James Kendrick over at jkOnTheRun posted an interesting video showing the Viliv S5 being used with Windows XP Tablet Edition. Essentially you’ll be seeing tablet input panel usage which is neat, but the video actually also shows some of the frustrating parts of tablet computing such as poor text recognition and lengthy input times. I’d be interested to see who could input text faster, someone using Tablet Edition or someone using the default OSK. Check out the video below:

Dynamism seems to have had great success selling the Viliv S5 [Portal page] and X70 [Portal page] devices to a limited number of people who were able to order them right as they were released. Now that the premium models are ready for release, it looks like Dynamism is ready to open the offer up to a lot more individuals.

Starting from today (July 16th) through August 5th Dynamism will be offering anyone who orders the X70 or S5 the same nice accessory bundle (worth $135 for the S5, or $195 for the X70) as they did with their initial launch specials. What does this mean exactly?

For the Viliv S5, an order from now through August 5th will secure you a spare battery, car kit, and leather case all at not additional cost.

For the Viliv X70, you have two choices depending on which model you order. The first is for the express model: a free upgrade to 1.3GHz from 1.2GHz, a car kit, leather case, and protective screen cover. Or you can go with a premium model which will get you an additional battery in place of the CPU upgrade along with the other parts of the accessory bundle.

All in all, I would say that if you have your heart set on the S5 or the X70, now would be a good time to buy.

Over at GottaBeMobile, Xavier Lanier has a nice video showing us how he uses his Viliv S5 [Portal page] as a mobile photo studio. Its a pretty cool setup. Xavier uses an Eye-Fi card to import photos to his S5 as they are taken. No USB cords or SD card transfers involved. After snapping a few photos, he pulls out the S5 and they are already right there, waiting to be tuned. Using Picasa 3, he is able to make basic but powerful adjustments to his photos on the go. Xavier mentioned that this is a particularly useful setup because he knows how he wants a photo to look just after taking it, but with a traditional setup, he might forget the exact adjustments he wants to make to a photo by the time he gets around to uploading them to a computer back at home base. Using this mobile setup he can edit his photos practically on the fly. Click through the link above to watch the video.

Viliv has managed to create some great UMPCs which have been receiving quite a bit of praise over the last several weeks. A reader in the comments suggested a size comparison of the devices which I thought was an excellent idea.

Products compared: Viliv X70 | Viliv S5 | Viliv S7

You can also click through to the Size Easy comparison to hide/show different devices, and add your own items for comparison.

Several days ago I put up a post asking which device was most anticipated by readers of our site. 648 of your responded and I’m here to share the results. Take a look at the graph below:

For readers who didn’t have a chance to participate in the poll from the previous post, here is the list of devices which readers could have chosen from (click the link to be taken to the product’s Portal page).

Crunchpad | Asus Eee T91 | Archos 9 | Always Innovating Touchbook

As I watched the results roll in, the Eee T91 stayed the leader for nearly the entire duration of polling. The CrunchPad came in second, followed by the Archos 9 and then the Always Innovating Touchbook. There was a good amount of ‘other’ responses. in fact enough to tie the CrunchPad for second place (I’ll add more devices to the poll next time!). What I found interesting was that some people filled in the ‘other’ dialogue with existing devices, and some filled it in with devices that they would like to have, but might not be products at this point. Here is a short list of ‘other’ entries for existing products:

• Viliv X70 [Portal page]
• Viliv S7 [Portal page]
• Asus Eee T101H [Portal page]
• Kohjinsha SK3 [Portal page]
• Asus Eee Keyboard PC
• Open Pandora
• ION/Tegra based netbook

And a short list of ‘other’ entries featuring devices that don’t yet exist:

• Apple tablet
• Archos 5” Android device
• LG UMPC (this person must be old school!)
• Next Nokia Internet Tablet (several people called this the N900)
• Viliv S5 with keyboard

Interesting suggestions everyone. Thanks for participating in this poll. Its good to know people are looking forward to these devices. We have quite a few nice products lined up that we’ll be reviewing for our readers. Chippy has the Viliv S7 coming eventually, and we’ll also hopefully have our hands on the Asus Eee T91, and the Always Innovating Touchbook in the near future.

If you’ve been waiting for the 3G version of the Viliv S5, the wait is nearly over. Dynamism have just posted this info:

The Viliv S5 special offer is back for one quick encore, but this time, it’s better because the latest Viliv S5 is better than ever.
+ Now with integrated solid state drive
+ Now with integrated 3G (HSPA) wireless broadband
Available only for the first 400 units ordered starting at 1 PM Eastern time on July 16th, customers will receive a free spare battery, car kit, and leather pouch. Please be sure to sign up for e-mail alerts (above) to stay informed of this special event as-it-happens.

Shipment is expected August 5th

Head over to Dynamism for more info and don’t forget, the X70 goes on sale at Dynamism next Monday. (Shipment expected July 28th)

If you’ve got final questions about the Viliv S5 or X70, keep an eye out for the next live session which is tentatively planned for Monday before the X70 goes on sale.

It’s a new website all about MIDs…

Run by the bloggers from GottaBeMobile and Notebooks.com it looks like a great way to start learning about how mobile internet devices are used in everyday situations. Check out this article for example where a family are testing out a Viliv S5 this summer.

In fact, if you’ve got a MID story to tell, check out this page because as part of the launch campaign, they’re giving away prizes for stories. Unfortunately it’s US-only for the competition but the site is of course open to anyone.

We welcome MIDStories to the ‘net.

We’ve been slightly distracted by the X70 EX over the last week but next in line for some tender love and testing is the ViliV S5 Premium Air. The 32GB SSD version with the built-in 3G HSPA (high speed upload + download) modem. Where the Viliv S5 with HDD was good, the SSD is even better. The change to SSD is very noticeable and if you an stretch to finding the extra $50, we thoroughly recommend it not just for speed but for additional ruggedness too. Built-in 3G is a matter of taste. Personally I’m still a fan of built in 3G as it’s far more reliable than tethering but you have to pay for it. Another $150 in this case. Considering you can build a 4-6hours personal server/hotspot for all your other Wifi devices though, I’d say it’s worth it for people looking for the smallest tablet UMPC solution.

Dynamism are first up with pre-orders and there’s a little surprise offering in store. Not only do they have the 32GB SSD Premiums-S version and the 32GB SSD+3G Premium 3G version but there’s a mind boggling 128GB SSD+3G version too.

Viliv S5 Premium-S – Intel Atom Z520 1.33GHz, 1GB Ram, 32GB HD Solid State HD, GPS, Windows XP Home
- $649

Viliv S5 Premium 3G – Intel Atom Z520 1.33GHz, 1GB Ram, 32GB HD Solid State HD, GPS, Windows XP Home, Built in HSPA modem – $799

Viliv S5 Premium 3G (128gb) – Intel Atom Z520 1.33GHz, 1GB Ram, 128GB HD Solid State HD, GPS, Windows XP Home, Built in HSPA modem – $1299

Our full review of the Viliv S5 (HDD version)

Dynamism Pre-order page. Availability information not available yet.

While the Viliv S5 Premium Air might already come with an SSD and internal 3G, there is nothing stopping you from modding a standard Viliv S5 [Portal page] to include these premium options. Maybe you are doing it to save money? Maybe because you love to mod? Whatever the case, jkkmobile shows you how in this helpful video.

We’ve had plenty of Viliv S5 coverage lately, but jkk got his hands on the yet to be released Viliv S5 Premium Air. The Premium part of the name denotes the SSD drive and the Air part tells you that there is built in 3G. Jkk brings you an unrelenting 25 minute video review of the unit showing many different facets of its operation. Jump on over to his site to check it out.

[Chippy: I'm working on finishing my review. Should be done today.]

Selling 200 Viliv S5’s at $599 in 2 hours in a financially unstable period is no mean feat. In fact it looks like Dynamism were hit much harder than they had expected yesterday when the rush for the 200 pre-sale offer packs started. We received many messages from people that said they had tried for over an hour to get an order through but were kicked off the server at the last stage. Annoying? Yes!

Dynamism weren’t laying back sipping cocktails though. They saw the problems and have responded in a customer letter today. They’ve also negotiated the same deal for the next 400 Viliv S5’s. That is, the Viliv S5 with the accessory pack for just $599. I have to say, to turn round a deal like that in 24 hours must have taken a few late-night/early morning calls and emails so hat’s off to them.

A letter has gone out to Dynamism customers but here’s the version we received direct from Dynamism a little earlier.

Thank you to everyone who ordered, or attempted to order, during our Viliv S5 promotional event. We anticipated high demand, but our server was simply unable to handle the huge number of simultaneous requests for the same single SKU. The result was an unacceptably slow, unreliable, and frustrating shopping experience for all. We would like to extend our apologies to all users of the site on April 27, especially those who tried to access or order between 1-3pm Eastern, when our server was hit hardest. Please feel free to contact us with any feedback or concerns about the event; we answer all e-mails to sales within one business day.

We have provisioned an additional 400 Viliv S5 to be bundled with the same accessory pack (car kit, spare battery, leather pouch $135 value) for the same cost of $599. These will be offered from our second shipment, due on May 24. This special will launch at 1pm Eastern time, on Thursday, May 14. During the intervening time, we will significantly increase our server’s capacity to handle overloading of orders for the same SKU. Although server performance will be much better, we expect it may still be slow. However, we hope that the larger quantity will allow more people to take advantage of the special, and help to ease any frustration. After this special concludes, the Viliv S5 will be available for general sale for $599, without the free accessory bundle.

Most of you will already know that Dynamism are starting the pre-order period for the Viliv S5 today. Presale begins 1:00 PM Eastern time on April 27th. The first shipment is expected May 8th.

If you’re still in two minds about it, take a look at this new video from Michael Brito of Intel. He’s done an ‘Un Geek’ video presentation with the S5. You’ll see Tweetdeck, iTunes and a good demo of the on-screen keyboard in use. If you have questions, join myself and JKK at 2030 CEST today where we will be live with the S5 and other devices and will be able to answer your questions in a live chat session. (Go to UMPCPortal.com/live)

More information on the Viliv S5 including links to all the important articles, reviews, image galleries and news items, in the Viliv S5 product page.

Video source: Inside Scoop.

There’s an interesting line-up in the top 5 on the product portal today:

This is how the list of top 5 most-viewed devices looks on UMPCPortal today. Two UMPCs/MIDs and three low cost. lightweightm touchscreen notebooks.

The Viliv S5 has been #1 for a long time now and looks like it will stay there if recent reports are anything to go by. jkOnTheRun, Pocketables, JKKMobile, UMPCFever and yours truly have all filed positive reports based on testing experiences. Much the same is true of the UMID too. I’m guessing it would be #1 if you could actually buy one outside the Ebay channels because it seems to fit a more popular ‘microblogging’ niche than the Viliv S5. I could well be wrong on that one though so we’ll have to wait to see what the price is.

Positions 3-5 are interesting though. Over the last year, netbooks have totally dominated the UMPPortal charts with the Aspire One and MSI Wind taking the most viewings. These two both still appear in the top 10 but it’s these three new convertible touchscreen devices that are creating more buzz now.

Of the three, I personally think that the ASUS EeePC T91 is the most interesting for readers here. I was reading an advertising supplement from Stuff Magazine a few days ago and there was a lot of focus on the T91 as a Mobile Computer. They’re calling it the smallest, lightest TabletPC in the world which is actually incorrect but you can see where the marketing people are trying to push it. ‘Up to five hours’ battery life, 32GB SSD, fanless, multi-touch trackpad and GPS, 3G and DVB-T (options) in a very small sub-1kg package and an (expected entry-level) sub-500 Euros price has to be worth looking at.  The same goes for the EeePC T101H although it’s not going to be as portable. Bigger disk, screen, keyboard and CPU will increase the weight, size and price up out of the cheap netbook space. I suspect it might even come in at a higher price than the Gigabyte Touchnote T1028M that I have myself. Both are excellent choices though and if the extra size, weight and price is not a consideration for you, they will be more productive than the T91.

Bubbling under in the mobile convertible space is, to my eyes, an even more interesting mobile produtivity solution though. The Viliv S7 would go head-to-head with the T91. It will weigh even less, come with a range of CPUs up to 1.8 or even 2.0Ghz and have a similar battery life and keyboard. 3G and GPS will also be options. I tested a working model at CeBIT and was impressed.

It’s fair to say that all of these devices are new, all are getting a lot of press and that their appearance on the top 5 may not be long-term but touch is moving into mainstream computing very quickly indeed and it’s good to see sub 1kg options appearing at great prices. I feel sure that these devices will be around in the top 10 for quite a while and that we’re going to see more and more devices taking touch and mobility cues from the UMPC and Tablet PC world.

As you may have seen from the new banners that went up around the site yesterday, Viliv are going to launch the S5 in the U.S. through Dynamism.com. They’ve also come up with a pre-order special offer that bundles $135 of spare battery, car kit and the really nice leather case.

• Viliv S5 Premium + [Free Spare Battery + Car Kit + Leather Pouch] (Save $135)
• Price for viliv S5 Premium : $599
• Limited to 200 units
• Launch Date : 27^th of April, 2009
• Time : 1:00 PM Eastern Time in US

Note that the Premium is not the model with built-in 3G.

Hop over to Dynamism for full specs and a run-down of the package and if you need some more details, images, hands-on, videos and links, check out the Viliv S5 information page. My detailed first impressions article is here.

I’ve just uploaded a new Viliv S5 photo-set into the gallery. Also on Flickr and embedded below. For more info on the Viliv S5, see the S5 info-page.

I’ve had a retail version of the Viliv S5 for a few days now (see unboxing) and have spent many hours testing it (see 3hr testing video!) with different software and in different usage scenarios. I’ll be using it heavily next week on my trip to Texas (if you’re at SXSW 2009 and want a demo, follow the related MidMoves Twitter account and DM me) and I’ll write more after that but for the time being, I think this first impressions article will give you enough info to allow you to either add it or take it away from your wish list. If you haven’t seen the Viliv S5 yet, what you’re looking at is a pocket PC in the true sense of the meaning. It’s running Windows XP on a 1.3Ghz Intel Atom CPU, weighs under 400gm and fits in a pocket. It’s one of the most powerful computing devices you can put there!

Read the full story

It looks even better now than it did at CeBIT last week and as an extra bonus, there was a great suprise for me when I unboxed it. The Viliv S5 I received today came not only with a beautiful leather case but with a complete car kit and protective plastic housing. And to top it all off, the supplied headphones are really good. You know that when the headphones are good, someone has really put some thought into the quality!

The version I have here is the 1.3Ghz version with 60GB drive and 1GB RAM, GPS, Wifi and Bluetooth. DMB is also included but of course, it’s not useable here in Europe. There’s no SKU on the box so I can’t tell you what version it is but I suspect it’s a Korean retail package with English Windows.

If you’re reading this on March 9th, note that we’re running a live video and chat session at UMPCPortal.com/live. At 2000hrs CET we’re running a podcast and afterwards I’ll be going through some tests and answering questions. Join us!

Here’s the unboxing video from Blip.tv. There’s a YouTube version and an uncut live Ustream version too.

More information on the S5

Stay tuned for more details, reviews and overviews. The S5 will be going with me to SXSW later this week so check UMPCPortal and MIDMoves regularly for updates.

Update: There’s a few S5 images in the gallery now.