Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium thoughts
Yes, I was caught lusting after the newest Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium. That may sound odd since I never left the original Q1 series when the Q1U was introduced. There’s a reason for that though… I’ve always preferred performance and to be honest, my experiences were better with the Intel Pentium-based device. So the new device has an Intel Core Solo in the 1.06- to 1.33 GHz range, and that’s appealing especially for running Microsoft Windows Vista. Also tempting is the 1024 x 600 resolution and LED backlight. The buttons are really of no consequence to me, but I know that other folks find them useful.
In holding the device, it felt a little bulkier than the existing Q1U line, likely owing to the standard 6-cell battery. The Samsung representative explained that the unit should have a 7.5-hour run-time, but I suspect that number is high. Still, even 6 hours would be very useful. There was also an interesting dock which can hold another battery for (as I was told) a full 15 hours of run-time between the two batteries. Only thing is: I would expect that most folks docking their unit would be running off AC power.
The two webcams are still there on the unit as are most of the other features available on the existing Q1U. The hard drive is still a 1.8-inch unit, which limits upgrade options, however Samsung will offer a 64 GB SSD unit in this line. We couldn’t get a straight answer on price, but we heard of availability this quarter for the SSD unit. Since Samsung makes the flash drives themselves, I could see that happening. Integrated WiMAX with Sprint service will also be available.
Would I upgrade my Q1P to this new Q1 Ultra Premium? It’s a tough call for me personally, mostly due to budget. For $1,399, I’d upgrade to a faster CPU, presumably more battery life, and a higher resolution screen. If I can swing the money, I’ll consider it… it’s a matter of determining how much those upgrades are worth in terms of my productivity. Personally, I’d be fine with a standard hard drive over the more expensive SSD as I expect it will add at least $450 to the base price. I don’t see widespread availability of WiMAX until 2009 or beyond, so I’d opt to skip that option… unless it was too cheap to pass up!
The other factor in my own purchase decision is my ownership of Eeegor, the Asus Eee PC. The device is 25% the price of the Samsung, but it’s nearly 100% useful. No, they’re not the same device class and it would be unfair to compare them as such, but I do have to compare them as general tools for the tasks I do. I’ve covered the whole show so far by using the Eee PC (running Windows XP) and that should tell you something!
the extra CPU power comes with a huge weight gain 33%, thats tremendous. the unit now weighs 1.97lbs because of the big battery they had to stick in there to make up for the CPU. what good is a vertical market device if it’s so heavy you get fatigued quicker? it is now the heaviest pure UMPC ever.
saying the unit feels faster is an outright lie, especially since you couldnt have been doing much more than navigating Windows. thats nothing but perception based on the fact you knew that you were using the “new” device. the only way i could even tell a difference i was using a new machine was that it weighed SO much more now (and the new KB). passed that they both zip along at the same pace, the only time you might be able to tell the difference will be when using very intensive programs. but the Samsung reps didnt have anything like that running.
you should stop reminding us over & over how you dont like buttons. fact is, they may suck for typing but they are VERY useful as hotkeys (especially media programs). why do you think everyody keeps saying that? you clearly have never used the device for any serious amount of time & keep making the same minor statements about CPU & buttons over & over. when the majority (of actual owners) stand up & tell you otherwise. you only further hurt your credibility when you ignore the masses to stick to minor opinions because you dont want to admit your wrong. sad fact is thats probably why you will never even bother using the buttons.
Um… did I read the same post as Coingo? It seems like Kevin was explaining what he would gain. I guess I missed the part where Kevin said, “This is what Coingo and the rest of the world will gain.”
$1400 & still not even 2GB RAM yet, are they insane?! they are starting to get up into highend laptop pricing. it’s hard enough already for the UMPC to become mainstream, but this certainly wont help.
the only people i can see paying this much are people who might use it as a primary machine. but i thought UMPC’s were being targeted as secondary PC companion devices? most people dont even like paying that much for a primary device, so who is going to pay that much for a secondary device?
Thanks for sharing your opinion Coingo. You’re certainly entitled to it, as am I mine. As far of the commentary, yup: there’s a weight increase. I can live with an under two-pound UMPC, but again that’s just me (using a 2.02 pound Asus Eee this week).
I also never said the unit feels faster; I said it has faster processor, which it does. My personal preference is inking, so naturally I don’t see much use for the buttons. Again, my opinion and my usage requirements. If you and others like the buttons, that’s *fine*. I’m not going to sit here and whine about your opinion and say you’re wrong. As far as my credibility and ignoring the masses of actual owners, those comments are pretty much uncalled for in my opinion. However, I respect your right to share your opinion; too bad you don’t feel the same need to reciprocate.
As much as I’d like to replace my Q1 with something better, especially another Samsung, I’m not sure that this is it with that kind of price tag. Maybe when they start selling on woot…
Hey, Kevin and James!
Maybe it’s time to enforce some civility. The rest of us, who enjoy reading your commentary, probably wouldn’t mind a bit if personally insulting and useless comments were edited out. Saves us from having to read them.
Actually, sbtablet, I often find such comments amusing. It’s interesting to see how passionate people sometimes get about decisions they have made and devices they have purchased. Assuming Coingo doesn’t have a direct interest in the success of Q1’s and isn’t suffering a severe case of cognitive dissonance, he might be highlighting issues that some might find useful.
Different strokes…
sbtablet, I appreciate your point, but I’m more inclined to agree with Scott_H, mainly because this site generally benefits from the conversation it generates. I know I learn much from it. My issue was that the commenter twisted the words in my post and generally inidcated I’ve lost credibility by sharing my opinion. I strongly disagree. I believe the day I STOP sharing my opinion is the day I’ve lost my credibility. But that’s just my opinion.
Kevin, that was my point exactly. Passionately stating your case is one thing. Baseless personal attack is something else. Of course, how you handle it is your call.
Does anyone know when these will be available for purchase or they are already available somewhere online?
I am very interested in hearing more about the inking. I see a lot of reviews but few about using the Q1UP in real life situations. Can you see this being used every day as a note-taker, Web browser, word and maybe light excel machine? How much do you ink each day? How quickly can you do it with Q1UP? How accurate is it with Vista? Do you use OneNote? So it’s not an active digitizer (neither is the Fujitsu P1620, but that’s going to cost $3K ). You get where I’m coming from, in the end, it’s cool to have great technology, but I really want to graduate to a low weight (under 2.5 pounds) fairly powerful machine with good battery power (hey if I can get 5 hours that would be great – 7 would be ideal). BTW, I’ve been using a Nokia N800 as a browser, and it works incredibly well for answering email and other light stuff like that (with the Apple Bluetooth keyboard – tho most of the time I just use my finger or stylus). That showed me that I could leave my laptop at home and still get work done. Now I’m looking for something a little more powerful. thanks for the great info!