[CENTER]

[LEFT]Viliv S5 is the smallest, the least expensive, Windows XP computer that actually comes with a built-in GPS receiver/antenna.

Processor

• Intel Atom 1.33GHz (Z520)

Storage

• 60GB HDD 1.8"

Communication

• WLAN 802.11b/g
• Bluetooth 2.0+EDR

GPS

• Sirf Star3

Power

• (6hours movie play back)
• 22.9Wh

Operating System

• Windows XP Home

Memory

• DDR2 1.0GB

Display (Internal)

• Smart viliv virtual HAPTIC keyboard
• 4.8" WSVGA (1024 x 600) with Touch
• Screen

Integrated Ports

• Audio, USB, USB (link), Multi IO

Physical Features

• 154(W) x 84(H) x 24.4(T) mm
• 6.0 x 3.3 x 0.96 inches
• 420g with batttery
• 0.92 lbs

I'll be interested to see some reviews of that. If the screen brightness is good it's something I would definitely consider buying to use in the car. It's a size that would work well for me and it would save me hauling my big laptop around.

...ken...

I agree. An interesting touch screen size and pixel rating. If the brightness is useable and it can work in portrait mode, it would be a great addition to a vehicle. The Atom processor would be a good step up from the r2h Celeron 900.

Still a little pricey though! Maybe later this year the price will drop and it will be available in Canada.

Terry

There is a YouTube video from StreetDeck of using this device for GPS.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J35AOdit0Xw&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

Terry

Nice machine, and a very nice price compared to similar machines.

However, if one thing that drew you to laptop GPS is the larger screen, so that you can see more of the surrounding map context, then moving down to 4.8" might be a bit of a shock.

Note that at least two touchscreen 9-10" netbooks are getting released later this year (Asus and Gigabyte). Smaller than a 15" laptop, but much larger than 4.8", at a slightly lower price.

Tao, you are absolutely correct, but the price of this Viliv S5 ultra-mobile PC is getting to a point that it is just so difficult to resist the temptation to buy . Up until now the only two UMPCs that you could carry in your pocket were OQO and Sony UX, both of which were twice as expensive (or more?). And neither of those had a built in GPS.

I know I will not be buying one now, as I'm not in market for a new PC. But if I had to make a purchase decision now, I would very seriously consider one of these. There likely is a way to connect it to an external larger size monitor, if desired.

It is very nice to see more new UMPCs and netbooks becoming available constantly!

Maybe I am old fashion or too old.....I go with my Aspire One with a barely manageable keyboard when needed

Daniel

This looks like what I have been waiting for. I have tried or used other UMPC's and they are either way to big or screen is poor in the sunlight, they have a keyboard or the touchscreen responds poorly while moving down the road. I use nRoute (my fave), Garmin Mobile XT, DeLorme Street Atlas 2008. But with us moving down to a smaller car from a Tahoe, there just isn't enough room for my laptop and the wife has informed me no more laptop mounts in the new car

She is right, there just isn't enough room anymore, so my quest for a PND our UMPC has been a long 6 month mess. The Garmin PNP's are very nice, but they lack a good data delivery system for weather, & traffic. The MSN direct has poor coverage in most places we travel. When I had the laptop I had a couple of small one click scripts that would load the Doppler radar for the area near us while traveling and I used MSN Maps Live Traffic and MapQuest Traffic over a cellular data card in the laptop, plus I could Google search anything while we were traveling and the cellular data card had more coverage then the MSN direct coverage areas.

Sorry for the long post, but I miss a internet connected GPS and the Viliv S5 looks like it will be getting a test drive in my car when I read a few more reviews on it. Looks like I will load Garmin's mobile PC, DeLorme, my traffic and weather icon scripts and Bluetooth tether it to my Blackberry and I just might try Streetdeck 2 to see how it works for my needs

The Viliv S5 should give me what I want for a connected GPS and keep the wife happy also

Does anyone out there actually have one?

Tempted, I am...

Cute as this thing is, I don't see it as an alternative to a laptop but rather an addition to a latop (and a PC). It looks just too fiddly to serve me where my laptop does now. On the other hand, The laptop is not a great on-the-move in-car device for two-person cars as has been observed by multiple posters on this forum.

So, perhaps with this thing, we can leave the laptop in the trunk/boot and restore matrimonial harmony.

If this form format takes off, will you have to rename the Forum to "UMPC GPS World"?

I think it very much depends on the user's needs. I love the thought of being able to take it with me literally everywhere because of its very small size, but I'm not sure how comfortable I would feel with the screen size. I suspect the screen size is, for my personal needs, a bit more important than the ability to carry the UMPC in my pocket.

Many people will love this UMPC, I'm sure. I may even one day splurge on a pocket-sized ultra-mobile PC like this one, but for the time being I just love my 12" laptop.

Form factor (size and layout of things like the screen, keyboard, etc.) is the key issue for all of us. And it's totally dependent upon usage and personal expectations.

I spend most of my time in front of a 22" widescreen monitor under ideal lighting conditions and I use a Microsoft Natural keyboard to mitigate some carpel tunnel and RSI issues.

Moving to my 15" laptop makes me feel cramped, both visually (monitor) and physically (keyboard). No great surprise because I expect to be able to do all the same things on the laptop that I can do on the desktop PC.

Paradoxically, I don't feel the least bit cramped when I fire up my Palm T|X. Indeed, I experience a great sense of freedom. It takes so little space but still has wifi and Bluetooth. I can navigate, using my Bluetooth GPS receiver, and use wifi to stay connected to the extent that I wish. And do it without the full road warrior kit that I pack along in my laptop bag.

There is something of a liberating feeling with the Palm T|X because of my expectations. Specifically, I don't expect to be able to create mulitmedia Powerpoint presentations or complex Word documents or massive multidimensional spreadsheets on the Palm. So I don't even think about it. It is what it is and that's all I want when I'm packing it along.

I have not tried a netbook yet, so I don't know what my personal reaction will be. Will the screen be big enough (for me) to view standard web pages and do "normal" PC work? Will I expect it to be, and be frustrated if it's not? Or will it be so limiting that I'll have different expectations that will allow me to live with, or even be happy with, what it is?

Different form factors will strike each of us differently. It's definitely nice to have choices.

...ken...

SpadesFlush, JKKMOBILE has done a 25 minute long video review of Viliv S5 which I think is going to be much more useful to you than the above two video clips. I think at one point you asked if you could install any GPS software (e.g. S&T) on the UMPC. Yes, you are not in any way forced to use the front end software StreetDeck, and neither are you forced to use the optional Cube interface Viliv S5 comes with. I suspect most of us would just use the plain Windows XP interface.

Thanks, Marvin, for the link to the jjkmobile video. It was quite helpful, if a bit quirky (which is fine). While the device is intriguing, I worry if the screen might be a bit small for mobile navigating. I appreciate that one cannot have his cake and eat it, too, when it comes to size. In other words, if I want a small exterior package (I do) I have to put up with the small screen. Decisions, decisions...

The screen will be just fine for standard mobile navigation use if it's mounted in the right location. It's a little larger than the "widescreen" personal navigation devices and has far higher resolution.

The size of the unit will make it far easier to mount it in the right location.

The bigger issue with screen size will be how well it works for non-navigation PC stuff. Also of some concern would be how well most non-navigation PC apps, and Windows XP in general, lend themselves to touchscreen use.

...ken...

Yep.

I've figured out that screen will show about a quarter of what my 24" computer monitor does now but on about one-tenth the monitor size. That may be alright for mobile navigating and limited internet browsing. On the other hand, there are only a few apps right now where I use the monitor on a full-screen basis.

I've got an IBM tablet-type laptop with a touch screen which is nice for some apps and works well for S&T, for instance.

I blow hot and cold on the idea of actually buying one. If I were a real heavy Road Warrior (which I am not) the decision would be an easy "Yes."

I got myself one of these from Dynamism.
So far, I love almost everything about it!! It's perfect for my car and just for regular use.
The internet connection isn't the best thing, but it will get a good amount.
I love the fact that it has XP on it and not Vista. Even on xp it is a bit slow for my taste (thou i won't complain about it too much), if it had vista on it it would just be unusable.

One thing is bothering me though. I'm having a problem connecting the GPS with my Microsoft Street & Trips. For some reason, it keeps on saying that "The GPS receiver is sending messages, but they are not being recognized as NMEA 2.0-compatible."

I want to use the Street and trips since I already have it, and not buy a new navigation software...

Anyone know how to fix this problem?

From another thread
http://www.laptopgpsworld.com/1917-mappoint-2009-viliv-s5
it appears the internal GPS is on COM 1 with a bit rate of 9600. S&T requires 4800 bps so a conversion program such as xport or GPS Gate Express is required.

Terry

Garmin PC works great on my Viliv but when I attach Sprint USB wireless it disconnects my GPS and Garmin can not find port. If I look in system/hardware GPS com1 running fine.??

dbrf,
What I would like to know is which version of Mobile PC you are using on your Viliv and if it found the internal GPS without assistance from GPS Gate?

Does the Sprint USB unit assign a COM port when it is plugged in?

Terry

This micro PC is a big bang for mobile lovers

Terry, I am using V 5.00.10. And yes Sprint unit does assign two com ports 8/9 as well as two Rim ports 11/12. When I then start Garmin I am unable to connect to GPS. Under settings it is looking at com port 11 and 12. If I remove Sprint USB software Garmin runs fine using com1: serial port com 1:
Thanks for looking, Bennett

I am sorry to hear you are using v5.00.10. That means Garmin Mobile PC has the same problem with the Viliv internal GPS as with my ASUS R2h UMPC. I don't think they ever intend to fix it. Don't upgrade if you must use your internal antenna; however, I would get a Bluetooth GPS and abandon the internal GPS if you want to use Mobile PC.

In the other post, you said Mobile PC disconnected from the existing COM 1 when you plugged in the Sprint device. That is why I thought it might be a COM port conflict.

Possibly the Sprint radio signal is overpowering the GPS internal antenna. Did you try putting the Spint USB dongle on an extension to get it away from the Viliv? You really need a dumb GPS monitoring program to see if the problem is with the GPS or Mobile PC.

Terry

Terry, the Garmin works great when the Sprint wireless software is removed. I can use GPSGate and connect Igo8 without a problem while using the Sprint card. The conflict is with Garmin PC. I can not get Garmin PC to find the virtual ports in GPSGate.
Thanks

If you upgrade to the latest version of Mobile PC, it will work with GPS Gate. I think that change was about v5.00.40 but it may have been later. However, any version over 5.00.10 probably won't work directly with the internal GPS.

If the GPS works ok with the Sprint device plugged in, upgrading Mobile PC to v5.00.60 and using GPS Gate will work fine.

My other comment was directed at Garmin. I have beaten my head against the wall trying to make Mobile PC work with the ASUS internal GPS after v5.00.20. I finally realized a Bluetooth GPS was better anyway and never bothered with it again. At the time, nobody knew what I was talking about, even at Garmin. It sounds like a repeat situation but the Viliv won't have enough users to put pressure on Garmin so nothing will happen.

Use GPS Gate if you want but Bluetooth is better.

Terry

Yes, I will try Garmin upgrade, although this program is running so well with speed cams and red light cameras popping up red with sound. Its almost as good as my htc Touch HD running Igo8. Thanks for looking
Bennett