eviGroup Pad gets video hands-on; Update: on sale now

Given how long it's taking eviGroup to push out their Wallet MID, we're quite surprised with how quickly they're working on getting their new 10.7-inch UMPC out of the door.  The eviGroup Pad has already had its first hands-on, courtesy of French site NowhereElse, who reckon the 1024 x 600 resistive touchscreen – even with a stylus – is responsive while Windows 7 runs reasonably on the 1.6GHz Atom processor.Update: The Elite 3G version of the eviGroup Pad is on sale now for €599 plus €30 shipping ($932); they'll also sell you an OS-free version for €539 ($799).Video demo after the cut

Our own concern is about the battery, which is rated for around 2hrs of use; happily it's removable, but we're not sure how much replacements will be on sale for.  As for Seline, the AI interface, opinion seems to have been held pending further play, but if eviGroup have got it right then this could certainly make controlling your UMPC a whole lot more straightforward.

Update: eviGroup CEO Nicolas Ruiz has been in touch to let us know that the battery life is in fact more like 3-3.5hrs of regular use, or 2 hours 15 minutes with 3G on, brightness at 100-percent and Aero turned on.

The video is in French – or at least the subtitles are – but the general theme of the thing is pretty straightforward to follow.  According to NowhereElse, the eviGroup Pad should launch sometime this week, perhaps as early as today; pricing will be €499 ($740) for the Standard model (which lacks 3G and the Seline app) and €599 ($888) for the Elite (which has 3G, Seline and a nifty carry pouch with handle).