and light. The Eee PC™ T91 measures just 225cm by 164cm, and weighs a mere 0.96kg—making it one of the smallest and thinnest gadgets with an 8.9″ display in the world today. Intuitive TouchSuite software The Eee PC™ T91’s unique software applications, collectively known as TouchSuite, allow users to perform a myriad of fun tasks with their fingertips, such as touching up photos, creating photo albums, leaving handwritten desktop memos for loved ones, and sketching cartoons or custom emoticons. Touchscreen and Convertible Tablet PC Form Factor for Flexibility of Use The Eee PC™ T91’s tablet PC functionality makes it easy to cradle in one arm, enabling users to read documents, scribble ideas into digital notebooks and surf the Internet while traveling on foot. The Eee PC™ T91 is also equipped with a TV tuner* and Global Positioning System (GPS)* for extensive entertainment options and advanced navigation capabilities on the go. “Hybrid Storage” for Massive Storage The Hybrid Storage options allow users to choose between different ways to enjoy easy access to data storage on-the-go. Users can choose from: Built-in Shockproof Solid State Drive (SSD) of up to 16GB, exclusive Eee Storage of up to 20GB which allows users to upload and download their files via an intuitive drag and drop interface, and also download games, wallpapers and customized software to enhance their Eeexperience, and expandable storage via through the Disk Expander Card of 16GB. Extended Battery Life with Super Hybrid Engine With the exclusive ASUS Super Hybrid Engine’s increased power efficiency, the Eee PC™ can deliver an impressively long battery lifespan—eliminating worries about power while on-the-go and easily keeps users connected for 5 hours**, unplugged computing. Always-on Connectivity The Eee PC™ T91 is equipped with 3G plus (HSUPA) technology*, enabling high-speed Internet access anywhere. With support for 802.11n, you can now enjoy faster surfing speeds than previous a/b/g wireless standards. This allows you enjoy quick downloading and streaming of large multimedia files; and with a full range of applications, help enhance your communications and computing experience. * Available on selected models ** Actual battery life is subject to normal usage and configuration as well as model type

* All specifications are subject to change without notice. Please check with your supplier for exact offers. Products may not be available in all markets. * PCB color and bundled software versions are subject to change without notice. * Brand and product names mentioned are trademarks of their respective companies.