Another CES ‘leak.’ This time it’s the UMID BZ 4.8” clamshell UMPC which is very similar to the Viliv N5 we’ve just reported on.

The BZ has also been known in the past as the M2 and also sells as the Onkyo BX and it improves on the M1 design by adding an optical mouse pointer and mouse buttons, standard Line-out and USB ports and a slight modification to the casing design.

The unit runs on the Intel Atom Z520 (1.2Ghz HT-enabled) and battery life tests by Lazion are showing 5hrs figures. According to the report the BZ will be available in mid-Jan 2010. Pricing of $499 has been mentioned in previous reports but this is unconfirmed.

For more images and a translation, head to Lazion.

We’re planning to get both the N5 and BZ in a side-by-side hands-on at CES in just a few days.

With just a few hours to go before the madness kicks off in CES, news about those two, very similar 4.8” UMPCs/MIDs has surfaced.

The Viliv N5 specs have been revealed…

…and the UMID BX (was M2) gets a hands-on.

Head over to Naver for more details on the N5 and Lazion for the UMID and stay tuned here because I’ll get hands on with these very soon after arriving at CES.

Via UMPCPortal (UMID News , Viliv News)

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” 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.

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” Clamshells because these two could be great mobile computing options.

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

Akihabara seemed to have missed the fact that the Sotec (Onkyo) BX 407A4 is actually a device that many of us have been waiting for. It’s a rebadged UMID M2. Or Kohjinsha device. Or Inventec device. We’re not sure who the design owner is right now but if Inventec are manufacturing for Onkyo as we suspect then it probably means that the M2 is ready to go. About time!

The Onkyo Japan website gives the following information:

• Intel Atom 1.2Ghz
• 512MB RAM
• 32GB SSD
• 1024×600 screen (touch)
• Windows XP
• Wifi b/g
• BT2.0
• 1.3MP web cam
• Optical pointer
• JEITA operating time (idle) 7 hours.

Clearly there’s a left-right mouse button on the left of the screen frame too. Note that the RAM is only 512MB which is OK for basic Windows XP Home use with three or four apps running but will disappoint the heavy users amongst us.

As for pricing, local Onkyo price is 64800 yen which is about 740 dollars; higher than we would like to see. Availability is unknown.

Onkyo BX websales site. (You’ll find a few other recognizable devices there too.)

We’ve got an email out with UMID to try and clear up the status based on this information.

Thanks for the tip Thomas.