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I carry everything with me

MID stands for Mobile Internet Device, i.e. in fact, any mobile device with an operating system capable of accessing the Internet. A great example of devices of this class is the hero of this review, Viliv S5 .

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I take out wide leg ...;)

The device is far from new - its announcements were online last year, if not earlier ... but here the wave of the novelty did not reach our cold edges. Actually, there is no wave now - the device can only be ordered. But why not review such an overseas thing, especially if it is so interesting?
')
The basis was a single-core Intel Atom Silverthorne Z520 processor with a clock frequency of 1.33GHz, which was earned on the SCH US15W chipset with hardware accelerated H.264, MPEG2, VC1, and WMV9. Added a bit of DDR2 memory.

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Given the class of the device (MID - Mobile Internet Device), it can be assumed that further work was done on the communication component. That's right - the processor was hung with all sorts of modules, such as GPS, HSDPA / WiMAX, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. And in order to justify the mobile destination, they added a solid-state drive and placed it all in a compact package. As you can see, the recipe for success was simple;)

Inside the oblong white box was:

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- Pocket computer Viliv S5 ;
- Battery;
- Stylus;
- Case;
- Headphones;
- Instruction;
- Charger.

Instructions black and white, thick and with pictures. The cover is also black and white, but already made of woven fabric. Inside the cover is a nice suede firmware, in which the device will feel more than comfortable.

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It is a pity only that there is nothing on the case for which it could be attached to the belt.

Appearance


We didn’t have to meet devices of similar size before - Vaio P and all kinds of navigators there differ significantly in both weight and size. Nevertheless, the sizes are very well chosen - it is comfortable to hold in your hand, and it fits in your pocket without any problems. To be more precise, the dimensions are (in mm) 154x84x24 with a weight of 436g.

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Almost the entire front panel space is occupied by a touch screen, the diagonal of which is 4.8 ", and the maximum resolution is 1024x768 (without scrolling, that is, even more than on my 10" netbook). There are two other resolutions - 1024x600 and 800x600, which is also not bad.
The screen is resistive, so no multitouch should be expected. But, given the high resolution, inscribed in a screen with physically small sizes, you can say thanks for the opportunity to use any object as a stylus - it will definitely be more convenient with it on the road. The fact is that the screen is slightly recessed in the plane of the hull, which is why it is not very convenient to press into the corners and at the sides with a finger.

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To the left of the screen is the speaker and 5-way joystick, which can be used instead of the mouse to position the cursor. Below is the “Menu” button, which opens the “Start” button, and with a long press, switches the joystick operation mode (from the cursor positioning mode to the “arrow” mode). Just below is an infrared receiver, in case you need a remote control.

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To the right of the screen is another speaker, and below it are three buttons (right click, left and on-screen keyboard). Inside each button there is a dim white light - it looks great.

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At the top there is a connector (3.5 mm) for headphones, a speaker, volume buttons and a telescopic 3G antenna (at first I thought it was the stylus that was hidden there) - yes, yes, there is 3G! )

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On the left side there is a flap, behind which there is a Reset button, USB connector, miniUSB and the so-called Multi-I / O-Jack (for component / S-Video output). Just below is the charging connector and the corresponding status indicator.

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On the right side, there is a return power switch (it turns on the device in one direction, blocks it in the other) and a latch button for removing the battery. Still a little lower - the holes for the lace.

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Only the bottom and the back side remained. Below are two more speakers - a total of as many as 5 - two in front, 1 on top and 2 on the bottom.

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The entire back side is occupied by the battery, which is similar in size to the communicator HTC HD2.

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Under it are occupied advertising space, a Windows sticker and a slot for a SIM card.

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The resulting design is so monolithic that there is not even the slightest hint of backlash. Additional confidence inspire information about the guts;) And yet, a pound - very hard. It is a pity that there is no provision for a vertical installation of the device ... although you can come up with something)

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Or even like this:

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It is incredibly pleasant that the device is almost entirely made of matte plastic, more precisely, even from a soft-touch - polls all manufacturers can take an example from this. I almost thought of putting up with the total glossy disgrace, but using the device and hardly seeing my own prints and reflections on it is so cool that you can probably wait for a change for the better! The screen, however, is semi-glossy, but this only confirms that there are no perfect devices)

Turn on and work


In full alert the device comes in 25 seconds. Immediately after loading the operating system, the CubeUI shell is loaded - a very interesting development.

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Imagine - there are 5 thematic sections (Entertainment, Internet, Navigation, etc.) and each of these topics has a cube consisting of balls (9 balls on each face). Each ball can bind 1 label, respectively, up to 36 programs can be placed in each section. 36 * 5 = 180 - just as many shortcuts can be conveniently placed on an element of the screen, which does not take up too much space. Naturally, everything is supported by nice effects of transitions and rotations, and on the screen there is always order! Although nothing prevents to turn off this shell (remove from autoload) or place this very cube on a regular desktop.

In the same shell is a calendar and weather widget. Additionally, there is another taskbar (above), which displays the time, date, battery charge and status of all wireless interfaces.

Otherwise, the user is waiting for the most ordinary Windows XP, to which for many years everyone is so used to. Upgrading to Win7 is possible - the official website of the product looms about it. And on the download page already provided all the necessary drivers.

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At the same time pressing the Menu and volume rocker, you can change the brightness of the screen - you rarely find such hardware forethought. By analogy, another pair of combinations is assigned - for example, the “Menu + Keyboard Button” brings up a window with special features (screen magnifier and a regular on-screen keyboard). By the way, if you press the “volume swing” in the center, the sound will turn off before you press it again.

The device works absolutely silently - there is simply nothing to make noise in it. Slightly heated - up to 38 degrees with Wi-Fi, no more.

Soft and performance


Naturally, such a machine can not do without a kind of software, so the first thing I decided to get to know him.
The first thing that was found - the browser FastWeb . In view of the fact that any other device can be put on the device, I would like to mention the main advantage of the preinstalled one: it is more or less finger optimized. Immediately after launching, it expands to full screen, offering the user a relatively large address bar and only really necessary buttons. The rest is just a primitive browser with the complete absence of any settings (in version 1.31E). So it makes sense to search the skin for a browser with large elements.

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The on-screen keyboard of the Viliv Soft Keyboard is the one attached to the hardware button to the right of the display. Appears instantly and, if desired, can hide in the lower right corner of the screen. Full QWERTY-layout, convenient for printing with two hands.

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When you press the "Mode" button appears the digital part and the block of keys F1-F12 and other characters. I did not like the fact that pressing Shift or Caps Lock, nothing happens to the characters. Well, that there is no our language - apparently, the Chinese do not know that Russia is still the largest country in the world;) If you wish, you can connect a mouse and keyboard:

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Next - the music player Viliv Music . It was also more or less finger optimized, but it was also better. There is almost all the basic functionality of Winamp, which turned out to be familiar.

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You can listen to music either through the speakers (the sound is more than decent!) Or through headphones - the regular ones are good in quality, but I basically do not like the earbuds, preferring plugs. The device has no problems with sound.

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Viliv Player - video player. It is made in the same colors as the music player. From the site you can download detailed color PDF-instructions for these programs. After feeding the VLC player (after installing the K-Lite codecs) a pack of test videos ( HDTV Test 1.6 ), I conclude that the device copes with the video, but not at the level at which the users would like.

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00019.m2ts (Interlace) - the image without delay, but with unpleasant ripples;
03.split.5.ts (DTS-HD) - there is sound, but there is no image;
720p16rf-001.mkv - minimum video delays;
Avalon.split.34.m2ts (real TrueHD) - there is sound, but the image almost does not move;
Casino.21.mkv (avg. Bitrate 21Mbps) - minor video brakes;
Casino.32.mkv (avg. Bitrate 32Mbps) - video slows down;
Casino.42.mkv (avg. Bitrate 42Mbps) - video slows down;
Casino.50.m2ts (video bitrate> 40Mbps) - video slows down;
Casino.50.mkv (video bitrate> 40Mbps) - video slows down;
Casino.Royale.BDrip.1080p.SPLIT-004.mkv - slight video delays;
Deinterlace.m2ts - small ripples in the image;
H264_TrueHD.m2ts - frame per second)
Satoyama.II.Japan.Secret.Water.Garden.1080p.rus.-002.mkv - sound without delay, video with jerks;
Transporter 3.2008.BD.Remux.1080p.h264.Rus.Eng.Commentary-002.mkv - there is sound, but almost no pictures;
VC-1_Sub.mkv - there is sound but no video (“VLC doesn’t support the audio or video format WVC1”);
hns-fc-new-002.mkv (1080p 16Ref.frames) - small delays;
twin.peaks.s01e01.sample-007.mkv - in VLC it goes fine, but in Viliv Player the whole picture is covered with artifacts;

Although, you see, what to do 1080p on this screen? ) With laptops, okay - you can even connect them fully to the TV. Well, and so - for simple movies (including 720p), the device is definitely enough, not to mention all sorts of flash movies and YouTube.

I never tried the function of the navigator - at least because the car refused to start in the cold) Although I did not find any software on the device for this business. But, judging by the Internet, you can ride thanks to programs like Google Earth, Garmin, Streetdeck, Microsoft Streets and Trips, and thanks to the full-fledged SiRF Star3 chipset, there should be no problems with catching the signal.

Here, I found the video:



Now for the calls. The keen eye of the reader even at the very beginning noticed a slot for a sim card inside the device - put a piece of plastic there and turn it off. Immediately after switching on, you need to activate the modem (2 clicks) and you can already call. However, due to the size of the elements of the program (in particular, the Mobile Partner), it is not so easy to do this. But what could be simpler than dialing a mobile phone number and pressing Call;)

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There is a call history, SMS function and even something else, but in any case, it is better to look for alternative software - I think it definitely is. Initially, WiFi and a modem cannot work simultaneously, but the site has a corresponding patch.

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Performance. If she is interested in someone else, then here is some information:

The Pi number in the Super Pi 1.05 test to one million decimal places counts as 113.859 seconds, which is more than the netbooks on modern Intel Atom processors (such as the N280 or even Pine Trail). For comparison:

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CPUFreeBenchmark 2.2 test passes in 89.23 seconds. For comparison:

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I didn’t do three-dimensional tests for obvious reasons) But it’s worth taking into account that the device was born back in 2008.

The performance of the hard disk (and inside there is an SSD-drive (from SanDisk) with a capacity of 32GB) looks like this:

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The operating time is also at a decent level - you can sit for 6-7 hours on a single charge with an average brightness. In standby mode, they promise about 200 hours - I would not stand it so much.

SPECS


But especially at the end of the article I moved it to be interesting)

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* - In the version of Viliv S5 3G

Pros and cons


Pros :
- A cover in a complete set;
- Large touch screen, high resolution;
- You can upgrade the operating system to Windows 7;
- Removable battery, long battery life;
- The presence of a USB slot and a complete set of communication interfaces;
- Good performance, partial support for non-converted HD video;
- Ability to use as a phone, CarPC;
- Loud stereo speakers, GPS functions;
- Adequate price.

Cons :
- The case does not have a clip, and in the case there is no place for the stylus;
- Heavy enough;
- No built-in camera;
- Problems with HD-video still happen;
- Very, very, VERY not enough WiMAX !;
- No memory card slot (USB is not considered);
- You can use the joystick, but not very convenient;
- It is not possible to install vertically (or in the car);
- Shift and Caps Lock on the keyboard visually do not change anything; no Cyrillic;
- It is difficult to get in Russia.

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I agree that for WiMAX you can insert a Yota-modem from Samsung, but then there will be no free USB-port. Use hub? Yeah, let's also carry a mouse pad to complete the picture. Although ... on the official website of Viliv, the word WiMAX appears in a couple of places, so there is a chance.

It is strange that the kit did not mount in the car - CarPC was the first thing that came to me in misley when I saw this device. Practically everything hints at this - a touchscreen, unkillable (bumps) stuffing, the ability to call, the Internet, navigation, an infrared receiver ... and, most importantly, the willingness to work out of the box - it will be almost impossible to assemble the most similar head computer.

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Oh yeah - the price of the device on Ebay starts from 400. Dollars and apiece.

Total


You can blame nettops, netbooks and Atom processors for a long time, calling all this frivolous children's toys. Nevertheless, the device market continues to grow and those who belong to such devices without snobbery, have long understood what was happening.
The new Intel Atom processors are out, SSDs are becoming more accessible, and WiMAX network coverage is growing by leaps and bounds - long live the era of MIDs! :)
But seriously, I really liked the device - finally, it’s not some expensive toys, but full-fledged computers. Truly compact, truly autonomous and truly capable of solving user problems. It seems to me that such developments will have a bright future.
Finding the use of such a crumb is easy. Take on the road, quickly throw something on the way, use instead of the head unit in the car - should I continue? )
Successes!

Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/83266/


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