This video demonstration caught my eye. Streetdeck is a Car PC Windows application that has been around for a few years. The Viliv S5 is a Korean media style Atom-based 'MID' that runs XP and includes an internal GPS.
Notable features of the S5:
- high quality touchscreen LCD (per report)
- large battery capacity
- 200 hours of standby
- onscreen keyboard seems optimized to the device (per report)
- car dock / mounting system
I've always thought it was kind of ridiculous to run XP on a 4.8" screen, but Streetdeck makes the S5 seem like a turn by turn GPS device with a media player that also happens to run XP. I think the S5 is going to be a success.
Yeah I think this is the best intel MID. The build quality looks really nice and I read the battery lasts for 5 hours while still being pocketable. Only thing is this device is pretty expensive. I like that navigation software though
I was a skeptic too at first. But Viliv made a good choice going for an onscreen keyboard and a massive battery, I think. Viliv makes PMPs and GPS units for the Korean market, and I suppose the S5 is designed around the same idea. That's probably why the Streetdeck dude was interested in the S5 to begin with. I'm guessing that the S5 has a high-resolution resistive array -- that is, higher resolution than usual for a 4.8" screen. (The Korean version of the S5 will presumably have software based on Viliv's other Korean products, I would imagine, and also has a digital TV tuner.)
As for Streetdeck, I've been looking at it for a few years, simply because it's the only product of its kind. It has been the only software package that you can buy from mp3car.com's store (http://store.mp3car.com/) for as long as I've known about the website.
From the cost standpoint, the S5 is cheaper than putting together a car-puter and installing it in your car. Before seeing this video, I wouldn't have considered even getting an Atom-based XP MID to begin with. But when you compare it to a computer built to fit in a 1-din slot with an automatic, motorized touchscreen ($2000), or the 2-din car-puter ($3000), the $600-$700 S5 looks pretty enticing. Plus, compared to a car-puter, you can carry the S5 around and use it for five or six hours. You can't even do that with most in-car GPS devices.
The ability to control a computer application while driving is a pretty high bar for ease of use and safety, and all the work on the UI really has paid off, it seems.
