Viliv's N5 UMPC finally reviewed, deemed worth the wait
By Tim Stevens 
posted June 28th 2010 10:23AM
posted June 28th 2010 10:23AM
posted June 28th 2010 10:23AM
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They need to make a OS just for netbooks, Windows 7 is not it
@Cainhunpi And tablets
@Cainhunpi And PCs
@Cainhunpi That, and next time I see Windows CE on a netbook, Ima` bitch slap the person who put it there.
I had to setup Wireless on one for a neighbour the other day. Not happy.
@Cainhunpi Why not? Can you not remove options via various ways or would you prefer to be locked into things? Maybe try Ubuntu on it or maybe even go on the web and buy one of the MANY devices that don't have windows. I find nothing wrong with Windows on mobile devices
@Excalibur It'd be alright if there was an option to thin out various bars (linux xfce style) to account for the small moderatly low resoloutoin screens, W7 is miles better than XP on that font, but things could be made smaller.
Also, they still need to drop a load of stuff for that level of hardware (again though, I'll admit, Windows 7 performs much better on lower hardware than Vista)
@Cainhunpi Nah, man. Windows 7 is perfect for me. I've tried Ubuntu, Moblin, Meego, XP, and Jolicloud on my netbook, and went running back to Windows 7.
Some of them were nice, but I bought my netbook as a light ultra portable workstation. I don't expect to do anything super intensive but I do expect to fire up Dreamweaver/Photoshop/Illustrator plus some other things without a hitch. Full blown linux distros just don't have the same level of quality when it comes to apps (and the UI is generally ugly), compact distros (like Meego) are nice for browsing but not really for doing real work.
If you're looking for a fun, mostly consume only OS, just get a iPad. As for Windows 7 on netbooks.. just get a good netbook. My netbook's specs are:
1366x766 resolution, 2GB RAM, Broadcom HD decoder (+ Flash 10.1 = smooth HD flash), 40GB Intel SSD, Atom 1.6 N450, Windows 7
Dock the super bar to the left and you got a super cable netbook. Altogether I got it for about $490, a little more expensive then others but I put some after market stuff into it (RAM/SSD). This netbook + my 2010 i7 8GB 15" 1680x1050 Macbook Pro + EVO 4G = perfect.
@Cainhunpi Have you tried Ubuntu Netbook Edition? It's pretty nice for 1024x600 screens.
http://www.ubuntu.com/netbook
@Cainhunpi imagine...microsoft can make a good mobile platform (windows mobile 7) but not a good pc os...the worse part is that all of them are based on windows ce
@Cainhunpi : Have you tried this?:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsembedded/en-us/products/westandard/default.mspx
@Cainhunpi Windows 8? http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/28/early-windows-8-features-to-include-startup-performance-boost-v/
Viliv... nice products, great models!
Go get MeeGo for it ^^
why is the bezel so big on these devices. it's the 21st century, not the 80s
@palindrome apparently they wanted to maintain a 16:9 ratio at the same height, which wouldn't have been possible if they made the screen larger
@palindrome oh wow! I can't believe the big Coys didnt notice that!!! thumbs up for ya pal!!!!
Welcome back UMPC, sorry we didn't miss you.
I used to own a Samung Q1 ultra and that was a very nice device but kept my Asus R2h as it did what i wanted with minimal fuss. Sure, the standard 1.8" drive didn't exactly burn with speed, but it was fine for light tasks.
As for Windows, let's wait to see what WinMobile 7 has to offer and maybe a load or people that repeat things will finally get something that they think that they want.
As for me, I was fine with Windows XP on the Asus R2h (Stylus and touch) and am now very happy with 7 on my Acer 1820ptz (Display set to 125% dpi).
What they need to do is run Android on it!
Yeah, no.
The Dell Streak should have used this sceen
I prefer the Z5xx + GMA500 set that comes with most of these touch capable devices and some thin and lights. Across the board Atom sucks but the Z5xx family is actually usable.
Looks like an awesome device. I couldn't imagine carrying around something bigger than a Dell Streak but the fact that it has a physical keyboard makes it very tempting. What killed it though was a full blown Windows 7..... seriously, a new OS is needed for these smaller device. Stop putting full blown desktop OS.... PLEASE!!
@Plazmic Flame lol, yeah, why give me the power of my desktop in my hands? I just want that dummy down experience cause that's the way of the future. PLEASE!! Anything but Windows on these devices is a joke!
@rwalrond
Do I detect a hint of sarcasm? lol
Dude, I'm not saying to NOT have Windows on the device, it's just that having the full blown desktop OS is not functional at all. Who the hell wants to be trying to click on the start menu and taskbars on such a small screen on a "portable" device?? I've tried before and it's frustrating as hell, even with a stylus.
Maybe these guys need to take a look at Windows Embedded Compact 7.... or whatever the hell it's called...
since the price will be rofl anyway... may as well charge sky high. probably will be north of $800...
@nothing
The Sagemcom Spiga's concept is very similar to the N5, the specs are slightly worse, but it sells for 500€ in Germany (available on contract @ vodafone). This makes me think the N5 will sell at about 600-700€/$ if and as soon as there is some competition.
http://www.sagemcom.com/index.php?id=1911
*sigh*
Bigger, but less powerful, than an OQO.
@displaysRus
Seriously the OQO was the device that made me take notice of UMPC. Maybe they too can come back from the brink. That seem to be the trend lately anyway. ;-)
HDDs are really the bottleneck of the S.O. speed.
Depending on the performance of this SSD, yes, it can run W7 and have a very good performance.
@lee1019
Sorry am i missing something just why should the Streak of used this screen? I know .2" doesn't sound like much but in the real world on a device it is and I'll stick with the 5" screen it's got. Have you even seen the Streaks screen? It's stunning in fact it's so bright it's the first time I've ever had to turn down a screen from full brightness on any of my devices.
They can stick their Retina 3.5" screens and Super AMOLED 4" screens where ever they want I'm more than happy with my 5" 800x480 TFT WVGA on the Streak
This is basically an E-Dictionary, with a few more internals
Very near future = sometime in the next millennium,
How this one compare with vaio P
Wow! Dr. Potter. What could have been! (Psion - "Potter Scientific Instruments or Nothing")
Slashgear says pricing for the non-3G model will be $649, out on July 17th. For me, that is FAR too much for far too little and far too late. The original statement from Viliv back in January was that it would come in at under $500. Sorry, Viliv, I ain't going to be buying this for that much.