Is the future of Netbooks something smaller, or is that all in the past?
Is the Viliv S7 onto something evolutionary, or is it clinging to yesterday's idea of the future?
The Yukyung Viliv lineup ultraportable of mini-computers is, in a way, a bit of a throwback to the days when UMPCs and MIDs ruled the pocket-gadget landscape and laptops were bulky and expensive and didn't have any great battery power to speak of. Back in the days of the
On the other hand, portables are also the future. From flip-keyboarded smartphones to tiny clamshell "smartbooks" running smartphone processors and mobile operating systems, the old-fashioned concept of a flip-up laptop is bound for a change.
This is where the Viliv devices lie: one foot in the past, one foot in the future, they're transitional evolutionary devices. In some ways, their tablet forms are refreshing. In others, they're less functional than basic Netbooks. And that's a shame, since they also happen to cost significantly more.
The
Would either of these be appealing to someone looking for mobile horsepower, or is a smartphone like an iPhone still the way to go? Can either of these Vilivs provide a compelling amount of Netbook in their small-form style, or are these higher-priced items stuck between a phone and a hard place? And here's another question: would you rather see Netbooks get back to these 7-inch sizes, or are you happier with the move to 10 inch and larger Netbooks with better graphics and HD screens?
Or is the future in fact something else entirely--custom-designed tablets like the ones that seem to be around the curve from Apple and Microsoft?