Video: Viliv S7 hands on and VAIO P comparo

As promised, we've made a run over to check out Viliv's forthcoming S7 netbook tablet, bringing along the ever-popular VAIO P to see how the two stack up (as well as an Eee 1000H for good measure). As you can see, the S7 actually isn't that much larger than the Sony, maybe 30 percent thicker and a little bit wider, but also a bit shorter. The thing manages to find room for a track pad on top of the keyboard, but it's an awfully small one, so thank goodness for the (non-multi) touch screen. Also small is that keyboard, which is one of the most painful we've yet experienced on a netbook, featuring arrow and punctuation keys that even a pygmy would fat-finger. But, compromises must be made when making machines small, and small this one is. Viliv has written a custom skin that overlays the Windows XP install, demonstrated in a video below. It's reasonably pleasant to use (minimizing the need to rely on that tiny trackpad), but is also easy to exit if you're not feeling it. We already know the specs of this tiny convertible, so the only mysteries left are "when" followed immediately by "how much." The answers we received to those questions are unfortunately a bit vague: "before this summer" and a rather predictable "less than the VAIO P." We're guessing it'll be a lot less. Oh, and for those examining the gallery, don't worry about the rough edges you might spy: this is a pre-production S7, so things should be a good bit more polished when it hits retail.

Gallery: Viliv S7

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[njk @ Jan 12th 2009 5:07AM]

vaio p is way cooler than this viliv s7.
1st thing: vaio p looks better,
2nd you can put it in your pocket(as shown in videos bevore),
3rd pressing the display will flip the small computer,
4th viliv is a very bad name, sounds like willy or if your drunk: vililililiv.

[whopper @ Jan 11th 2009 1:55PM]

wow your criticizing it for its name,njk.

[njk @ Jan 11th 2009 2:05PM]

i dont sell me.

[Kizorblade @ Jan 11th 2009 2:14PM]

Vil-iv?

Well, guess what? If you repeat "Wii", you get WiiWii! Which is what most little kids say when they need the toilet.

But does it suck? Based on sales numbers... hell no.

Names don't mean shit. They only piss me off. For example.. when BFG released their Nvidia 280GTX OC or whatever. Can't they just have 280?

Yeah, I'm grumpy. Sorry.

[Game_playa @ Jan 11th 2009 2:30PM]

OC = OVERCLOCKED
And they DO have a just 280 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143142
Its SC(Superclocked) not OC. Go away troll

[Game_playa @ Jan 11th 2009 2:32PM]

If you were referring to the name, sorry then

[Luis Neng @ Jan 11th 2009 5:33PM]

Man this viliv thing looks like a spectrum with a screen attached on it. VAIO P looks much better.

[OneLove @ Jan 12th 2009 12:21AM]

I am a pygmy and I resent that comment!

[Claim @ Jan 13th 2009 8:49PM]

njk,
You never mentioned on battery live time. Everybody here should check it. iPhone has 4 hours talk time. Sony P should archieve at least 5 hours web surfing. Otherwise Sony P will be regarded as one of the most expensive accesssories.

[nick @ Jan 11th 2009 1:57PM]

Stack up a Hp mini 1000 and then I'll be interested.

[collegekid13 @ Jan 11th 2009 2:04PM]

im sorry but even without the tablet thing the vaio is so much better looking

[Phoenix @ Jan 11th 2009 3:27PM]

Well, that certainly looks a lot better than the fucked up press shots

[Asher Madan @ Jan 11th 2009 3:30PM]

No one is really going to buy this. The ergonomics are all screwed up because the trackpad is at the top of the keyboard! why the heck didn't they include a mouse like the one of the P. This is going to be a big fail.

[Al @ Jan 11th 2009 3:34PM]

Take away the mouse pad, replace it with the mouse numb, and make the keyboard a littler larger and I may seriously think about purchasing one.

[KilgoreTrout @ Jan 11th 2009 3:35PM]

No doubt the Vaio is better looking BUT
a) it's surely gonna be ( much) more expensive.
b) It's not touch screen nor convertible.
Moreover , in the end of the day, what I want to know is which one is the most flexible, the one with the most useful and better working apps and features, the most trustable and less likely to make me angry, the most practical, fast,etc. etc.
This is CES guys, not a freaking beauty contest.

[Poom @ Jan 11th 2009 4:06PM]

Wow... The Vaio P really gets A LOT of coverage in Engadget. I'm very surprised, seeing that it's a Sony, not an Apple. Now everything will be compared to the Vaio P just like how everything was compared to Macbook Air before.

[JeSuZ Cicle @ Jan 11th 2009 4:44PM]

For fucks sakes, whats the big deal with the Viao P? My ancient EEE pc 4g I bought when they first came out is more useful than that, glorified paperweight.

Seriously at almost a 1000$ ? EEE pc 701's, and 4g's can be had for a little over 130$ on ebay, why bother with the Sony? I really really would like someone to clue me in on this, because im stumped as to why it's so damn popular. :(

[bot @ Jan 11th 2009 6:08PM]

I'm going to guess that the reason the P is so popular is because of aesthetics. I am really excited that this S7 is getting alot of coverage. In terms of a netbook it has a ton of features packed into a tiny 800g weight. The Sony P looks nice and all, but besides the higher resolution screen it doesn't really bring that much to the netbook fest. If you're going to spend close to $1000 on a netbook, it would be wiser to go with the EverRun Note which has a dual core processor, discrete graphics, and I haven't done any size comparisons but I would bet it's smaller or similar in size to the P and this S7.

[Whatever @ Jan 12th 2009 9:11AM]

The Kohjinsha SC, a tiny 7" tablet converter, is a more worthy competitor to the Sony P and closer price wise, as is the the Everun Note.

Kohjinsha SC is here : http://jkkmobile.blogspot.com/2008/06/kohjinsha-sc-series-7-inch-convertible.html

[kidcanuck @ Jan 11th 2009 6:17PM]

I am vain enough that I won't buy the Viliv because it's ugly, and cheap enough that I won't buy the Vaio P because it's overpriced. I got excited about the Vaio P- very briefly, when all we had were teasers. I thought it was going to be my dream netbook: a full size, or near, keyboard, with a screen attached. I'm a student, and I need something that's great for typing because I am an english major as well as an aspiring/hobbyist writer, but I'm simply not willing to carry around a full sized laptop or anything even approaching that, and every netbook keyboard I have tried is simply too small (my hands are sorta big). I'm seriously considering buying a Pomera DM10 (http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/21/pomera-dm10-is-tri-folding-overkill-for-note-takers/). If only it weren't so damn expensive.

[Claim @ Jan 11th 2009 8:45PM]

Don't you need 7 hours internet surfing? Have you seen Sony P's THICK ugly extended battery to support 6 hours use?

[jon @ Jan 11th 2009 9:53PM]

With everyone picking the 1.3ghz P over the 1.8ghz s7 just cause it's shinier, we must have a lot of apple fans here tonight.
Kidcanuck, you should try the sammy nc-10 if you haven't already, I've got big hands too, but she works just fine. from the outside edges of the shift keys it's only 1.5" narrower than my 15" vaio's keyboard.

[MonteVale @ Jan 12th 2009 1:48AM]

Tablets are going to suck and everyone is going to hate them until they have as super huge resolution something like 3840x2048 and has a proper software support that addresses the text so it is proportionately reflected for the smaller size of the screen.
Today the video cards and screens can't do it in the small size yet and the OS(s) all of them are not sophisticated enough to recognize the need for the resolution/font size relationship.
Netbooks suffer from the same (not enough resolution) thing.
What the hell am I going to see on the 800x400 screen? ...Microsoft DOS? Can you really work in that thing beyond simple texting? I have two monitors 1680X1050 side by side. I sit away from them about two feet. On a 7-8" screen the away distance will be about half of that. Sure you can't work on that thing all day long, but you would be able to work on it. Until then it is going to be a toy.
Sony has been on the right track with the resolutions on their devices and it needs to go higher. Issues such "the text is too small" should be addressed intelligently through software.

[jon @ Jan 12th 2009 3:22AM]

What could you possibly need that kind of pixel density for? Humans can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on a 50" screen at 8-10', and you think we need 2k HD on netbooks. Sony's 1600 horiz. is for bragging rights, nothing more. Considering it's using gma 500 and a z520 proc, it was a stupid call. Also, they have software for text that's too small, it's called ctrl+mouse wheel.

[NoXil @ Jan 15th 2009 2:18AM]

Viliv Brands, I can't buy it in Thailand. In Thailand have ome brands(Asus,Acer,Lenovo and Hp)
http://umpc.mynoxil.com

[Stellar Developer @ Mar 31st 2009 9:39PM]

I've been waiting for this to come out for months. Compared to other stuff, especially the vaio, im defiantly interested in this. I had planned on getting the x70 atom, but unless they offer the 1.86ghz processor, i'll probably get this. either way, I'll be getting a mid from viliv.