Gigabyte's tablet UMPC on pre-order for under £400

By Nick Mansell on Mon 21 July 2008

While we can't move for 8.9in Eee clones, we're yet to see one that's designed as a tablet. Gigabyte's M912 is just such a beast and, despite there still being no news on when it will shipping, the good folks over at Expansys have already placed it up for pre-ordering.

The two models on offer both feature 1.6GHz Atom processors, 1280x768 rotating touch screens, 1GB RAM and 160GB hard drives. Prices differ depending on which OS you go for with the XP-toting M192X costing £374.95, while the Vista-loving M192V goes for a slightly higher £399.95.

After begrudgingly giving Windows XP a stay of execution for the likes of the Eee and Wind, Microsoft will be relieved to see Vista finally popping up on a UMPC. And while some will question its inclusion on a 1GB Atom machine, it is worth noting that Vista's hand-writing recognising abilities are far superior to those seen in XP so seeing it on the tablet M912 does make sense.

If those prices place it just out of your reach, there is another cheaper model that's not been listed by Expansys, M912M. It loses the Bluetooth found on the top two models and cuts the screen res to 1024x600 but it comes in at a bargain basement £339. We'll keep you posted on their UK ETAs.