Ultra Mobile PC Review: Samsung Almost Rights the Wrongs with the New Q1 Ultra Series

In May of 2006, Samsung released the first commercially available UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC) that was supposed to change the world. We were told, with various press releases, how the new Q1 UMPC would be able to join us on hiking trips, bike rides, boat trips, etc. and change the way we communicate with the rest of the world. This all sounded good until the Q1 actually started shipping in early May of 2006. While having a computing device the size of a paperback book looked cool (and it certainly did turn eyes), it lacked a thumboard for input, the battery life was incredibly short, the resolution (800 X 480 pixels) was very low, the 900 MHZ Celeron processor was awfully slow (they did release a Pentium unit with a 1 GH Processor), and holding it felt like handling a brick. The brightness level, which I consider very important since I love watching movies on my UMPCs, was low as well, but fixed on later upgrades of the unit.

Just this past week, online retailers such as Costco and Buy.com have been shipping the Samsung Q1 Ultra (I’m not sure why they just didn’t call it the Samsung Q2). Apparently, Samsung has paid attention to the massive complaints the Q1 unit received, because they have fixed a lot of things that make this, for the most part, a usable unit. 

First, let’s start with the newly added split (half the keys on the right of the screen, the other on the left) thumboard. Even though the keys are small and uncomfortable to use (at first), the thumboard comes in very  handy when writing an email, entering an email address, or writing a very short document. Thumboards were never intended to substitute for a keyboard in the first place. If you want to do that, use a regular laptop or buy a Bluetooth portable keyboard. Some may argue that you don’t need a thumboard with a tablet system, especially since the new Vista operating system recognizes handwriting very well. I’ve tried writing two emails with my own handwriting (which is somewhat neat) and there were mistakes with basic words each time I wrote the email. When thumbing in the email, the process went a lot faster, even though, at first, I would type in unnecessary characters since my thumbs are so big.  

Next, let’s go to the newly added “mouse,” which is now located at the left of the screen, while the buttons are located to the right corner, but lower. Having the mouse button and the right and left click buttons parallel to each other would have been a lot more convenient. Even though it’s only been one day, I’m having a hard time getting used to this setup. It’s easier just to touch the screen, which responds very well.

Article Author: Daryl D

Daryl, who thinks that both Democrats and Republicans are ruining our country, is a freelance writer who writes articles on politics, technology, and entertainment. If you want to send him feedback on any of his articles (good or bad) don't hesitate …

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