It’s sad, really. While the iPad caters to the masses with the Luddite-approved iOS, others crave much more usability and none of the tablets announced that claim to fulfills these needs have been released yet. Click through to see what I mean.

What follows is the tablets listed in the original order, complete with availability updates.

ModBook

Currently available and selling for $1849. This tablet is for those that want OS X in tablet form. Axiotron starts with a previous generation Macbook and converts it into tablet form, complete with a stellar Wacom Penabled digitizer. This is the closest thing to a pure Mac tablet available and has actually been available complete with USB ports since 2007.

Viliv X70

The Viliv X70 has been on the market for over a year now and is still a great full-feature Windows XP tablet. The 7-inch tablet packs an Atom CPU, GPS, 3G modem and 32GB SSD. However, it comes with Windows XP, which isn’t exactly made for a touch interface. Even Windows 7 isn’t that great on it. Trust me, I know. I use one every day — but with a wireless mouse and the windshield mount inverted so it stands up on my desk. Hopefully Viliv is working on a refresh that adds a multitouch touchscreen and updated hardware because I love this tablet.

Archos 9 PC tablet

The Archos 9 looks like a great kit on paper, but reviews clearly state that it’s anything but. The hardware simply cannot run Windows 7 efficiently and therefore provides a poor user experience. It looks great, but neither CNET or Wired enjoyed using it.

Viliv S10 Blade

This convertible tablet launched a couple of months back. It brings to the party a 10-inch multitouch screen, 3G modem, swivel design, and Windows 7. Too bad I found the manufacturing shoddy and performance sub-par. Pass.

Notion Ink Adam

It’s not hard to fall in love with the Adam. It has a Pixel Qi screen and an almost anti-iPad design. But Notion Ink missed the June target and now there are reports that they won’t hit the November deadline either — although there are also reports to the contrary. All I can say for sure is that the Adam isn’t shipping yet and that makes me sad.

HP Slate

For what it’s worth, the Slate was supposed to be the first real Windows tablet. But then HP reportable killed the project. It was a sad day everywhere for the dozens of people that for some reason want a full desktop OS on an underpowered tablet. HP later bought Palm and apparently shifted the Slate towards webOS — a truly spectacular OS previously hampered by only Palm’s crappy hardware. The HP Slate is currently MIA, but when it finally appears, it will certainly make a run for the title of the 2nd most popular tablet on earth.

Dell Streak

Dell hadn’t came clean with its full Streak strategy when I published the first iPad alternative list. It was later leaked that there’s going to be at least three different sizes of the Streak, but so far only the 5-inch has hit the market. Currently it’s only available in the UK, but it’s set to hit the states later this summer. Think the EVO 4G is big? This thing looms over it.

Spring Design Alex ebook reader

The Alex looked like it had so much potential. The design one-ups the Nook with the same sort of e-ink screen up top with a 3.5-inch LCD on the bottom. Android even powers the device. But then you use it and discover Android really isn’t all that great for this sort of task. At least it’s not great in the implementation. It’s slow, unresponsive and the form factor is clunky to say it nicely. But it’s available for $399 — or $200 more than the Kindle or Nook.

enTourage eDGe dualbook

Yet another example of a novel design before its time. The low-power hardware combined with Android just doesn’t work well. The form factor is right — even Microsoft was looking at the hinged book design with the Courier — but the eDGe isn’t.

WeTab, previously known as the WePad

*Fingers crossed* The WeTad is supposed to launch this month and while it’s already the 13th, there’s still time for the company to meet their self-imposed deadline. The plan is reportable to soft launch in Europe and then gradually increase while prepping for the US launch. If there’s one tablet that can stand up to the iPad, it’s the WeTab.

Lenovo Skylight Smartbook

Dead. Lenovo killed off this project a few months back and I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s basically a notebook with the same underpowered hardware generally found in a tablet. In other words, it’s a fancy netbook. It was certainly a crowd-pleaser at CES, but there really wouldn’t be that much to set this guy apart in the the retail market.

Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid

Another CES favorite thanks to the clever tablet within a notebook design. First we heard that Lenovo killed the project, but then a report surfaced stating that it might live on as an Android device. Sigh.

ExoPC

The last we heard, the ExoPC is supposed to hit the US, Canada and France on September 7th. If it does eventually hit the market, this could be the tablet for those looking for a full Windows install. Plus it comes with ExoPC’s so far stunning-looking UI layer for when the novelty of using Windows with your fingers wear off.

2010 might be the year of the tablet but so far it’s been all about the iPad, which is actually alright. If nothing else, the iPad set the bar high for future tablets. The hardware might leave people wanting more, but the iPad provides a fantastic user experience and that’s actually the most important trait of a secondary computing device. Just like with the iPod, the iPad might always be the best selling tablet on the market, but that doesn’t say that other tablets will not be successful and loved. I just hope some of the purposed tablets like the Notion Ink Adam, WeTab, and ExoPC actually make it from concept to production. If they eventually hit — this year or next — that’s when the real tablet race will begin.

The $579 S7 will be available with a $50 instant rebate if the buyer signs up for a Sprint Mi-Fi or Overdrive hotspot. That’s of course a nice offer, but the slightly more expensive $649 S7 features a built-in unlocked 3G modem allowing owners to pop-in any ol’ activated SIM card for mobile hotspot-free Internet connectivity.

As of writing it doesn’t seem that any Best Buy locations have the portables in stock, but YMMV. Give your local store a quick minute or two before bothering computer associates about when they will be getting their first Viliv shipments. [Best Buy]

I loaded up the demo on a Viliv X70 tablet computer and found it works quite well on the 9-inch tablet. The buttons could be a bit larger, but overall it’s one of the most touchscreen-friendly websites I’ve seen. Click through for a quick video demo.

The normal version of Google Reader simply doesn’t work well with touchscreen computers. It’s the buttons, really. They are the key to a good Google Reader experience.

Users need a way to star items, access different lists and navigate around the robust interface. Google Reader Play solves all those issues with a cleaner interface and larger buttons. There are still some things I would change, but Google Reader Play is likely still in beta like most other Google projects so I’m not too concerned.

I also don’t see the need to use Play rather than the standard version on a normal computer. It doesn’t offer anything more than a redesigned interface and you can’t add your own RSS feeds into it just yet. It might draw some new users into the RSS world, but most current Reader users probably won’t make the switch besides to see what all the fuss is about.

The Blump.it Firefox plug-in just hit the blogosphere today and I had to try it. So I loaded it up on the Viliv X70 with the hope that it will improve the functionality of the small-ish touchscreen and turn it into a certain tablet computer clone. In short, it does both very well. Check out the video after the jump to see it in action.

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It’s just what touchscreen mobile devices need, in fact. It’s fast, designed just for a touchscreen, and surprisingly stable for an alpha release. There are some bugs, but if the developers keep coding away on it, the plug-in might just satisfy those looking for a dedicated web-browsing touchscreen device.

The home page is just a bunch of large shortcut icons. There can be multiple pages and the icons can be dragged around for organization. It’s as easy as clicking the shortcut button on the top menu bar to give any website it’s own shortcut, although it’s a generic icon. Since it’s using Firefox, it loads each page just fine and handles flash like a champ. It needs tabs though.

Really the only major bugs I found are that the keyboard is missing key characters like the period and dash. It makes it somewhat difficult to navigate to certain sites without those. But you can always use the device’s on-board keyboard so it’s not totally impossible.

If you have a MID or UMPC laying around, give this Firefox plug-in a go. Just make sure you have the Firefox Grab & Drag plug-in also installed so you can scroll on webpages a bit easier. The company also stated in a recent video that they are working on a Chrome release now that the browser supports plug-ins too. The future is looking up for small touchscreen computers.

It’s still cheaper at Dynamism plus you get extras like a case, the car kit (it works great as a desktop mount too), leather pouch, and a protective film for the screen. But there isn’t anything wrong with competition and Newegg generally isn’t the most expensive store in town for long. I would expect their prices to drop shortly. [Newegg via SlashGear]

I loved the Viliv X70. It’s a great UMPC and it’s finally available for public consumption from Dynamism. The pre-orders took a little longer to ship than expected, but now that those are done, the X70 is available for everyone. Better yet, you can expect it to ship out the same day you place your order. Now, the smaller, but still hot, S5 is a different story.

The small, 5-inch UMPC isn’t available right now. Dynamism is expecting to get the little brother on August 27, but the retailer will be more than happy to take your money now to ensure you get one as soon as they come in.

I feel real sorry for the folks that pre-ordered the fantastic Viliv X70 from Dynamism. Those customers should have gotten an email today explaining that the UMPC has been delayed by about two weeks. It seems that it goes back to the old saying of how things roll down hill as a delay from component suppliers has been passed on to the consumers. Dynamism now expects the first shipment to go out on August 11 instead of right now. But let me just say, that the UMPC is amazing and is worth the little bit extra wait.

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your recent order of the Viliv X70.  We had hoped to be emailing you with the tracking number, but unfortunately that is not the case.  Our shipment has been delayed by the factory.  For the record, the delay is due to a components shortage: the recession has been less severe than suppliers expected, and MIDs have been especially popular this year. These factors have led to constraints on some components.  We are sorry about this delay.

We know this delay is an inconvenience and we apologize. It is frustrating for us as well when something which is out of our hands comes up, after we work very hard to create a great customer experience. Please know that we are doing everything within in our power to push for fastest possible shipment. We estimate the delay on our first shipment to be about two weeks (August 11^th), although we are hoping for less.

Although any order can be canceled for a full refund prior to shipment, we hope that you will bear with us as we do everything within our power to minimize this delay.  Nobody should have to wait, but if any device/ deal is worth the wait, this is it. This is a uniquely cool device and a really fantastic package. You may have heard it many times already, but we hope you have not become inured to the value of this device with its great spec and low price point–especially with all those free accessories/upgrades.

We will send another update within the next week, but please let us know if you need anything else in the meantime.

Thank you,

Dynamism Sales

Lets start with how the X70 handles different common applications and usage. Hardware is covered farther down.

Awesome

• EasySuite

The single best feature of the Viliv X70 is the EasySuite transfer software built into the UMPC. This is a killer software/hardware pack that needs to be included in every notebook, UMPC, and netbook. Hell, why not build this into all computers? It’s the best way to transfer files between two computers I have ever used.

All you do is plug in the Mini-B end of a USB cable into the X70 and then the full size USB port into a computer. A few seconds later, EasySuite autoruns on both systems and allows you to transfer files between both computers. It’s almost Jack Bauer-ish it works so well. Plus it’s fast. A 700MB file only took 51 seconds to transfer verse the seven minutes over 802.11g.

• TweetDeck

It’s like the X70 was meant for TweetDeck – or the other way around. The entire application fills the small screen and looks downright sexy. TweetDeck is extremely accessible and usable thanks to the text input screen being located on the top, which is way above the virtual keyboard overlay. It’s one of my favorite applications to use on the X70. A good amount of time, I have the UMPC sitting on my desk with only TweetDeck open as a companion to my main system.

• Google Reader

Google Reader looks and works amazing on the X70 when the screen is rotated to the vertical layout. (there is a hotkey for this) It makes cruising through my hundreds of RSS feeds in the morning a breeze.

Setting the pointer on the down arrow and using the dedicated hardware mouse button instead of the touchscreen is about the best way to use it. This method works even better than using the Firefox Grab and Drag add-on. The only thing that would improve this is if there was a button or a scroll wheel on the Viliv that you could hold down for scrolling – the little nub only moves the page down a few lines and is hard to press.

• E-Book reader

The program eReader turns the X70 into a ebook reading monster. Once again, it helps if the screen is rotated to the vertical position. The Viliv X70’s dedicated hardware hotkeys to dim the screen makes it easy to adjust to darker or lighter conditions on the fly. And the little nub pointer makes it easy to change pages with just one click in the appropriate direction. The X70 doesn’t have the long battery life that e-ink readers like the Kindle does, but you can expect to get a few hours into a book without a problem.

• PowerPoint viewer

Combine the portability of the small form factor, along with the versatile video outputs of VGA, component, S-Vid, or composite, and you have one mighty PowerPoint buddy in the Viliv X70. The hardware handles PowerPoint just fine. The speakers are loud enough to fill a medium size room just fine. Throw in a wireless presentation remote, and you’ll look like a salesmen of the future.

Good enough

• GPS

Garmin Mobile PC turns the X70 into a 7-inch Garmin GPS unit. It work perfectly as a GPS unit, albeit being a tad big. The X70 is almost 8.5 inches long, which is as wide as my Dodge Magnum’s rear-view mirror. It makes a huge blind spot on my windshield and the Magnum/Charger/Challenger’s windshield is large for a passenger vehicle. However, in my Dad’s Ford Windstar van, it looks right at home.

It’s just too bad that installing and running a GPS program on the Viliv x70 is a huge pain. I spent about 4 hours browsing random forum sites to get the steps needed to run both Garmin Mobile PC and Microsoft Streets and Trips 2009 (which is terrible program, btw). Garmin Mobile PC was totally worth the hours of work though.

I also don’t think it’s too much to ask to have a GPS app included in the X70′s software pack. Even a basic navigation application would fit the bill.

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• Skype

So the X70 has a front-facing webcam and microphone, which should make for a great Skype video device, right? Well, it does. The program runs fine and the video quality is good enough. The only thing I wish it had was a three-way headphone/microphone jack like cell phones have. That way you didn’t have to use the front-facing mic all the time. But Skype does work.

• General Web Browsing

Almost 95% of my work is done via a web browser. I’m pleased to report that the Viliv X70 works good as web browsing device. It could be better, but it gets the job done once you get use to some of the quirks. The Firefox Grab and Drag add-on takes full advantage of the touchscreen and enables an iPhone-ish type movement.

Once again, a dedicated hardware button for scrolling would be great. The little nub doesn’t get the job done well because it’s so tough to press and only moves the page down a few lines with each click. A BlackBerry-ish trackball or scroll wheel would work great instead of the four-way selector button.

• VLC

Is there a hardware platform that VLC doesn’t like? I don’t think so and the X70 is no different. The video player could handle all DVD-quality videos just fine; it couldn’t play back HD videos at all though. The bundled VilivPlayer couldn’t play HD videos well either so lets blame it on the low-end Intel GMA 500 graphics controller instead of the programs.

• Excel

I wouldn’t want to enter in a lot of info into Excel with the small screen, but it works just fine for small changes. This is actually the one program where the four way selector nub actually works well.

Disappointing

• YouTube and Hulu

I tried these video sites in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and IE. None would playback the videos in any fashion that was watchable. The sound comes through fine, but the video is lagy and choppy. There are a couple of other reviews floating around of the X7o that indicate the opposite, but I wasn’t happy with results.

• Hulu Desktop

I still installed the beta of Hulu Desktop even though Hulu.com ran poorly. Crazy? Maybe, but I prayed a bit that this would work before installing it and was hoping for a miracle. I had dreams of using the 3G connection to watch Hulu from the sexy, touchscreen-friendly desktop app.

But it doesn’t work worth a damn. The video actually plays back a little better through the desktop app than via Hulu.com, but it’s still not worth your time.

• Boxee

I spent an entire day working on Boxee but I couldn’t get the program to install/run. It has something to do with the crappy Intel GMA 500 video processor and Windows XP not having the right goods for OpenGL – or something like that. But after messing around with Hulu Desktop a few days after, I decided that Boxee probably wouldn’t run well anyway. But still, think of the possibilities with the 3G connection…

Hardware

The Viliv X70 is ran by an Intel Atom CPU Z520 @ 1.33GHz. Surprised? Probably not. The Atom is in almost every netbook/UMPC for good reasons: the CPU offers great performance and battery life. Expect the Viliv x70 to handle just about anything you can throw at it with the major exception of video.

The Intel GMA 500 that powers the video is the X70′s one weak spot. This GPU doesn’t like anything strenuous as HD playback, flash videos, or any sort of 3D games. There are a few 3rd party drivers floating around forum sites but I didn’t find any of them to perform better than the stock drivers from Viliv. I did read several times that Windows XP is partly to blame and Windows 7 improves it a bit. I’ll see if that’s true in a few days when I load Win7 onto the x70.

• Screen

The screen is no doubt one of the first things you’ll notice about the X70. First, it’s bright and crisp. The resolution of 1024 by 600 is almost perfect for this size. Text is crisp and the colors bright.

The touchscreen is one of the better ones I have used. It’s accurate and finger friendly, which is about all you can ask for in a touchscreen.

• Buttons

The front of the X70 has six buttons and a 4-way selector nub. Two of the right side buttons function as left/right mouse buttons, which is really handy. I found that when using my RSS reader, I would just place the cursor over the down scroll button and use one of these hardware buttons instead of the touchscreen.

The other buttons bring up the Windows Start Menu, virtual keyboard, and control certain hotkeys. By pressing the C button on the right and pushing the 4-way selector in a certain direction, you can change the orientation of the screen. Also, the Menu and the A/B buttons adjust the screen brightness, while the FN and A/B adjusts the volume.

Viliv should allow users to map different functions to these buttons. Just a simple piece of software would do it. I would like to map the Scroll down command to the otherwise unused C button. Maybe that ability is hidden somewhere in the software pack but I couldn’t find how to change these buttons.

• 3G Wireless

The X70 that I’m using has a 3G HSPA modem built in. It works well. AT&T has good coverage here in mid-Michigan and I saw good up and down speeds. The bundled software was buggy at times, but it would always eventually connect. I didn’t notice that the expandable antenna made any difference at all.

• Keyboard

The  X70 is equipped with a virtual keyboard that overlays on top of everything else. I found that I could get around 25 wpm typing on it. The keyboard should come natural to anyone use to typing with their thumbs (all of us now?). The haptic feedback, which can be turned off, helps a lot too. Heavy typers would probably miss a physical keyboard, but I rarely wish I had one.

• I/O Ports

The X70 has the standard assortment of I/O ports: 1 USB A, 1 USB Mini-B (for the EasySuite app), an SD card slot, headphone jack, a SIM card slot, and a proprietary A/V-out that supports VGA, component, S-Vid, and composite. (cables are included) I would love to see two full size USB ports as one can be a pain especially if you want to use a wireless mouse and flash drive at the same time. (or keyboard and a mouse)

Also, the SD card slot is so deep that you have to use the stylus to eject the card – or a long fingernail.

• Battery life

The Dynamism X70 product page lists the battery life at 5.5 hours when viewing movies. I found that it got about 3.5 – 4 hours when browsing the Internet.

Viliv messed around with the Window’s Power Options and I can’t get it to show how much time is left on the battery. Windows will only display a percentage. It’s annoying. Upgrading it to Win7 should fix that though.

• Speakers

The back side house two speakers which are surprisingly loud. They have no problem filling a small or medium size room. Even the bass isn’t that bad.

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Price

Devin asked me when I first got the X70 how will it be successful where the similarly equipped OQO models failed. It comes down to price. This UMPC offers a lot of functionality for a low price. OQO, and other UMPCs, are amazing devices, but the $2,000+ price tag placed them into a small niche market where the X70 has a lot lower initial cost and therefore should appeal to more.

The base model starts out at only $599 and you get a 16GB SSD, GPS, and a Z515 1.2GHz Atom CPU.  The package that I’m using costs $879 but includes a 32GB SSD, Z520 1.33GHz Atom, an HSPA modem along with a windshield/desktop mount, leather case, and a screen protector for those that pre-order it. There is another model minus the 3G modem for $729 and yet another for $1379 that includes a 128GB SSD along with everything else.

Dynamism is running a pre-order extravaganza on the X70 starting today at 1PM est. The X70′s little brother has been one of the best selling UMPC’s of all time and is still hard to get, so you’re going to want to pre-order the X70 if you want it. Plus, Dynamism is throwing in upgrades and accessory packs with all the pre-orders.

Round-up

I love the X70. I have never, ever been so impressed with a gadget, computer or otherwise. I think what amazes me the most is the price. You can get a full computing experience, with all of its pros and cons, in a truly portable package for only $600.

Now, as much as I love the X70 as a computer, I should point out that I’m not entirely impressed with it as a dedicated web browsing device. Internet performance is just one shot under par and the low-end Intel GMA 500 kills most Internet video sites. I know this sounds like a shameless plug but I totally mean it when I say you may want to wait for the CrunchPad if you want a tablet for just Internet usage.

However, the X70 is a full fledge computer that’s loaded with 3G wireless, a fast SSD, GPS, WiFi, and Windows XP. A lot of people like me are willing to forgo a bit of usability for all the extras that come with this Viliv. It has issues to work out like the video performance and quirky buttons, but my goodness it’s a heck of a computer.

Product Page

Do you want the Viliv X70 UMPC? You should, it rocks. Dynamism is gearing up for the launch of the mobile PC by announcing a special kit for the first 777 preorders. The presale will start on July 6th at 1pm EST so be sure to mark your gCal. The X70′s little brother, the S5, went very fast and this model will probably go quicker.

Peeps that order the 1.2GHz Express model will get upgraded for free to the 1.3GHz model and given a car kit, leather pouch, and a protective film. Likewise, Premium model orders will get an extra battery along with all the other stuff, which all total up to $195. Don’t forget, the presale event starts on July 6th at 1pm EST. We should have our review up by then too.

We just unboxed the new Viliv X70 last Friday and spent all weekend with the UMPC. Overall we’re mighty impressed at all this little guy can do for the price. It’s not perfect and has some quirks, but overall it’s a solid package. Our pros and cons after the jump.

What we don’t like:

• The screen isn’t great outside
• It doesn’t include a GPS program (MS Streets and Trips 2009 sucks btw)
• The top left nub is only a four way switch and doesn’t work well
• There isn’t a good solution for scrolling on webpages
• It doesn’t playback 720p videos well
• The 3G modem is sketchy at best

What we like:

• It feels great in the hand
• High quality materials
• Great touchscreen
• Super fast SSD
• Takes only 17 seconds to boot WinXP
• Takes 2 seconds to pop on from standby
• Quality built-in software pack
• Alright webcam
• The on-screen keyboard works better than expected
• The leather case is high-quality

What we really like:

• The USB transfer wizard EasySuite integration (hands-on video coming soon)
• Viewing Google Reader with the screen in portrait mode
• The $599 starting price via Dynamism.

This isn’t our full review of course. That’s too come in a little bit.

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The Viliv S5 is one sexy kit with its 4.8-inch touchscreen and $599 price. But what if we told you that you can get the similarly equiped, but also slightly larger X70 for the same price? Yeah, I know, crazy, but the Viliv X70 will be available from importer Dynamism at the same $599 price. You lose a bit of portability with the larger screen, but tell me that a 7-inch touchscreen isn’t portable and I’ll call you a liar. Here is why.

The upcoming X70 is still small at 1.45 pounds and 8-inches by 4.6-inches by .8-inches. That’s small enough to fit into any bag without notice. Hell, some Star Wars Expanded Universal novels weigh more. It may not be pocketable like the smaller S5, the X70 packs enough computing power to do almost anything you would expect a UMPC to do and probably more in a small size.

Dynamism has the Viliv X70 product page live for the upcoming device and we’re pleasantly surprised. The X70 maintains all the goodies of the S5 including GPS, 802.11 b/g, but ditches the 60GB spinning hard drive for either a 16GB or 32GB SSD. Plus, you can add a 3G modem if you so please. Also, don’t forget about the 7-inch WSVGA (1024×600) touchscreen.

The S5 went real fast and the importer is still having a tough time keeping them in stock. So you better head over to Dynamism and pre-order the Viliv X70 if you really want one. And you do. Trust us.