In a move that is similar to what Viliv and Archos have done over the last year in order to embrace the convergence of mobile and internet media, Cowon, a recognised player in the PMP market, is expanding into the PC architecture for it’s next product, the W2.
The W2 will be a 4.8 inch WVGA tablet-style device running on the Menlow 1.33Ghz platform with Windows 7 and 60 or 80Gb hard drive options. I don’t see any 3G or SSD options in the article at Lazion so we’re basically looking at something that’s already available in the Viliv S5, especially when you consider the reported local entry-level price of around $534
The W2 is reported to have a 10-hour battery life which, if true, means that this will have a hefty amount of battery on it. We’re not convinced that this is going to win any awards but its always nice to see competition in the market. We wouldn’t want Viliv to rest in it’s laurels now would we! The Cowon W2 is due to be launched on Jan 25th in South Korea.
Incidentally, do we really need Windows 7 for a PMP/Internet Media/Web device? I’m a big user of Windows-based UMPCs for productivity work but surely Android would be a better choice here. Look at what Archos did with the super slim A5 IT at half the price and you wonder what media fans would be interested in the W2? Maybe it’s just easier to build a W7 device and not have to worry about the hassle of building an open-source Android build.
Via Lazion
New article: Cowon W2 4.8" PMP uses Atom/Win7 http://bit.ly/5xUYke
RT @umpcportal: Cowon W2 4.8" PMP uses Atom/Win7 http://bit.ly/5xUYke
RT @umpcportal: Cowon W2 4.8" PMP uses Atom/Win7 http://bit.ly/5xUYke (via @chippy)
ugh, looks too much like that Sony from 20003/04. feels like we are going back in time.
Android is a very bad choice for a MID. Look at what Andoid can do and what Windows or Linux can do:
1) Media playback – Android has very very limited formats support and poor media players, on Windows/Linux you can run VLC or SMPlayer (MPC-HC on Windows) for movie playback and you Songbird, AmaroK, (foobar2000 on Windows). Add media centers like XBMC or Moovida and the clear winner is here.
2) Internet – full Opera, Firefox or Fennec if you want. Full Flash support. Another clear loose for Android.
3) External HW – connect anything external HW (DVB tuner, 3G modem, printer) over USB or BT. Android can’t even support external BT keyboard. Another strong argument for Windows/Linux.
4) Productivity SW – here is no doubt.
5) General availability of SW – there are plenty of great and free applications available for PC platform. I couldn’t even find a free and working application to record voice for Android.
I agree that Windows 7 is not the best choice for such device. I would rather see Linux or XP. But Android is a no-go for me.
I don’t think Windows or Linux are good for MID (by definition) either. With a small-sized screen, what you would expect to do with the necessity for the Windows boot-up time and power-hungry x86 architecture for ad-hoc need just for checking stocks, browsing news clips or watching videos. If the graphics chip does not support hardware acceleration, what’s the point of using Atom chips, and MID is Internet Device, so Windows or Linux are not optimized for Internet, then why not Android? I would go for Dell Streak (best if with Android 2.1) if I am just looking for a 5-inch screen replacement for PMP + PDA + mobile Internet device. There are limitations with Android, but we are not happy browsing a full webpage with a netbook with 5-inch display.
I used to own a Viliv S5 MID and now I have a Android phone. Believe me I know what I’m talking about and I can say that Android is completely useless for a MID. Using Viliv S5 for internet browsing, e-mail, IM, music/video playback, GPS navigation, picture viewing/editing was a pleasure. With Android nothing of this can be done easily and pleasantly.
Android is great for a phone, but not for a MID. There are simply to many things it can’t do and that I require. Once you’ll get an Android device, you’ll find out…
You are right in a sense that you can do much more with a PC, on a small screen, but I would never mix up the use of PDA/smartphone vs a computer. BTW, Atom MID is not cheap. Maybe iPhone is another option, if you want tons of applications.
People don’t easily catch the usefulness of mobile PC because it can do too many things.
Personally speaking: yes, I do need Windows 7 on a MID. I need the full functionality of an OS to run all the programs that smartphones have been promising but never delivering. And since WinXP is so dated now, and soon to lose support (can’t be too much longer, especially with Win7 success giving M$ an excuse) it will be the better choice for software support in the years to come from Microsoft POV. XP is, honestly, the only thing that stopped me from grabbing an S5 the second I saw it at CES.
I’d rather (much rather) have a Linux distro on these things. It would be so much easier to customize Ubuntu or some Suse flavor (maybe a Novell distro; something with brand recognition behind it and not an off-the-wall distro) to the MIDs size and screen requirements, but I want/need/gotta-have a FULL Operating System or the thing is just another pretty tinkertoy-smartphone that can’t do what I need and costs a fortune to connect fully with a network. Until then, I’m still lugging my netbook or notebook all over the place.
I think XP will still be a better choice in at least next 2 years. XP will be supported for many years. It is (and will be at least in next two years) the most popular Windows version. If you look at some graphs of OS proportion, it is clear that people are switching from Vista to 7, but only a few people switched from XP to 7. I’m now running W7 but I will downgrade back to XP, since they are simply more stable and better supported by HW and SW makers.
Viliv S5 is simply great. Don’t hesitate to get it if you are looking for a MID. Maybe we’ll see Linux on the S5 some day too, there is some work in progress…
Lazion is claiming 10 hours of battery life on IDLE and 7 hours media playback. Viliv S5 can do 6 hours on media playback. This Cowon isn’t better on the battery life factor either. Viliv S5 should be able to do close to 10 hours when screen is off and playing music.
Any reason you’re calling this a PMP/Internet Media/web device and not a MID? When the BT certification came out on this a few months ago (http://www.pocketables.net/2009/10/cowon-prepping-atompowered-w2-mid-for-release.html), “MID” was included in the design name. It’s also spelled out on the hardware.
It seems that if an Atom/Win7 slate were branded by a non-PMP company, it would automatically be classified as a MID, so I’m curious about your terminology. :)
It’s a good question Jenn.
As it hasn’t got 3G and it’s from a PMP company I guess i’m pre-empting their marketing. Windows 7 is also relatively heavyweight for a MID too. I think of MIDs as having consumer-focused operating systems although the question remains, ‘is there one?’ for media and consumer-focused activities? As mentioned above, vanilla android isn’t good. Maybe Moblin and Maemo are better?
Steve
Definitely a Linux distribution is a good choice. Maemo looks great, but Moblin isn’t optimized for touchscreens yet. My choice would be probably KDE4 (Kubuntu), which allows great customization of UI.
Windows XP is OK, but sometimes it is difficult to close or resize a Window. Win7 has no advantage on MIDs over XP, just eats much more HW resources.