VilivHd5
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Viliv N5 MID hands-on, HD5 PMP makes a cameo
For those of you hoping that Viliv's aesthetic excellence will somehow make magic out of the 4.8-inch flip MID form factor, you might want to look away right about now. We too were hoping that Viliv could somehow sprinkle fairy dust on the errors of something like the UMID mBook BZ, but sadly the N5 is no such MID. It's good looking, to be sure, and might even be better constructed than UMID's entry, but it has the same squint-inducing 1024 x 600 display and aggravating optical mouse pad holding it back. In reality, both of these little computers are more akin to "observing" what it's like to have a full computer running on an impossible form factor, instead of anything appropriate for actually using that computer. Perhaps the CE-based Viliv HD5 PMP will find a truer calling. We saw the slate unit pumping out some HD video at a steady clip, and its hardware is certainly refined -- if only just a little chubby. Unfortunately, none of the buttons were working, so we couldn't hop out of the video and see what the rest of the player has to offer. At least it's not Windows XP under there, daring us to use it. Videos of both devices are after the break. %Gallery-83019%
Viliv's HD5 PMP leaked ahead of CES, packs Windows CE, 32GB of storage
We're just a few days away from the opening of the show and, naturally, we've already seen a few notable leaks. This latest one, courtesy of Viliv, is perhaps on the lower end of the excitement spectrum, but is an interesting one nonetheless. The company that impressed us with a slew of MIDs and UMPCs throughout 2009 looks set to launch another PMP, the HD5. It has a much sleeker looking design than the S5 from last year (just 13mm thick), and higher specs too, packing 8, 16, or 32GB of storage plus SDHC expansion. There's a DMB/DAB tuner, five-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen, HDMI output, and support for 1080p content. Somewhat curiously it's running Windows CE, but we're guessing that'll be nicely hidden behind some sort of jazzy UI -- which we fully expect to be experiencing in the next few days. [Thanks, Gavin]
Viliv N5 MID set to debut at CES
We've already gotten up close with the S10 Blade that Viliv is promising to show off at CES, but this invitation is the first we've heard of the company's N5 mobile internet device, which is also slated to debut at the show. As you can see above, this one is a clamshell MID, and packs a 4.8-inch multitouch display, a fully QWERTY keyboard, and 3G, WiFi, and GPS capabilities. Also on track for an official launch: the dual-boot Windows CE / Android Viliv P3, and the Windows CE-based, 1080p video-playing HD5 PMP.
