Now that I’ve got Vista up and running on the Q1 Ultra Premium, it’s time for a Starbucks run later today. I just installed the VZ Access software needed for my USB727 modem so connectivity is tested and good to go. One feature the Q1UP has over my older Q1 and Q1P is that one USB port is on the top of the device. This is just awesome from a form factor standpoint. On the older models, the two USB ports were on the sides of the device, making it difficult to effectively hold and use the UMPC as one of your hands had to deal with the modem sticking out.With the top USB port, I’m not affected at all in landscape mode. I’d probably face a challenge with the device in portrait mode, but if worse comes to worse, I could put the modem in the port on the right side of the device and rotate the screen counter-clockwise. This would essentially put the USB modem back on the “top” of the device. I hope other small device manufacturers take note of this; putting the USBs on the traditional sides might not make the most sense if the unit is designed to be used in both portrait and landscape mode.

I don’t put too much stock in the Windows Experience Index, but to many folks it’s a general indicator that useful for comparison purposes between Vista devices. Besides, I know someone’s going to ask for the numbers.

The overall index is 2.3 as shown, but you have to realize that the index uses the lowest of the five numbers. I always thought it should use some type of weighted average, but then again I studied Econometrics in college so this should be expected. Here’s the individual scores on the Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium running Vista with 2 GB of RAM:

• Processor: 2.9
• Memory (RAM): 4.4
• Graphics: 2.3
• Gaming graphics: 2.8
• Primary hard disk: 3.7

How do these numbers compare to other UMPCs running Vista? Chime in if you’ve got data to share!

Since I finger-pointed at the US Postal Service earlier in the week, the proper thing to do is mention that they made everything right. Sort of. My second 6-cell battery for the Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium was allegedly delivered on Monday morning per the tracking info, but no battery ever appeared at my house. I called the local Post Office yesterday to debate the issue since they said the item was delivered; they promised they would ask the carrier where she delivered the package to.Lo and behold, what did I see next to my garage very late in the day yesterday: the package with the battery. The Post Office left a voicemail indicating that the item was delivered to my home on Monday, but I gather that it was actually delivered to another home in the development and those kind folks brought it over. Either way, I don’t care how it got here. I’m just glad it is. Battery “B” as it will be known as from this day forward (to have and to charge, until bluescreen do we part) is now charging in the UMPC. Which is now running Vista. Too bad Samsung doesn’t support Vista on the Ultra Premium yet. I feel like I’m stuck in a time warp: cobbling together drivers and apps just like I did for Vista on the Q1 a year and a half ago.

OK, this one isn’t exactly for the faint of heart. I didn’t know it until I was on camera, but the RAM slot for the Q1 Ultra Premium isn’t in the same spot as earlier models. It’s actually underneath a motherboard, so you have to not only crack open the case (which was a challenge), but also remove some cables and a board. Hidden underneath is the RAM slot and at that point, swapping out the RAM is a piece of cake. The whole process took me at least 30 minutes and you want to be VERY careful.After the video, I noticed something funny with my touchscreen so I opened the device again to make sure all the cables were seated properly. Once I verified that and closed the device up, the hard drive was no longer recognized. Third time was a charm although I seem to have lost Windows XP; the device now appears to be functioning properly during a re-install of Windows XP Tablet Edition. Long story short: this can be done, but it’s not as simple as I would have liked. Be careful!Oh and while I was in there, I saw a free PCIe slot for a 3G modem card; there’s no need to remove the WiFi/Bluetooth module from the other PCIe slot.

Although the US Postal Service seems to have delivered my 6-cell battery to someone else, it was nice to see FedEx arrive early this morning with a 2 GB memory module. The standard 1 GB SODIMM is coming out of Samwise so he can get the 2 GB upgrade treatment later today. The procedure will be slightly different from the Q1 and Q1P upgrades due to the different form factor, so cross your fingers in the virtual waiting room. Once the surgery is over, he’ll have some time to recover with Windows XP Tablet Edition for a short while. As soon as he’s strong enough, we’ll tackle the next phase of his metamorphosis by cleanly installing Windows Vista. No need to send cards or letters; I’m sure all will go well as I know the surgeon personally and have every confidence in his abilities.

So my Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium has been unusable for the past several hours. Why? As I’ve done in the past with all the other Samsung Q1 devices, I was running the free Battery Eater Pro software that stresses the device to see what the minimum run-time is. The pretty little graph I usually get from Battery Eater Pro didn’t get generated for some reason, but the log file is readily available and it shows that the UMPC crapped out at 4 hours and 22 minutes. If you ran the Q1UP at full bore with no power management, WiFi on and the screen at half brightness, that’s how long you could work. Obviously, proper power management settings and a more laid-back use of the device will result in a longer run-time. I’m finding that the 6-hour run-time in normal usage is pretty realistic with this configuration.OK, time to recharge the battery and get some work done. Then again, it’s almost the weekend, so maybe I’ll unplug and recharge my *own* batteries!

I’ll be running a Battery Eater Pro test later today, but I wanted to provide some general battery drain observations on the Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium. I installed Notebook Hardware Control to get a feel for things and see some interesting data. During the observation, I had the brightness at 50%, WiFi on, Bluetooth off and used the "Normal" profile in the Samsung Battery Manager power settings.

By and large the 1.33 GHz Intel Core Solo runs at 800 MHz when it can. If it doesn’t need to, it won’t run at 1.33GHz, which keeps the power consumption of the CPU down. When "idling", meaning the machine is just sitting there doing pretty much nothing, the power draw averages around 6 Watts. For basic web surfing, I saw the drain hop up in to the 8 to 10 Watt drain. When stressed with a high CPU load, it looks like a 12 to 13 Watt draw.

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After I got Skype to recognize the front camera on the Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium, it was time to put the device to the test. James and I routinely have video chats, some we even record and share, so I wanted to find out if I’d be able to use the new UMPC for this. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I guess a video equates to something like a million. Rather than write that many words, I’ll let you judge the video. You’ll get some early impressions of the HTC Shift from James during this slightly different Geek Session!

This is interesting and I’m guessing it probably applies to the Q1 Ultra units as well as the Q1U Premium. The device has two cameras: one on the front and one on the back. I just installed Skype in preparation to test a video call with James later today. When I went into the Skype options for Video and tested the webcam, it was using the higher quality, rear-facing camera. No worries I figure, I’ll just use the drop-down menu to choose the other camera. I did just that, but Skype was still looking over it’s shoulder as opposed to looking me in the eye. Hmmm…..

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Before I go play with the REDFLY mobile companion, I should probably get the obligatory benchmarks out of the way on Samwise. Take them for what you will; some folks swear by benchmarks while others couldn’t care less. Me? I think they provide one of many indicators as to how a device will perform when compared to devices with similar but different specifications. Meaning: I prefer the "feel" for how a device performs, but I realize that’s subjective. So I’m providing both in my coverage: objective measurements and subjective thoughts. Please note that I’m using an updated version of CrystalMark (R3 vs. R2); it shouldn’t cause any major differences in results, but I wanted to mention it.

Feel free to compare the Q1 Ultra Premium scores with ones I did on the Q1P with 2 GB of RAM. Or you can compare them to the Q1P with 1 GB of RAM or even the Samsung Q1B results. It’s up to you. I can tell you that you won’t be surprised: the Q1 Ultra Premium with just 1 GB of RAM handily trumped all prior scores. How much? Well, the best overall CrystalMark score up to now was the score of 20349 received by the Pentium-based Q1P with 2 GB of RAM. The Ultra Premium with half the RAM scored 28508… roughly 40% higher. As I said the other day: this is a notebook processor hiding in a UMPC form factor. It might make for a low-end notebook, but it’s definitely a high-end UMPC in my book.