Hasta La Gadget!

Android on netbooks might be the fad du jour, but it sounds like Routon’s still working the MID angle — the company just dropped word of two devices in the pipeline. The P760 and P730 are said to be in the “research phase,” so we don’t know too much about ’em, but they certainly look nice, and they’re scheduled to hit sometime in the second half of the year. Honestly, though, we can’t help but wonder when and where we’re supposed to use these things — anyone craving a MID over a netbook or smartphone?

[Via Slashgear]

Filed under: Handhelds

Routon previews its Android MIDs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Still no US release in sight, but UMID’s M1 has now set the course for the land down under in the not-too-distant future. Pocketables has managed to get its hands on a non-HSDPA retail version to take it through the unboxing and review motions. The pictures are a good reminder at just how tiny this thing is, especially compared to the jacket pocket fave Vaio P. Unfortunately, it’s also got a rather awkward set of adapters for USB and what appears to be headphones, as seen in the picture above. Australian retailer Justek’s got the unit available for pre-order now, but you might want to glance at that $930 to $1426 price range before you impulsively hit the “pre-order now” button.

Read – Unboxing
Read – Product page

Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

UMID M1 unboxed ahead of Australian launch originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The gadget: Viliv S5, a computer that fits in your palm, packing all the Atom processor power of the latest netbooks along with GPS.

The price: $599 (configured with 4.8″ WSVGA display, 60gb HD, Intel Atom 1.33GHz CPU, free spare battery, car kit and pouch)

The verdict: The S5 is a good value, but you may not like it anyway.

At .92lbs, the Viliv is a bit hefty in your hands even though it’s 1.5lbs lighter than most netbooks (it’s sitting on an Asus Eee 1000HE here). Still, the Viliv kept surprising me with its speed. Loaded with the same processor as the Vaio P, the system doesn’t actually run XP faster than any Atom-based, but to see installation bars and downloads move so quickly on such a tiny device is always a bit of a mindfrak.

The resistive touchscreen has passable color, brightness and contrast—luckily, it’s also ridiculously accurate. Yeah, the buttons and icons are as minuscule as you’d expect, but I never had a hard time, say, hitting the “X” to close a window (with my precision “nail” tool, of course)…unless my browser was full screen. Then my finger just never fit in the corner properly. For when you need extreme precision, the four-way thumbstick doubles as a mouse, or you can use the bundled “Cube” interface for larger icons (which is fine for a skin, but you’ll need to tinker in the real XP sooner or later).

As for the keyboard, it pops up with a conveniently placed button on the right. Pressing keys offers a satisfying moment of haptic feedback. It works about 90% of the time, but however the keyboard skin was designed, your finger press sometimes goes through the keyboard and hits a link or something that’s on your screen. It can make typing a simple phrase quite taxing as you unintentionally swap text boxes.

The GPS? It works, but you’ll need to supply your own nav software (an additional cost). The battery? It’s rated at 6 hours, but we received four hours (and two minutes) when tested with nonstop WMV playback (Wi-Fi on with the screen at medium brightness). Since many manufacturers claim battery life that’s double actual testing, I considered four hours to be decent.
The USB, headphone and Multi I/O ports are enough in a device of this size, because between them, you could plug in a keyboard, monitor (with adapter) and speakers. In this respect, the Viliv could make for an extremely portable home-to-office computer.

Here’s the issue: I just don’t like MIDs. I hate them, really. If I want to use something small, I’ll use a smartphone. If I want to use something slightly bigger, that’s netbook/laptop territory. The MID, in my mind, is a failed idea of the future still stuck in the 90s. It’s a computer that neither fits in your pocket nor serves as your main computer. So if you hate MIDs, the Viliv S5 won’t do anything to change that.

But for a MID, I must say, I liked the Viliv. If you are the type of person who can stand the 4.8-inch screen and is looking for their GPS to do a little more, then it might interest you. And at $599, it’s sort of the netbook of MIDs—a whole lot cheaper than what you can get from Sony or the soon defunct OQO.

As fast as any netbook

Relatively cheap

Utilitarian but solid build

Accurate touchscreen

Some keyboard quirks

[Dynamism and Video from ITInside]

Like it or not, the spiral bound notebook is going the way of the Dodo. Okay, so maybe that’s absolutely incorrect and totally sensationalistic, but you catch our drift. If not, take a whiff of what reader Allan is cooking:

“My boss is a prolific note taker, filling many spiral bound notebooks with notes. As I deal with more projects, I find myself moving in the same direction. I would love the ability to search my notes, something not available with dead tree software. Is there a simple relatively cheap device that would allow me to take notes (preferably using hand writing), and then search them later? Ideally, I’d like something the size of a small internet tablet, but no smaller than an iPod touch. I’m looking for something far cheaper than a full-blown tablet PC, by the way.”

So, ladder climbers — what’s the deal here? What device would you recommend for wowing that suit in the corner office while making your note taking all the more efficient? When you’re done answering, shoot us a question of your to ask at engadget dawt com.

Filed under: Ask Engadget, Handhelds

Ask Engadget: Best mobile note-taking device? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been a long and winding road filled with unboxings, impressions, and comparisons, but it looks like the last few details surrounding the U.S. release of Viliv’s Atom-powered S5 MID have now finally been firmed up. According to retailer Dynamism, the device will be available for pre-order on April 27th (at 1PM Eastern) for just $599, or $50 less than previously expected, with the first orders expected to ship on May 8th. Better still, those that pre-order the S5 will also get a free spare battery, a car kit, and a leather pouch, which Dynamism says is a $135 value. No word on the number of units available in that initial batch but, if the Hong Kong and Korean releases are any indication, they could sell out pretty quickly.

[Via thegadgetsite, thanks K.C.]

Filed under: Handhelds

Viliv S5 pre-order details firm up: $599 and it’s yours May 8th originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Apr 2009 01:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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