1000 words written on 4 rigs that cost less than 1000 Euro and weigh less than 1000gm.

As you can see, I haven’t quite started yet but I’m in the final stages and expect to start this afternoon.

The Toshiba AC100 is ready to go (indicative of the all-in-one nature of laptops perhaps?) but I’m still working on a few other devices. The main problem is that I don’t have a Bluetooth keyboard to use with the Galaxy Tab so I’m seriously thinking of going with the thumbs. I tested the keyboard in portrait mode last night and it wasn’t bad at all. I’m not saying it’s as stress-free or as fast as a keyboard but it would make a great all-in-one test (Cam, 3G, navigation, mp3 player, etc) and at 384gm, wow it’s a light solution. I’m going with it as an extreme, all-in-one mobile solution.

The Tega V2 is here and I’m struggling to get a package together that lies under the 1KG mark. Adding a keyboard, stand and smartphone (for the camera, navigation etc) brings it up to 1.4KG. That’s way over my limit so I’m thinking of dropping it and going with the X70 although with keyboard and stand, case and mobile phone comes to 1.2KG. The only Windows ‘tablet’ solution that I can put together with the rest of my ‘rig’ in under 1KG is the 5” Viliv S5. Unfortunately, 5” is below what I regard as usable in a table-top scenario with a keyboard.

This is interesting to see because we often regard tablets as lightweight mobile devices. With Windows, that’s not currently the case because once you’ve added the keyboard you are up to netbook weight. My Viliv S10 3G netbook is 1.25KG!

So what am I to do? If I was sensible I’d take the Viliv S10 but I want to take a Windows Tablet solution. The Tega V2 is here for review so for that reason (and to highlight the weight issue) I’m going to take the Tega V2. It fails before it starts but at least I get to spend some time with it.

So that leaves one more rig. I had the X70 lined up but considering that it will also come in at over 1KG, I’m not going to take it. Instead, I’ve chosen a mini laptop. Coming in at a total of exactly 1000gm for the laptop, smartphone and headphones its the Viliv S7.

The rig will provide this functionality:

• ‘PC’ with email, web browser, document editing capabilities, storage, screen, keyboard and Wifi
• 3G internet connectivity
• Navigation system
• Camera (minimum 2MP)
• Video camera (MIN VGA)
• MP3 player and headphones

The Final Setup

Rig 1 – The 10” Windows Tablet. (Bottom-left in picture)

• Tegatech Tega V2 64GB+3G = 880gm
• Stand – 132gm
• Keyboard/mouse (Samsung lightweight USB) – 258gm
• Xperia X10i phone / navi/ mp3 / camera – 138gm
• Headset – 20gm
• TOTAL WEIGHT: 1428gm
• Expected battery life: 4hrs
• Cost: Can be done in under 1000 Euro. This rig costing near 1500 Euro

Rig 2 – The 7” UMPC (Bottom-right in picture)

• Viliv S7 (Includes 3G) – 842gm
• Xperia X10i phone / navi/ mp3 / camera – 138gm
• Headset – 20gm
• TOTAL WEIGHT: 1000gm
• Expected battery life – 7hrs
• Cost: Can be done in under 1000 Euro. This rig around 1200 Euro

Rig 3 – The 10” Smartbook (Top right in picture)

• Toshiba AC100 – 862gm
• Xperia X10i phone / navi / mp3 / camera – 138gm
• Headset – 20gm
• TOTAL WEIGHT:1020gm
• Expected battery life: 8hrs
• Cost: Approx 800 Euro (Smartbook with 3G costs 350 Euros. High-end Smartphone about 450 Euros)

Rig 4 – The 7” Superphone Tablet (Top left in picture)

• Samsung Galaxy Tab – 384gm
• Headset – 20gm
• TOTAL WEIGHT 404gm
• Expected battery life: 8hrs
• Cost – 700 Euro

Its very interesting to see what we’ve we’ve got in terms of weight, battery life and cost here. The ‘expensive’ Samsung Galaxy Tab right turns in at less than half the weight and 30% less cost than the Windows-based rigs while providing the longest expected battery life. Everything is integrated into a single unit. Total convergence! Adding a BT keyboard would bring the cost to about 750 Euros. The AC100 looks attractive on specs too. With a lower cost smartphone this solution could be put together for about 550 Euros which would make it the cheapest solution by far. For a rig with a 10” screen, good keyboard and good battery life, it shines.

On first glance it looks like the ARM-based devices have won here but this isn’t a test of specs, it’s a test of usability. I’ve got to write my e-book on these rigs and there could be big advantages to the Windows-based systems when it comes to this sort of productivity. I’m looking forward to testing all the devices and will report back regularly over the next three days.

I’ll be updating as I go along via twitter and blog posts here on UMPCPortal so be sure to check back, subscribe to the RSS feed, the daily email feed or follow UMPCPortal on twitter. You can also follow me, Chippy, on Twitter for some more details, highs, lows, Q&A and pics and I go through the tests.

Oh, and as for the 1000 km travelling, ahem, I might throw in the towel on that one. We’ll see how it goes but at the moment I haven’t planned any major tours.

Ben posted an excellent review of the Viliv S7 at Pocketables a few weeks ago and it follows my thoughts to the letter. The Viliv S7 has been working flawlessly here so rather than produce a copy of that review I’ve decided to take a different angle on the device and talk a bit more about the scenarios that best fit the S7 and the types of customers that might be interested in the device.

Firstly though, let me take you few of the key features in a short summary of the device. We have the S7 Premium here with 3G and SSD (non-rotating) storage.

• The Viliv S7 is an extremely small and light laptop style PC; smaller and lighter than any netbook.
• It’s not really an ultra mobile computer as it needs a table to get the best out of it. Micro-laptop is probably the best name for it.
• The S7 includes a touchscreen that can rotate and close back on itself to create a ‘tablet’ that hides the keyboard.
• The storage is based on fast SSD technology which is quieter, more rugged and uses less power than traditional hard drives.
• The fast SSD also gives the device fast boot and return from standby.
• Viliv have used the Intel MID platform which is more efficient than the netbook platform although the CPU is slightly less powerful than a netbook.
• Viliv have designed a high quality battery pack that can support the device for 5-10 hours and keep the device in standby for many many days.
• In the version we’re testing here, there’s an integrated 3G module.

Click through for full specifications and details on the Viliv S7

On the negative side, there are two major trade-offs. Screen size and keyboard. Both are very high quality items but the size of them means that they can’t be used for long-term stress-free input or application usage.  The S7 is, in essence, a high quality, highly mobile short-term use PC.

Full gallery available here.

More on page 2.

Dynamism has two UMPC deals (good today only) that might be of interest:

• For $30 off the regular price, you can order the pink or black base model UMID M1 [Portal page]. Both have 512MB of RAM, Windows XP, an 8GB SSD and come with a case and 4GB MicroSD card. The pink version will run you $419 and has a 1.2GHz Atom CPU, and the black version is $469 with a 1.3GHz CPU.
  
• They also have a deal on the Viliv S7 [Portal page] which I reviewed over at Pocketables.net. I would personally take this S7 deal over the UMID M1 as you get $100 off the top end model, and Dynamism is already throwing in a spare battery — combined with the regularly included one you could run your Viliv S7 for nearly 20 hours straight (going for max battery life)! You can pick up this 3G equipped Viliv S7 for $699 today only, which has a 1.33GHz Atom CPU, 32GB SSD, 1GB of RAM, and runs Windows XP.
  

I want to update you all on the devices I’ve been testing recently. It’s a super range of advanced devices that represent the best in the smartphone, MID and UMPC market. All four are advanced, fun and productive mobile devices.

Nokia N900

Possibly the most advanced device of the four is the N900. It runs one of the newest and most powerful ARM-based platforms out there with one of the newest mobile operating systems. From what I’ve seen, the Maemo teams have done a great job in preparing an operating system for today’s web-focused user. Nokia have also done a a great job in tying it together with some amazing hardware. Camera, keyboard, screen, GPS, accelerometer, FM TX/RX, consumer IR, keyboard, speakers, Wifi, BT, 3G, voice along with strong quality materials and an attractive, if slightly understand, design.

Users considering the N900 need to consider the following important points.

• Battery life. With all that power, it’s easy to end up with a device that can’t do anything after 2pm!
• Applications. While the developer community is active and passionate, there’s relatively few people out there. Android, iPhone and Windows Mobile will provide you with a better application suite at the moment.
• Despite the lack of applications, much of what you need is already built in to the N900. From exchange support to Skype and of-course a full desktop-standard web browser with full Flash 9 support.
• Price. The N900 is up there with the Droid, iPhone 3GS and HTC HD2. (See my post about WVGA phones for more information)
• One-handed use. The N900 is a two-handed device because most of the user interface only supports landscape mode. This can affect use in ultra-mobile situations.

Unfortunately the backlight has stopped working on my test device now but I’ve managed to get together enough material and make enough notes that I can answer most of your questions on it now. Don’t forget to check out my previous articles and videos on it before you fire-away with queries though.

All N900 articles from UMPCPortal including overview, unboxing, real-world testing notes, video performance and more.

Samsung Omnia Pro (B7610)

The global roll-out of the Omnia Pro B7610, a WVGA slider smartphone running on Windows Mobile 6.1 with an 800Mhz ARM11 CPU has been a very staggered, uncoordinated affair, typical of the way Samsung works independently in its different regions.  The only reason I’ve got it is because it was one of the best sliders available when I decided it was time to start watching the high-end smartphone sector very closely. The HTC Touch Pro2 was available but as the Omnia Pro was new in the market (I’m still one of the only people to have written detailed English-language posts on it) so I went for it. Despite talk of the Droid, the HD2 and the N900, It’s still one of the best WVGA sliders available right now and with a recent price drop, represents excellent value but it’s disappointing that the Windows Phone upgrade has delayed the launch in most areas. I’m actually waiting for the Windows Phone upgrade before I do my full review on it but I can tell you that the screen is stunning, the keyboards (hard and soft) are great, the camera and camera software is amazing (i’ve tested it in detail against my current camera favorite, the Nokia N82) and Samsung have done a great job with the Touch-Wiz software. It extends wide and deep into Windows Mobile and is not just a user interface, it’s a subsystem and front-end application suite too. As a day-to-day phone (rather than MID) the Omnia Pro is actually better than the N900. It has longer battery life, is cheaper, has nearly all the end-user features of the N900, has more software and the correct focus on voice calling for most people. It is much slower all round and the browser quality is a big step down from the class-leading one you’ll find on the N900 but for 390 Euros (lowest current price in Europe) it is better value than the N900 for most people.

I’ve been focusing heavily on the Omnia Pro in a side project called ‘MyOmniaPro‘ If the B7610 slider interests you, there’s no better resource than the one I’ve created over there!

Viliv S7

The Viliv S7 has been an extremely hard device to review. My wife is simply in love with it and has even nicknamed it ‘Willy’ (That’s Villy in  her German accent!)  The result is that I can’t prise it out of her hands for long enough to be able to write about it. Fortunately, Ben, the co-editor here at UMPCPortal, did an excellent full review for our friends at Pocketables.net and has covered everything I could have ever said about it. I will be writing up an article which focuses on the unique features of the S7 (power/weight/battery life ratio, 3G, convertible touchscreen) but for the time being, take it from me that the Viliv is a solid device, has amazing battery life, great return-from-standby speeds, reaches the usual build-quality standard that we’ve come to expect from Viliv and is a lot of fun to use. Out of the box it’s a much faster device than the U820 and I’d argue that it’s more productive than the Sony Vaio P-Series. Viliv needs to know that the white finish isn’t getting many fans from the male-sector of our readership and as that makes up the most of our readership, maybe they should think about toughening up the looks a bit. The white-leather case just makes the matter worse!

One last note on the S7: Speaker quality and volume…WOW!

Archos 5 IT

If there’s one device that’s proven to me recently that there IS a market out there for dedicated MIDs and that my 3.5 year-old Carrypad idea still has legs, it’s the Archos 5 IT. It also highlights something else that I believe and that’s that ARM-based devices will have the upper-hand in the MID market during 2009. That will carry through until Moorestown finds its feet in late 2010.

Combining a great browsing experience, high-quality YouTube experience, one of my favorite mobile Twitter applications (Twidroid,) good media playback, 32GB storage, WiFi and Bluetooth on an interesting mobile operating system with some interesting applications it shows how the ARM platform has really come of age in the ‘full web experience’ market.

I wouldn’t recommend this as a pro or business-level product to anyone but for those looking for social and entertainment activities at home, in the car, on holiday and in the coffee-shop, I don’t think there’s a better device out there. Only gaming is missing from the line-up of web, music, video, navigation (could do better) and social internet capabilities. At 230 Euros for the 8GB version with Wifi and Bluetooth it sets a new pricing level for MIDs and I’m excited to see what follows. The Dell Streak certainly looks like it could be a better device (keyboard, camera) but the price is still unknown.

When you read about the Motorola Droid/Milestone and the great web experience on that, remember that the Archos is faster and more comfortable due to its bigger screen. It also plays YouTube videos like no other device in the smartphone, MID, netbook or even low-end laptop category. I haven’t bought the TV docking station for this but I’m very close. The DVB-T adaptor is on my list too.

Not a converged, voice-capable or 100% stable device but if you’re into mobile gadgets, this is probably the best Christmas present you could give yourself this year. Go for a low-end SSD version and drop a 16GB Micro-SDHC card in for the best value.

Coming up soon.

We’re looking at the Eking S515 (review unit secured. arrival in the next week), the Viliv S10 (review unit probable. Timescale unknown), Wits A81 (we’re 50:50 on this one as we need to buy it to review it), UMID M2 (need to chase a few people about that one) and Evi Group Pad (contact made. Review unit likely at end of November) and praying for the Dell Streak to just turn up at the door here! We’re also working on the HTC HD2, Motorola Milestone and KAX-15 and as always, waiting for a iPod Plus.

Fennec is Mozilla’s mobile device browser. They have been working on it for some time. Last time I looked at Fennec on the Vaio UX, it was in beta 1. They’ve moved on to beta 3 now and I gave it a quick test on the Viliv S7:

If you’d like to give Fennec a try on your own device, you can download beta 3 for Windows, Mac, Linux, Windows Mobile, and Maemo (the WM version is still in Alpha 3).

I received an S7 from Viliv a few weeks ago [unboxing and live session] and because of some commitments (and a white leather case that I wasn’t too keen on taking to the coffee shop!) I gave it to my Wife to test. To my surprise, she’s absolutely loving it and hasn’t used her laptop since. It looks like the S7 could be one for the ladies!

I’ve asked her to put some words together after her first two weeks and she’s just sent me this. Don’t forget, English is her 2nd language!

More Viliv S7 information, images and links on the S7 information page.

I am using this little white super-mini-pc since about 2 weeks and  Loving it!

It’s light, small but not too small when it comes to keyboard and screen.
The white colour works out well, because us ladies get oily and sticky hands from kids and hand-lotion and things, so the white doesn’t show the smudges.

What I like the most is:
4 seconds to be switched on (I always leave it on standby when I am done and close it afterwards), another 20 seconds to be online/wireless and another 2 seconds to get to emails. Great!

Battery-wise its good for me, I use it maybe 30 minutes at a time and that 3-4 times a day so far, and: since those 2 weeks have charged it once!!! [That’s two full charges over the last 2 weeks – Chippy]

The handling [performance] is super: When I work with the internet its in my both hands or on desk and I use touchscreen and mouse and keyboard alternating and simultaneously: yes, women need to do things as they want at that time, so whatever I feel like I can switch to and do it. For example: scrolling with touch, choosing things in a webpage with mouse, then tip on mousepad or touch-whatever I am in the mood for-smile.

All in all: I have put my old, big laptop under the bed and found a better alternative. I am pleased.

OK. It’s early days and she might still be in the honeymoon period but there’s one thing I’ve noticed – I haven’t had to do any home PC support for the last 3 weeks. The S7 is turning out to be a reliable, quick and very handy replacement for my wife’s laptop.

I’ll be stealing the S7 back for a a full review but I feel confident that there aren’t going to be any show-stoppers on the S7. It’s got a great quality keyboard for the size, huge battery life, runs OpenOffice with no problems at all and seems to be reliable over multiple standby/resume/wifi sessions – a good sign.

Thanks Mrs Chippy!

Starting at 1:00 PM Eastern Time on September 21st and running through October 10th, every S7 order will receive a free spare battery ($110 value!).

So says the email I’ve just received from Dynamism….

The Viliv S7 weighs just 1.76 lbs (800 g), yet features fantastic battery life, integrated 3G connectivity (optional), and a swivel-touchscreen–making it a true “mobility-tablet”. The S7 has a run-time of 9.5 hours under ideal conditions. This feature is made even better by four-second wakeup from standby under Windows XP.

Starting at $629, the Viliv S7 has the right combination of size, features (like 3G and swivel-touchscreen), and run-time to add ease, fun, and productivity to your busiest days!

When purchased from Dynamism, the Viliv S7 includes Dynamism Personalized Unlimited Toll-Free Technical Support and Manufacturer’s warranty.

So you’re getting 18 hours of battery life there. That’s good enough for a few days work (about 10-12 hours hard internet-connected work in my estimation) so if you’re away for a few days and over-nighting in a hotel you can simply leave the battery charger at home! Good to see that shipments are starting soon too. Early orders will be in customers hands in the second week in October.

Viliv S7 specifications, information, review links and more on our information page.

Apparently white is not a girl’s colour. At least that’s what my wife and daughter tell me. “Blue or Red would be better. This is just going to get dirty.” Hmm, since when did women think about practicalities?

Despite that, I’ve managed to convince my wife to take on the S7 as a personal mobile computer. She works in the health and fitness industry and is often out and about at customer premises using Windows-based measurement and analysis software so she’s agreed that it would actually be quite cool to turn up with this.

I’ll be setting her up with a 3G SIM card and all the software she needs and she’s promised to report back in early October.

I’ll still be doing a full review of the S7 but as I’ll be away in IDF next week, expect that in early October too. Hands-on and first impressions thoughts coming before the end of the week. Don’t forget that the three-J’s are also testing the S7. That’s JKK, Jenn and James

Viliv S7 information and specifications here.

JKK and I have had some fun tracking our Viliv S7’s from South Korea over the last four days and it turns out that the German customs organization is a little tighter than the Finnish one. No surprise there! Consequently, JKK picked his up from the DHL office this afternoon and has already videoed the unboxing. Remember this is a retail version of the high-end, 3G+voice, 32GB SSD S7 that should be available at Dynamism very soon. As a bonus, you get to see the very girly white leather case!

Viliv S7 – Full specifications, other videos, gallery and more on our information page.

A live session is still planned for tomorrow but depending on whether my S7 turns up, we may push the convertible shootout to Wednesday evening. Stay tuned for the final information but whatever happens, we’ll be online on Tuesday evening as planned.

JKKMobile – Viliv S7 UMPC

As the Viliv S7 makes its way towards us here in Germany (as I write, it’s somewhere between Seoul and Cologne – expected Monday or Tuesday) it’s clear that other’s are ramping up for the big launch too.

Jenn downloaded some of the new press images [full set of 47 images here] and she’ll also be getting one next week. Dynamism have put the device up for pre-order too. Pricing is better than I thought with the mid-range 32GB SSD version up for just $659. I was honestly expecting (and worried about) pricing nearer 800 dollars. Of course it’s more than a netbook but don’t get me started on that one. I’ve a list as long as my arm detailing differences between a netbook and this UMPC. 800gm and 8 hrs of battery life is the best figure. 1hr per 100gm makes it extremely strong in battery life/weight ratio.

Our information page for the Viliv S7. Click through to see images, videos and news related to the Viliv S7.

Pricing:

There are three versions of the S7 available at Dynamism

The entry level S7/60 with a 60GB hard drive and the 1.3Ghz Atom CPU with 1GB RAM and XP Home. A good combination for those that want to use the S7 mainly as a media player. $629

MID-Range 32GB SSD version. This is the version to go for if you want silent operation, a little more speed with boot-up and application access and the ruggedness that comes with having a PC with no moving parts. $659.

The high-end SSD/3G version obviously adds the HSPA (high speed up/down) modem which we understand is a voice-capable Huawei model as found on the X70 and S5. $799

For more information and to register for availability and special offers, see Dynamism.com

A few things to think about:

• Battery life. 5-9hrs depending on scenario.
• Small form-factor. Significantly smaller than an ASUS T91.
• Light weight. 20% lighter than the lightest netbooks.
• Convertible touchscreen.
• Touch-typing capable keyboard. Not up to the sizes of 10” netbooks but around the same size as early 7” and 9” Eee PCs.
• GPS Update from Viliv: No GPS on thess retail versions.
• Fast SSD. The Viliv SSDs are fast enough to make a noticeable difference when compared to the HDD versions.
• VGA, Component and S-Video out.
• SDHC capable card reader for up to 32GB SD card expansion.

Despite the great features it has to be said that if you’ve got a netbook, the S7 may be difficult to justify but if you don’t have a netbook and want a UMPC to cover table-top, mobile, handheld, car and other duties, the S7 is a real multi-scenario mobile computing gem.

Live session with the S7.

The S7 is due to arrive on Monday or Tuesday here and JKK and I have planned a live session for Tuesday evening after the Archos press event. Stay tuned for more information.

We’ve waited a long long time to see a production Viliv S7. An early prototype was seen at CES in Jan 2008 and the re-design was seen over a year ago at IDF. Finally the production devices are moving out the door. At least in Hong Kong.

One early adopter in Hong Kong, ‘bad_one’, has been providing some updates in the forum. He’s also sent over some images so it’s time for the first end-user ‘proxy’ review of the Viliv S7 3G (1.3Ghz)

Read the full story

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 UMPC 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]

Our UMPC-loving friends over in Hong Kong, UMPCFever, are reporting that the S7 will launch on Friday 21st August.

Some highlights and images of the device below. I’m sure UMPCFever will be getting hold of pricing and giving hands-on reports soon. We’re hoping to get the S7 here at UMPCPortal very soon too.

Reading the press release info it looks like it will launch with a 3G option, SSD options, data transfer capability, haptic feedback for the OSK, ultra-bright screen, 1.3mp webcam and a new user interface called Shuttle. The lightest version to be launched in Hong Kong will be under 800gm in weight. Note that specifications for the export models (we’re expecting them at Dynamism first based on their history with Viliv) will probably have different specs. You can see the full specs on Viliv’s product promotion page here.

Having just reviewed the very similar Clevo TN70M, I do worry a bit about the competition from the netbook market here. This isn’t a true Tablet PC as it has a lightweight resistive screen so bear that in mind when thinking about usage models. The key feature here is the super light weight for a 7” screen device (although an SK3 would be slightly lighter) combined with huge battery life (expect 6 hours or more out of this. Viliv are talking about 9 or 10 hours!) and a very good keyboard. For those looking at the T91, this is a lighter, longer battery life option that will be available with 3G.

Full specifications and links to previous articles, videos etc.

The Viliv S7 [Portal page] is still on its way out the production door, but that hasn’t stopped a Korean blog from getting their hands on one and taking plenty of good images.

The same site also produced a video of the rather underwhelming Viliv Shuffle UI that comes included with the device:

Check out the original article for more images of the Viliv S7.

via [jkkmobile] and [UMPC Fever]

Full specs, details, news links and more at the Viliv S7 Portal page.

Pocketables.net picked up a story that has a nice cache of Viliv S7 photos from Korean site Lazion.com. In addition to the photos there are some impressive battery life figures from a few battery tests.

Viliv claims that the 2-cell 4700Mah battery can last for 9.5 hours and while that might be technically possible, some real-life usage tests have clocked in under that claimed time, but are still impressive.

Test: Video Playback – DivX 3.11 / Resolution 720×400 / bit rate 1.64Mbps / wireless – Bluetooth off / screen brightness maximum / max volume
Result: 6 hours, 13 minutes

Condition: Video Playback – XviD / Resolution 640×360 / bit rate 1.64Mbps / wireless – Bluetooth off / brightness medium / volume 20%
Result: 7 hours 28 minutes

Test: Korea@Home distributed computing client – Wireless LAN on / screen brightness maximum / sound off
Result: 5 hours 45 minutes

Check out the original article for more images.

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.