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The folks at Gigabyte were kind enough to send me a TouchNote T1028X convertible tablet style netbook to review. This machine isn’t the first touchscreen netbook to hit the streets, but it has a few features that really set it apart from the crowd:

• It has a 10.1 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display
• The screen can be folded down over the keyboard for use in tablet mode
• The netbook also has an ExpressCard/34 slot, in addition to 3 USB ports and an SD card reader

Sure, the TouchNote T1028X isn’t the only netbook around with any of those three features. But it’s the only one available today with all three. The large 7650mAh battery should provide pretty decent battery life.

Whether all of these things justifies the netbook’s high price tag is another question, and one that I hope to be able to answer after I get to spend a little more time with the TouchNote. It’s available for $698 from Amazon.

I’ve only had the TouchNote in the house for a few moments, but I’ve noticed two things right off the bat. First, the high resolution screen is ridiculously sharp. If you don’t have perfect eyesight, you’re probably going to want to spend some time adjusting the fonts on this model. Second, while the netbook ships with a stylus, there’s no slot in the computer for holding the stylus, which means you’ll need to stick it in your bag or pocket if you want to use the stylus on the go. Update: It turns out there is a stylus tucked away in a little compartment near the screen. I guess the stylus that came in the little plastic bag was a spare.

You can check out my unboxing and first look videos after the break.