Hasta La Gadget!

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.

Continue reading Video: Viliv S7 hands on and VAIO P comparo

Filed under: CES, Laptops, Tablet PCs

Video: Viliv S7 hands on and VAIO P comparo originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Answering the call for yet another netbook in the world is Velocity Micro, who has graciously provided us with the NoteMagix M10 (pictured) here at CES. The 10.1-inch machine includes a 4-cell battery for up 5 hours of usage, 802.11b/g WiFi, a 2.6 pound chassis, Windows XP running the show and a custom carrying case to really showcase its awesomeness. Never mind those trivial tidbits like CPU model / speed, RAM quantity and GPU type — Velocity Micro clearly thinks you don’t even need ’em. Moving on, we’ve got the even more portable 4.8-inch NoteMagix M5 UMPC, with packs a touchscreen display, full QWERTY keyboard, WiFi, Bluetooth, integrated 3G WWAN and 5 hours of battery life. Both machines should be available later this Spring for prices that are currently unknown.

[Via NotebookReview]

Filed under: CES, Laptops

Velocity Micro delivers NoteMagix M10 netbook and M5 UMPC originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 03:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a surprising turn, boutique PC maker Velocity Micro–known mostly for its premium customizable laptops and powerful multimedia machines–announced two affordable lightweight notebooks at CES yesterday. The NoteMagix M10 is the manufacturer’s entrée into the netbook market, and the NoteMagix M5 is a touchscreen handheld PC. So far Velocity Micro has released only a limited amount of information on specs for these two systems, but here’s what we have so far, after the jump.

We already knew a fresh OQO handheld would be headed to Digital Experience! here at CES, and lo and behold the model 2+ has arrived in our oh-so-fortunate hands. The 800 x 480 (native) OLED touchscreen was positively gorgeous to look at, and the Qualcomm Gobi dual-mode HSPA / EV-DO WWAN chipset was much appreciated. It’s also sporting a 1.86GHz Intel Atom CPU, 2GB of RAM, WiFi / Bluetooth, DirectX 9 and H.264 video decode support, 3.5 hours of battery life (7 hours on the double capacity cell), a world keyboard and a global power supply. The unit checks in at under a pound and can support 1,9200 x 1,200 external displays with HDMI / DVI / VGA interfaces. Get ready to lust after one (we already are) when it ships in 1H 2009 starting at $999.

[Via ArsTechnica]

Filed under: CES, Handhelds

OQO officially launches Gobi / OLED-equipped model 2+, we get hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eee-branded tablets and UMPCs may be coming, but if you want one right now your only option is to do it yourself. You could go the duct tape DIY route, but those looking for a more aesthetically pleasing path should instead think about ordering up an Aeeeris conversion kit. It’s basically a $60 reverse-facing replacement bezel for a 700-series netbook, providing indentations for the touch-screen LCD, its controller, and a pair of speakers (all sold separately). Supposedly the conversion is a “breeze,” but after watching installation vids we’re not so sure we’d agree with that — nor the marketing spiel on the site that labels this as a low-cost solution for small businesses. Still, if you’re looking for a tablet on the cheap, missed out on the $600 tx2500z last month, and don’t have any qualms about dissecting your Eee, hit up the read link and order today.

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

Aeeeris kit turns Eee into UMPC, is later killed by Seeephiroth originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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