Comparing the Viliv X70 and S5 UMPC on Video
done
My coverage of the Viliv X70 and S5 UMPCs has been very popular and I am getting asked by a lot of people how the two devices compare during use. This is not an easy question to answer, however, as even though they are comparably configured they are very different devices to use due to their respective sizes. The easiest way to demonstrate how I use each UMPC is on video, so have a look and hopefully you’ll get a feel for how each of the two devices feel.
The X70 is the first up on camera and has a 7-inch screen. Last up is the S5 with the little 5-inch screen and I show how both of them are used in portrait orientation in the hand. Have a look and see what you think about these UMPCs from Korea.
Great video, as usual. Whats the handwriting recog like? how about some onenote demos…
Thanks again!
You won’t find any native HWR on these units.
For the record I installed a demo version of ritePen on my S5 and wasn’t surprised to find it nearly unusable, mostly due to excessive vectoring. On the other hand, it’s just about the best touch digitizer I’ve ever experienced, ideally suited for in-hand navigation as James showed with Firefox.
- For short input, I use the built-in soft keyboard in landscape mode.
- For medium input, I use FITALY – it’s got a bit of a learning curve, but usually only one or two days then you are off to the races.
- For longer input sessions, I whip out me trusty Sierra BT keyboard, which continues to rock !
Don’t have Office or OneNote installed and since it doesn’t have the Tablet Edition OS HWR will not be very good and only in Office.
Hi,
I still could not figure out how you changed the screen from landscape to portrait mode. Please let me know.
There should be the Intel Graphics icon in the system tray. Right-click on it (hold cursor on it until menu appears). Choose GRAPHICS OPTIONS | ROTATION and then you can select any of the 4 orientations.
Thanks,
One useful tool I am missing is the zoom feature. Is there any add ons for the browser to zoom by clicking the area I want to zoom in and zoom out?
No, I showed how to zoom the page in Firefox in the video. It works great and is centered around your current place on the page so serves the same purpose.
XP Home Premium?
Great vid James. I`m really getting a lot of use from my S5,in fact lying on the couch catching up on TV (check out a bbc show called Life on Mars)while browsing and typing this on the S5.
I see the X70 as a great `lounging` device.
X70 + Pixel Qi would be excellent (although I don’t know if Pixel Qi has a 7″ screen) as an e-book reader.
Thank you James for the video review!
But really, which one is your favorite? For web browsing, ebook reading?
JohnD
At home in the easy chair- X70.
Out in public- S5.
James, I understand the X70 for the easy chair. But could you expand on why you prefer the S5 out in public? Is it the weight difference? Or being able to hold it better? Or it takes less space in your gadget bag? Perhaps the answer is yes to all, but I’m curious which is the most important to you. Thanks.
Further clarification:
I would rather carry the S5 around as it’s small and easy. However, if I needed to get serious work done in public I’d wish I had the X70 with me.
What are the DC input voltage and amperage requirements for the X70?
Thanks.
dc 9.5V 2.84A
Any news about windows7 drivers for the s5?
James – can you speculate on why they didn’t include a web cam in the S5? Any idea from your sources if they might add that with an updated model later on?
Probably a lot of reasons. I have never gotten a good experience with a web cam on a handheld device like the S5. It is impossible to hold them still and with the camera at the proper distance and angle for a chat. I don’t miss it on the S5 at all, and I use video chats a lot.
James,
Which one is better for inking, and how do they compare to the Fujitsu p1630? I know the Vilevs don’t have tablet features (until Windows 7), but maybe you can take a guess.
I need a computer to take notes on in meetings, and to take renovation notes on while walking through buildings.
I had the HP 2730p, but it was too heavy to use walking through buildings. My holding fingers went numb, and I thought I would drop it. Also, I wasn’t happy with the inking. It had the little round bubble floating around the cursor head, and I never knew where I was writing.
Do you think I should just wait until Windows 7 comes out, and we get a new model from Fujitsu?
Mike
I’ve an S5 and it’s no good for inking. Likewise I don’t think the X70 will be any good for inking due to lack of tablet features. A P1630 is a much better bet for what you want but of course is much more expensive. I had a P1620 and it was comfortable to hold, lightweight and easy to ink on.
You could even consider a late model TC1100, ideal for site work in its portfolio case.
JK,
How easy is it to adjust screen brightness and what level do you have it on for ereading. I am hoping that turning down the brightness will be the most comfortable and most battery efficient
It can be adjusted via a slider in the Cube utility. I usually leave it about 50%.
Has anyone considered trying to setup a Duo pen or Tablo Siso pen on one of these? Im interested to see how much the note taking function would increase?
James – What is the pandora app that you are using?
That is the desktop app only available to paid members of the Pandora One service. It’s only $36 per year and has some other advantages too.
James — With Windows 7 on the horizon, which has great handwriting recognition capabilities and will run well on netbook-level RAM and processors, wouldn’t it make sense for Viliv or some other company to make a device very similar to the X70 form factor but that has palm rejection technology and is built for inking, has OneNote installed, etc.? One of the downsides to both the X70 and the S5 (and with many of these type of devices) seems to be the difficulty in inputting using the onscreen keyboard. Couldn’t that issue largely be solved if the device was built for inking and utilized ActiveWords and/or ritePen? Seems like a lightweight, good battery-life device like the X70 with good inking capability would be the perfect companion for trips and being out and about. Or is there already something out there that I’m missing? The P1630 is the closest thing I know of, but it’s a little bigger and, or course, much more expensive.
Tablet PCs cost a lot more than UMPCs and I am certain that is a big problem for OEMs. Price is the driver with these things and I seriously doubt we’ll see a “real” Tablet UMPC with good inking on a passive digitizer.
Is the difference in the speed of the two processors and the SSD vs. HDD noticeable? I guess my question boils down to boot time, waking from sleep, and basic reaction time to commands.
Thanks in advance.
Wow, It just hit me…a S5 or X70 running slingbox over wifi would be BOSS!!!
JK, can you try something? There seems to be speculation that the S5 audio jack can also double as a mic jack. Can you confirm two things?
1. Attach a regular mic to see if it works.
2. Attach the iPhone’s combo earbud / mic to see if it works?
Thanks!!!
Combo mic/ earbud doesn’t work, I tried that a while ago. I don’t have a standalone mic to try but I’d be surprised if it worked. Bluetooth stereo headsets and phone headsets work fine though and solve the problem.
Thanks JK!!!
I still find it strange they didn’t include a built in mic since a likely use would be to use voice command in the car.
Anyway, thanks again.
Hi JK! Have you tried running some games on it? Just curious on the graphic performance. RPG-type games maybe or some 1st person shooter? Can it be a good substitute for consoles? Thanks!
hi jr
from the video , there is a bar (like tool bar ) on the top of the screen (in desktop ) consisting of firefox n other application.
(on video u r use it to launch Firefox )
what is the name of application , i want to try it for my q1u
thank in advance
andy,SG
This is the free Rocketdock.
Hi,
I’m planning on buying an X70 for ebook reading…
Can you give me some advice? I want to sure that the 7″ screen is not too small to read the texts… or make the eyes tired after some long (about 5 or more hours) time..
Thanks for your advice..
The 7-inch high res screen is fine for long reading sessions.
James,
Thanks for all the great write-ups and videos on both of these. I’m seriously thinking about picking up an X70 from Dynamism. One question: any heat issues? How hot does it get after a few hours use?
Thanks.
No heat to speak of.
James,
thanks for the review, but still questions…
1) Did you try 3G on it? If yes, how good is it?
2) what about GPS?
3) true batt life? greater than 4hrs?
from germany
Stefan
1. Yes and it’s what you’d expect. Works as advertised on both devices.
2. I have not tried the GPS as I don’t have navigation software. I have corresponded with those who have tried it and it works OK.
3. Battery life is about 4 – 5 hours on both devices.
There is a lot of coverage on both devices here in the UMPC category.
Thank you, James. During the weekend I read a lot and I long to order that umpc
Nice!
I have an S5 with Win 7 OS. I have enabled the Tablet PC functionality and it’s very usable. I’m using Windows Journal for note-taking and the HWR recognition is accurate.
I recently discovered you great site!
I thank you for your wonderful reviews of the viliv S5 and X70.
I believe the X70 is the unit for us as my wife and I east into retirement travel.
My wife wants a book reader and GPS.
I want to have WiFi, mp3,MSWord and MSExcel.
Can you tell us if there is any way to load my MSOffice 2000 Professional on the X70?
MSOffice 2000 serves us well and hate to have to buy new software just to do basic functions.
OpenOffice.org will serve you well if all you need are the basic functions of an office suite.
“Can you tell us if there is any way to load my MSOffice 2000 Professional on the X70?”
James, my X70 is on order so I haven’t tested this, but why couldn’t you just connect a USB CD/DVD drive containing the install disc? Or alternatively, create an ISO of the install and use Virtual Clone Drive or similar to mount the ISO as a virtual CD/DVD?
Hi,
I was wondering if you could help me figure this out. The Viliv s5 and x7 models have different variants of these models. Some offer 3g and others do not. The ones with 3g I’m assuming only need a sim card from a 3g service provider. But what of the non-3g models. Would I be able to plug a 3g usb stick into the side like any other laptop and use this service? The reason I ask is because the 3g models are at least 200$ more expensive. I’m also a little worried that these wireless companies will make some regulation against using sim cards in other devices, just because, well let’s see they’re a bunch of douche bags. They now charge 30 bucks to teether. And this is seperate from what you pay for a normal regular data plan.
Yes, you can use USB devices with these like any other PC.
Hi,
Thanks a lot for the review, I actually got interested and got an X70. I was wondering if you know of a nice bluetooth foldable keyboard with a trackball that I could use with this toy
Thanks.
would the viliv s5 work w/ a USB bus powered HD that has 2 usb plugs?
and does the s5 have a way to plug in to a USB based ethernet port?
i.e. USB ethernet adapter—
sved, on your second question, I use a USB Ethernet adapter with no problem.