V5 hands on in Korea

[infocalypse1]

Saw the V5 for sale in Korea last week. At first glance it looked exactly like the O2. Video resolution is about twice that of the O2, and a video output adapter w/ HDMI is available as an extra. OS is Windows CE (groan). After a quick hands on look, I am not sure that it is worth the extra $$. The interface is not really that much of an improvement, and the higher res means tinier icons. You actually need to use the little pick to select items, as the average finger tip is just too big. That is a definite minus in my book, as the first thing that I did w/ my O2 was to ditch the pick, as the big icons are meant to be hand touched. Battery life is improved (10 hours video playback vs 8). My bottom line is that the increased screen resolution by itself isn't worth replacing a current O2. Since you can port out videos to a big screen already, albeit at DVD resolution, without increasing the storage capacity of the device it is pointless to load the unit w/ HD video. When travelling, I really like to connect my O2 up to a flat screen and watch videos. If you are watching a .H254 file made at DVD resolution, the results are DVD quality, with minimal blockiness, and visibly superior to hotel-provided satellite for all except 1080i HD channels. I can easily load 2 weeks worth of videos with 32+32Gb. At 720P file resolution, I can only bring about half as many files. For me, the only benefit of the V5 is watching on the plane, and I am skeptical about the aesthetic benefits of the higher resolution.

I noticed the V5 is now available via NewEgg. Anyone out there got one yet? I'm interested in a more in depth assessment.