Viliv S5: A Hands on Review

I am a Mac/Apple convert since 2004. No offense meant but I really hate Windows in its every flavor– Windows XP/Vista and Windows Mobile. I had my first Personal Computer back in 1984. It was a PC XT Desktop with a 12mhz processor! No GUI yet. It’s just the plain ‘ole DOS.  Soon I dipped my toes with Windows 3.1 and was happily using it until the advent of Windows XP.

Sometime in 2004, an unplanned purchase of Apple’s 12 inch iBook G4 took place and I never looked back since then. I still had a Windows desktop for about 2 years for my gaming needs but I never knew what I was really missing. So why another Windows device? It’s all about the form factor. When I saw pictures of the Viliv S5, I’m hooked! Couple that with the price, I really have to have this one. There are also a few softwares that just won’t cut it using OS X. I can’t reliably sync my BlackBerry 8900 with a Mac, Garmin Softwares are unreliable with the OS and Apple is dilly dallying on whether they’ll come up with a netbook or UMPC. Yeah, there’s the iPhone but I find it too small for internet browsing and Safari is very unstable (that changed though with the latest iPhone OS 3.0!).

So I feel the S5 perfectly suits my needs. Now that I’m US$800 poorer, let me go through my impressions about the current rage in the UMPC world.

It booted up Windows in about 43 seconds and you’ll be greeted by Viliv’s app launcher – CubeUI. It is a customizable software launcher/shortcut for opening your favorite applications and files. There are also shortcuts for turning Bluetooth and wifi on/off and  brightness/volume controls. This is also where you can put the S5 to sleep. Tap the “Just On” icon and the S5 goes to sleep in 2-3 seconds. Slide the power switch up and it wakes up in about the same time. Pretty neat!

This picture doesn’t do justice with the screen’s 1024 x 600 resolution. The S5 comes with a trial of Microsoft Office 2007. Various Viliv utilities like the Viliv Manager below.

When I first saw the S5, I immediately thought of having the ultimate PND (Personal Navigation Device). One that can replace my trusty Garmin Nuvi 360. With the built-in SirfIII GPS chip and the 4.8 inch screen, this is perfect for a Car Computer! I immediately accessed  the magic of the web and found a way for a properly installed and working Garmin Mobile PC (GMPC). With my re-radiating GPS antenna, it acquires satellites in about 10 seconds! Pretty fast as my Nuvi 360 does that in a minute or so.

GMPC’s odometer and trip meter.

With the routable Philippine map installed. The map is from roadguide.ph. A website for Garmin-compatible Philippine Map which I help administer and moderate. It is a community of mapping enthusiast/hobbyist that contributes GPS tracks to improve our local roadmaps. It is quite an achievement but the ever-changing street names and MMDA U-Turn slots makes precision a challenge.

The Viliv S5 is your usual Windows XP device except for the form factor. You can’t beat it for portability without sacrificing usability. Can you imagine yourself checking your files or surfing the net using a netbook while standing? With the S5 you can without looking weird. With a size slightly larger than Sony’s PSP, checking the web while in range of a wifi hotspot is a cinch. You can have it turned on in less than 3 seconds and wifi connected in about five. After you’re done, turn it off and in your pocket just as fast.

Out-of-the-box (OTB), is the S5 usable? Yes and no. I had a problem with the wifi connection initially as it fails to recognize any wifi signal including my home network. Even after a restore, it fails to sniff any wifi signal (a restore puts the S5 back to its factory state with just a click of a few buttons) no matter what I do. It is a software glitch rather than a hardware one (Yeah, that’s the price you have to pay for using Windows). I turned to Google and within a few minutes I’m back to business.

Windows XP also reared its ugly head with the S5. A casual user will be very content with its performance OTB. But I’m not one so I did a lot of tinkering to get it work the way I want it to. That ladies and gentlemen is the significant difference between a Mac and a Windows machine. With an OTB Mac, you can use it right away after OS installation. Not much tweaking necessary even for a power user like me. With Windows, you need to spend time to tweak the settings to make it hum the way you like it to. I adjusted the page file size, turned off some services and visual effects, defragged the HD, installed anti-virus/firewall softwares and a lot more tweaking here and there. I’d say it is as fast as my Daughter’s HP Mini 1000.

With 1 Gig of RAM installed and everything loaded up, I only have 400mb+ of RAM available! What the f—!? The magic of Google led me to CleanMem. I never knew such a SW existed as after installation and a single screen tap, available RAM jumped to 600mb plus– more to my liking! CleanMem is not snake-oil unlike other memory tweaks that slows down your machine while it frees up your RAM and really does not improve system response. It simply does it thing without you noticing it. Best of all– it’s free and it works!

The SW keyboard is pretty neat. It has haptic feedback (the S5 vibrates when you tap the keys) and is intended for two-handed use. I tried it for a few days and I can’t get the hang of it so I tried a few that are available and settled with ZWKB (Zero Weight Keyboard). Again, it’s freeware and highly customizable. And the learning curve is not too steep.

Likes:

• Form factor and portability
• Screen size and resolution
• Battery life (you can get 6 hours in one charge!)
• “Just On” feature
• Fast starting GPS chip
• Cool factor
• Support for High Definition videos

Dislikes:

• Windows OS!
• Single USB port
• Lack of 3G/HSDPA interface (The Air model has one)
• Slow HD (4800 RPM)

Viliv has now made available the S5 with SSD storage instead of a HD plus 3G/HSDPA interface. They will also be coming up with the X70, a 7-incher with built-in web cam, mic and card reader. If you’re itching to get an S5, hurry up as the usual sources are currently out-of-stock.

Am I happy with this purchase? Definitely! I would prefer OS X instead of XP though but it just ain’t possible at the moment. I may try Windows 7 in the future but XP still can cut it. With the S5 tethered to my iPhone, I can access the web anywhere there is cellular signal. HD movies play smoothly with the S5 and I can use it as an MP3 player. More than anything else, the S5’s portability is what differentiates it from the other UMPCs. Couple that with the long battery life and you have very capable gadget you can bring and use anywhere and for me— that’s the comfort room!