Fate of future Asus touchscreen netbooks lies with Eee PC T91

Asus recently launched the 8.9-inch Eee PC T91 convertible netbook in the US to mostly positive reviews. It is the company’s first touchscreen model and the first with a form factor that enables the netbook to be used as a tablet device too. It appears that the success of this particular model will impact the shape of future touchscreen models down the line according to a report from Digitimes.

Industry sources suggest that if the Eee PC T91 does not meet its sales expectations, then Asustek “may consider postponing the launch date of upcoming touchscreen netbooks, scale down their shipments, or even cancel them.” The only upcoming touch-based model we know of is the 10-inch Eee PC T101. The release date of the T101 has been pushed back to September, at the earliest, according to the report. This is two months later than originally anticipated.

We have heard the above before. Asus UK recently told us that the appearance of a multi-touch T91 and T101 would depend on the success of the T91. However, I’m inclined to believe that even if the model wasn’t a great success, Asus would still try and release another model based on Windows 7 and a multi-touch panel. After all, that would be an almost entirely different proposition to the model on the market today.