The guys at UMPCFever have a sample of the Viliv S7 convertible UMPC (Viliv call it a handtop) a few days before the Hong Kong launch and have started to post reports. It’s an engineering sample so don’t take everything as final.
Before we start, lets take a quick moment to think about what we’re looking at here. The S7 is, using current terms, a mobile-focused netbook. It’s an ultra mobile PC. Lightweight, good keyboard, long long battery life, desktop OS, solid state drive and multi-scenario layout. In terms of efficiency this device is theoretically 40-50% more efficient than a netbook. Viliv are claiming 9 hours on a 34wh battery. If that’s true, this is a very special bit of engineering indeed. Whether that’s good enough to attract customers remains to be seen but I, for one, am very excited about the possibility of the Viliv S7 being the best all-round ultra mobile PC to-date. This is a device that will compete with the ‘all-round-capable Sony Vaio P and the ASUS T91.
Full specifications and links to videos and other articles here.
To give you an idea of the sizing, that battery is about the same capacity as a three-cell netbook battery!
UMPCFever have a good set of pics and have written in detail (English language post) so I advise to head over there for the full details and to view the video. Here’s a few things I’ve picked out though.
- Build quality is said to be ‘acceptable good.’ I would rate it slightly higher than that saying that the plastics are well fitted, good quality and attractively finished.
- The comment on the keyboard is that it’s the same size as that on an ASUS 701, the original netbook. I, and others, have said that the 701 keyboard size is as small as you can go and still be able to touch type. Those with bigger hands might find it a bit stressful but for most, given a little practice, you can reach 80%+ normal typing speed. I’ve tried the keyboard on the S7 quite a few times now and it’s really good for a device of this size. I would have no problem typing this blog post on it.
- No stylus. I rarely use the stylus on the X70 which has the same screen but it’s sometimes nice to have it for annotations and image work.
In the UMPCFever live battery life test posting (not completed as I write this) they are seeing about 10% drain for every hour of Battery Eater Pro testing. This is with radio’s off, but wow! Even if this reaches 8hours in the BEPro test, we’re looking at 5-7hours on-net usage time. That’s almost a full days work there!
As for the case lets just say it’s an accessory I won’t be taking into the coffee shop. The white finish of the device is going to be a problem for a lot of men too.
Here are a couple of pics snipped from the two videos that have been posted so far.
Questions outstanding…
- Voice? (Not expected)
- GPS? (Not expected)
- Multi-touch screen / pad? (Not expected)
Auto rotate?- US, EU Pricing and specifications.
Keep an eye on UMPCFever for more information and stay tuned here too. We’re also expecting a sample.
Your Opinion? Assuming that this isn’t going to be a cheap device (we’re expecting pricing around $600-$900 depending on specs) how do you think this will fit in? Is the Sony Vaio P a better buy? How about the T91? Here are all three in a side-by-side comparison. Clearly the average consumer is going to be more likely to buy a netbook but what about the pro-mobile set?
One more comparison photo…[from Lazion.com]
RT @chippy: Viliv S7 in tests video by @UMPCFever. They’ve got some interesting battery life results too! http://cli.gs/zhRUe
The fact that it is a convertible and has a touch screen give it a clear edge over the Viao P to me.
The bezel issue I could probably get over, but the white purse look is going to be harder to deal with! We know Viliv can make some lovely black tablets/cases as seen on the S5/EX70, let’s hope they do same with this.
viliv has mostly been sold in korea where it was manufactured :).and koreans, they don`t really give a ratass whether or not it looks purse, rather they care something about spec.. therefore,,inevitably the company makes their products regardless of ourviews i think..
“GPS (not expected)”! It’s supposed to have a Sirf star III in it isn’t it?
How can the flagship of the Viliv fleet NOT have a GPS when the smaller and CHEAPER x70 and S5 DO? That’s one of the perfect applications of this device… in-car navigation/in-air backup navigation for pilots…
In the video posted by UMPCfever, it looks like he is pushing the screen from behind, and that is what is causing the screen-bending. The pointer-finger of his left hand is right where the discoloration is occurring as he touches the screen with his right-hand. I’m doing that right now on my computer…
here is a comparison of Villiv S7 (빌립 S7) and Sony Vaio P (소니 ë°”ì´ì˜¤ P)
http://hopin.tistory.com/335
The sony is little smaller and lighter but i do think battery life is much more important in this case especially 7 instead of 4.5 (시간 means hour)
The price :
Sony : 110만ì›ëŒ€ / 140만ì›ëŒ€
Villiv : 70만ì›ëŒ€
ë§Œì› = 10 000won = almost 5€
so the villiv will be only 400€ !!!
I thin kthe korean brand beat the japanese one
Given that the T91 is promised to have the multi-touch screen by the Windows 7 release date makes it a more attractive alternative. I certainly understand that a regular touch screen works fine most of the time … however, if we are talking about a small screen factor (and it is small, despite 7″ or even 8.9″ being significantly larger than, say, the iTouch screen), then managing such objects as pictures and browsers with a simple pinch is a definite plus!
So, no matter how I feel about the new Villiv offering, a similar (or slightly larger) convertible with a multi-touch screen remains my priority #1
On that subject, I’m not sure what’s better, a big multi-touch mousepad or multi-touch screen. I am leaning towards multi-touch mousepad right now.
I don’t use fingers on the t91 cause I hate cleaning it later(I’m just using the stylus)…making multitouch rather useless unless it’s like the iphone.
I prefer the mousepad as well. The big advantage of this over the t91 is probably the battery but I know it was gonna be really hard to buy in in here. Otherwise I think it’s great.
Is the keyboard on the t91 bigger than this..cause i find it just enough to write. Smaller would be a problem
I guess the pretty ladies avdertising the Viliv are more than just a hook, they’re the target market! Why else would they offer colors and cases that would match a pair of Manolo Blahniks?
If a MID is around 1 kilo, i definitively prefer my Toshiba R500 notebook (same weight, big screen/keyboard). So the right MID for me would be less than 500 gram, with a bigger (say 6 inch) screen than the (excellent and 120g) iPhone, with an on-screen keyboard (as the iPhone). So your 300gr 6″ iPad would fit me nicely!