This month I will be examining two of the new UMPC’s to hit the market: The UMID M1 and The Viliv S5.

First the specs:

UMID M1

• Processor – Intel Atom 1.1ghz
• RAM – 512MB (up to 1GB)
• HDD – 16GB SSD (up to 32GB)
• Graphics – Intel GMA 500
• Wireless – 802.11 b/g
• Keyboard – Foldout
• Screen – Touchscreen
• OS – Various (Linux & Windows)
• Display Size – 4.8″ (1024*600)
• Unit Size (W*H*D) -158*94*19 mm
• Additional and optional – 3G modem, Webcam (1.3 MP), Bluetooth 2.0, and Digital TV receiver (only works in some countries)
• Price – EBay – $900 – $1100
• Website – ?

Viliv S5

• Processor – Intel Atom 1.3ghz
• RAM – 1GB
• HDD – 30GB (up to 60GB)
• Graphics – Intel GMA 500
• Wireless – 802.11 b/g
• Keyboard – Virtual
• Screen – Touchscreen
• OS – Various (Linux & Windows)
• Display Size – 4.8″ (1024*600)
• Unit Size (W*H*D) -154*84*24 mm
• Additional and optional – 3G modem, Bluetooth 2.0, GPS
• Price – EBay – $1000 – $1200
• Website – Viliv

Obviously the recession isn’t hitting the UMPC market with the flood of new units that appear every week, it seems as though the bigger company’s have stepped aside and the smaller ones have come out fighting. As you can see these are both quite powerful machines in a very small form factor and are not overly expensive for what they offer, they are both fairly similar in specs, but very different in looks. One of the biggest things these UMPC’s are doing differently is that battery life has tripled thanks to the new Intel Atom CPU giving these units up to 6 hours of use between charges (that’s actual use time….not sleep time).

The UMID M1 is a clamshell PC with a foldout keyboard (which may be easier for some to use) but the keyboard and screen sit at awkward angles to each other, making it difficult to type and see the screen at the same time…and after hearing the clicking noise it makes after opening the unit, I am not sure how long until the keyboard breaks off altogether. The unit stay fairly cool, produces little noise and will awake from sleep mode within a few seconds.

The Viliv S5 is more of a tablet PC, with only a virtual keyboard, meaning it might be a lot more difficult to type on, but with inbuilt GPS and the bigger Hard drive as well as the faster processor, I would definitely recommend this over the UMID M1, the main reason actually being the build quality, with the M1 feeling a little like a plastic toy, whereas the Viliv feels solid and sturdy. The Viliv also has the same noise levels and wakeup times as the UMID.

All in all, these are both great units and I would recommend both of them, but if I had to pick one, I would definitely go with the Viliv S5…It may lack a keyboard, but that isn’t the end of the world as you can pick up a mini keyboard on eBay for $10.

Reviews and videos can be found on a site called JKKMOBILE as well as reviews for other UMPC’s.

And Dynamism is now shipping the Viliv and taking pre-orders for the UMID.

Chris Thursfield