Two 5" Clamshells Go Head-to-Head at CES

Posted on 24 December 2009, Last updated on 24 December 2009 by

On previous MIDMoves adventures you saw me in San Fransisco and Taipei and at each of those events I got hands on with a new 5 inch Intel-based MID. I’m expecting both of these new devices to launch while I’m in Vegas for CES in a few weeks so here’s a quick rundown of what I know so far.

N5-hand-small m2-hand-small

As you can see, both devices have an extremely similar design. On the left, the Viliv N5 that was announced just a short while ago. On the right, the UMID M2 that we’ve already had time with.

Both devices will be based on the Menlow platform, have a 1024×600 touchscreen and an integrated mouse pointer. Wifi and Bluetooth too. Questions remain over the battery life but based on what I’ve seen with the forerunner to the UMID M2, the M1, battery life on the M2 should be good. If Viliv continue their run of high-quality UMPCs, the battery life on the N5 is going to be good too.

XP, Windows 7, 3G and SSD options should be available so the only real difference in basic specifications I can see is the GPS on the N5. That’s not a deal-breaker for most so it really leaves two differentiators; pricing and the all-important hands-on testing!

That’s what we’re planning to do at CES in a few weeks starting on the 6th of Jan so stay tuned for this interesting battle of the 5 inch Clamshells because these two could be great mobile computing options.

(We might get some N5 specs and pics soon so again, stay tuned!)

4 Comments For This Post

  1. anon says:

    I’m quite interested in knowing more about the N5’s keyboard! If that rendering reflects the layout of the end product, it might provide some keys I miss in the M1/M2 keyboard. Then again the keys would be smaller and so on.

    In any case, it’s great to have choices with a niche product!

  2. Someone says:

    Here are some photos of the mbook bz [M2]:

    http://handinside.com/211

  3. Russ says:

    Looks good, I love my S5, and I thought I wouldn’t care about the lack of a keyboard (I have a pocketable USB keyboard), but I find myself yearning for one at times.

    This seems to fit the bill, and looks like it would protect the screen nicely (that’s my other concern with the S5).

    Is it still lacking a camera/microphone/etc?

  4. UMPCPortal says:

    New article: Two 5" Clamshells Go Head-to-Head at CES http://bit.ly/bjFzlU

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