Strange things happen when there’s a lot of beautiful devices around and a lot of time to play with them. The Viliv S5 was riding high on my personal list of faves but there’s something about the on-screen keyboard I cant get used to. I’m reaching a barrier with it and I think its something to do with the amount of thought needed to remain consistent with the on-screen keyboard. Its a tough learning curve that doesnt seem to be flattening out and considering the amount of content I create while I’m mobile, Its not fitting my needs.
Being able to use the UMID Mbook for a while made me realise how comfortable a real keyboard is. No learning curve, no eye stress and that important tactile feedback. Its certainly got a few build quality issues and the battery life isnt as good as on the S5 but its looking like a great tradeoff for a pocketable device. It feels fast too and after running it through a CrystalMark test, I can see why. The SSD is really helping. I dont like the lack of mouse buttons and again, I have reservations about the build quality but its really breaking through for me as a great MID.
But that’s not what i’m falling for in Texas. What i’m falling for in Texas is something very similar but slightly higher up the quality chain. It’s the Fujitsu Loox U/B50N that Conics have loaned me.
I can sum it up by saying ‘quality.’ Everything about the device is HQ from the screen to the well thought-out control buttons and excellent efficiency. The 1.6Ghz CPU gives me enough power to do basic video top-and-tailing and a bit of headroom when using Skype and Im using the SD card slot all the time for transferring photos to flickr. There are definitely some issues with Vista but in general, its running acceptably. XP would be a lot better but I think Windows 7 could be the one to go for here.
The question now is, do I buy one? Do I need one. If I had my netbook here, would my thoughts be different? Pocketability hangs on my thoughts too.
Any Fuji ultra mobile PC owners out there care to chip in with a comment about the good and bad of the device?
Falling for Quality in Texas http://www.umpcportal.com/?p=6266
Hey there ;) I had the u820 us version up until about 2 weeks ago… Sold it off to be replace by the viliv. I feel as though you can’t really do a lot of typing on these micro form factored pcs. For light on the go typing they meet the needs but much adapting is required.
I really needed something for in car, gps, internet browsing and spare me down times… I found myself using my macbook more and more. The u820 got heavy on one handed use, it is small, but heavier than it looks esp with the 4cell battery, the 2cell battery is pretty much useless, it can’t last more than 2hrs and 30mins… some claim 3hrs… But i never experienced that. It isn’t as small as the viliv, it isn’t pocketable, doesn’t have hard ware video decoding… But it does okay with videos…
After watching the streetdeck demo on the viliv, I installed it on the u820 running windows 7 (right before I shipped her off) to do some quick comparison tests and it failed. It wasn’t as quick, it stuttered… The touch screen wasn’t as responsive as that on the viliv… So now I am waiting, and searching asking where I can get my hands on a viliv s5 today! not the end of the month or next month but today ;)
My two cents ;)
Really? Im finding the Loox to be good. Atom 1.6 is powerful enough, battery life is 3hrs.Im doing a lot of typing too. The S5 wouldnt fit that gap. Maybe this is just working out well for me in this ultra mobile sxsw conference scenario. Thanks for the feedback papinymph
Chippy, I see that you substituted that bluetooth? Samsumg keyboard for that of the u820? (Photo stream pic where you said “time of bed”)… Ultimately when you have a big write up… none of them come close to the comforts of using a regular sized lappie. Thats where my macbook comes in, like I’d never write a 10page sysnopsis on a u820 but I’ll write up little posts…
How is this one different from the U820?
What about the Aigo/Gigabyte/Compal MID?
I’m leaning that way (XP+3G) and was hoping to hear your opinion.
I think i was spoiled by the 1.3ghs performance on the wibrain and umid. 800Mhz is too small for the video work (playback and editing) i do.
AFAIK, the U820 is the US market version…
I spent probably 18 months researching this, following this site every day until I finally came to buy the Fujitsu so you can probably call it a thought through purchase. My unit arrived a week ago and I must say I’m very happy with the design and hardware. I put Windows 7 on almost straightaway and after some fiddling with the drivers it’s where it was with Vista in terms of stability and hardware but it feels snappier and uses less memory. I haven’t tested all the features yet but in terms of design I love the hardware layout and the fact that I can slip it into my jacket pocket. I can touch type at moderate speed when sitting down, hold the thing in one hand while I type with the other when standing up, hold it up like an ebook reader in one hand or swivel it back in landscape with the mouse on top when you need to navigate accurately. The resolution is great allowing you to do some real work if your eyes are good. You can always zoom inside the apps or reduce the resolution if it’s too much for you but it’s great even then to know you can go to a proper desktop resolution.
Downsides are that I can’t get full screen standard video to play smoothly yet (I’m on 1092 drivers – get your act together Intel!) and that I can’t get the integrated US 3G modem to work in Europe despite unlocking it. I believe I will eventually sort these things out so for now these are minor issues.
If you’re buying the US version I recommend that you get a slim battery which will make it pocketable, leaving you with a spare heavy duty battery for extended trips.
The Fuji is a true productivity multi-scenraio umpc as youve alluded to. I love the3 thought thats gone into making it as useable as possible.
Thanks for the feedback Alex.
I have fujitsu u810 for 4 months.
It has too small keys for my fingers. I can blind typing on regular size keyboards But kb in u810 slow me down too much and I use onscreen kb to enter text.
Speed of device is OK for me( in XP). 800Mhz celeron is not enough for HD video and other hard stuff.
Case become warm(not hot) even under low load.
Now I am looking for viliv s5, asus r50 or some other pocketable, hires, keyboardless device.
try the r50, you’ll luv it. i have it on Win7…..bright screen, great 1024×600 res. good speaker sound & fine video playback. the best ‘pocketable’ umpc out there right now. i dont know why this little kb-less miracle got such a bad rap in the first place. Chippy ???…. :)
Leaning twrds UMID again huh? Well when/if we keep it within the pocketables range that is.
You know what idea just hit me? What is the UMID had a touchpad on the back? Back you say, huh/what? Well for hen you’re on the go and thumboard on it you could use your finger on the back of the device (typing this on my favorite thumbboard device as we speak thereof the idea I think), and when you sit down and use it as a net/laptop you could use a wired/BT mouse. Comments? Am I crazy? :)
Chippy are you aware the U820 (U/B50N) starts at $1349?
I can see for typing it’s better but a BT portable keyboard shold work just as well.
Not in Tokyo they aren’t I can pick up almost mint boxed U/B50N for 68,500 JPY (about 685 USD)
One reasons Netbooks got popular is because of its pricing more than other.
I’d assume the companies sell more expensive overseas. With current currency conversion rate the Viliv S5 pricing should be $360-$450 USD.
And for people like me where battery life is a big factor there’s no device like it.
See the keyboard is something that I can make up for(i plan to buy a foldable one for extended usage) but I can’t do that with battery life and portability.
holy crap 700 bucks? that’s crazy.
I owned the 810 and liked the size but the keyboard layout was AWFUL. You had to use the function key to use arrows, fn+space was tab, it was very poorly thoughtout.
I don’t do an excessive amount of video editing or anything like that, so the 800mhz at the time was fine, I had Tablet XP on it and it was very nice.
I believe the keyboard mappings are much better with the u820, and I’ve been looking for one at a decent price, but in my neck of the woods everything is still VERY expensive. Definintely NOT 700 bucks. I’d like to get that deal on one of those. . .
Overall, the machine was great EXCEPT for typing. A bluetooth KB is necessary for long hours.
I love my u820. I enjoy the higher resolution screen and still practical keyboard. The battery life is great with the z530 (same CPU as the MSI Wind U110 ECO netbook that reportedly runs 9 hours). I get about 5 hours on balanced mode, but I do turn down the screen brightness to about 3/8. It’s not perfect but it pretty much does everything I need it to and I use it as my main computer at the moment. After tweaking with Vista and video codecs, it plays 720p acceptably even with some of the more intensive video files. I also like using it as a GPS, but it sometimes has trouble finding the satellites. I don’t use it in tablet mode much, but I do like to use it as a handheld. That works fine, but thumb typing can be cumbersome. It’s also not exactly “pocketable” unless you have a larger pocket; I occasionally drop it in my large side pant pocket. Other cons are that it only has one USB port and a lot of people cannot read off of the high resolution screen. I guess it’s not for everyone so just think about what you need in a computer.
Hey Chippy….Been following your work for quite some time now. Great job!
In your opinion, how does the Fujitsu compare with OQO 2+? They both seem to have fast processors, similar price range, similar build quality and seem to be in the same UMPC product category. I saw a video yesterday on MID Moves where Nicole found people just loving OQO 2+. As a person who has used both devices, what is your opinion?
The good:
A word of wisdom — Use it like a DS. Seriously, if you hold it like one, you will love the device. Everything falls exactly in the right place — the mouse pointer under your right thumb, buttons on your left. The screen is very usable once you set the DPI to 120. The pixel density is great for 720p videos — it is doable under Media player classic with CoreAVC.
As for the battery life, I can’t get you the numbers on the 2 cells but on the 4 cell, I reached ~10 hours on everything off power saver mode, and 7 hours with ALL wireless on (There seems to be no settings to change what you can turn on/off). The wireless card is a battery drain, so yes, turn it off if you can.
I didn’t care about the Fingerprint reader at first on Vista because it is a hassle to use it. On Windows 7 though, I have grown accustomed to it since Windows 7 has native swiping support. For security I always lock my computers, so this is just a convenience (no fumbling to login while traveling).
The meh:
The AC adapter — it is 2/3 size of my M1210’s adapter. It is okay, but I’d like it a bit smaller (Eee Adapter size)
The GPS is kind of a downside. It works great when it works, but it takes forever to locate satellites when the signal is even a bit weak. The 6 month reinstallation timeout from Garmin is also a very annoying.
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On a sidenote, I will love to try out the Viliv S5. I would have bought one if they actually do something to release it earlier (It was announced last year!) >:( It is smaller than the U820 (pocket power) and have good battery life.
I’ve been following the UMPC/MID world for quite some time and feel that something like the viliv S5 wasn’t meant for typing so I’m not surprised the keyboard doesn’t suit your needs. In my personal opinion you should not be typing lengthy posts on a UMPC (it’s just not what it was designed for unless you buy an external usb keyboard – there are some nice small ones out there for this purpose). UMPCs were meant to do small tasks on-the-go, not full word/documenting tasks like our daily PCs are for.
If I were to buy a UMPC (I would love the S5, but frankly I can’t afford it as I’m a college student in the states), I would use it mainly to watch videos, browse the internet (make small posts) and view documents. Although I’m waiting until we see more performance increases in these guys before purchasing because I love to multitask (as of right now I have Firefox open, Apex DC++ for file sharing on my local school network, two word documents and a powerpoint) – all just for school tasks.
Overall the S5 has outstanding battery life compared to the competitors and a decent resolution screen and specs. I would suggest buying a foldout keyboard/bluetooth and use that (will give you more room than the Fujitsu and you won’t be sacrificing much battery life as a result). Keep up the good work on this blog :)
FWIW, I got the U820 recently (from one of the posters above… ;-) ) and having had a U810 about a year ago briefly, I find that the U820 is much improved; keyboard and performance-wise….
All in all, they are a very nice piece of very portable (but not quite pocketable) hardware….
3 days later…..
Still loving the U820. Using it for short posts only of course.
Vista would have to go in my opinion but its extremely well designed for both normal and tablet use. Im still thinking about buying it!
Steve
Does your preference for the U820 indicate that the Viliv S5 is crap when it comes to productivity?
It depends what you define as productivity. The S5 is focuse on consumption of internet and media. It also serves as a superb carpc. With Streetdeck it’s superb but if you want to input data, obviously the U2010 and UMID are easier because of keyboard. I tend to input a lot of data in ‘micro’ format. Twitter, short blogs, photo tagging, emails and that works very well with U2010.
S