Promise Not Negatives : Why Does Everyone Hate Ultra-Mobile PCs?

Promise Not Negatives

By TG Publishing Team, published on June 28, 2006
Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: why, does, everyone, hate, ultra, mobile, pcs | Themes: Business Notebooks

Contents

1. Pissed-Off Lemmings Start Early On UMPC
2. Promise Not Negatives

2. Promise Not Negatives

From the time I saw my first UMPC right up until today I have focused on the promise, not the negatives in the concept. I've had a chance to look briefly at Samsung's Q1 UMPC. It's quite impressive.

The Q1 is a pretty small 9" x 5.5" x 1" and weighs less than 2 pounds. It has a 7" display and 40 GB hard disk drive. Optional batteries promise 6.5 and 9 hours run time. I haven't seen these batteries and have no idea how much weight they add to the Q1. A CD/DVD drive is extra. The operating system is Windows XP Tablet Edition. And yes, there's no built-in keyboard and at $1,099 the thing is a bit too pricey. Here are the full specs for the Samsung Q1.

Processor	Intel® Celeron® 900MHz, Pentium® M ULV 1.1/1.2 GHz
OS	Microsoft Windows® XP Tablet Edition
Chipset & Graphics	915 GMS Intel, GMA900
Memory	1 SODIMM Socket, DDR II 400 MHz, 512 MB
LCD	7" WVGA (200 nit, 800 X 480)
Audio	H/P out, Array Mic, Stereo Speaker (2W x 2)
Storage	40/60 GB (PATA, 4,200 rpm, 1.8" HDD)
Communications	10/100 Ethernet, Mini card WLAN (802.11 b/g), Bluetooth v2.0
Multimedia	Multimedia instant On (AVS Now)
I/O Port	2 USB (USB 2.0), 1 Type II CF card, RJ45, Audio Jack, 2 array Mic, VGA, DC-in
User Interface	Button: 8 Way Joystick, 4 User Key, 3 button (Auto Scale/Enter/ Menu), Hold, Volume Up/Down, Power/MIO
Battery (Li-Ion)	Std: 3.0 hrs Longer Life: over 6.5 hrs Longest Life: over 9 hrs
Dimension	9.0"(w) x 5.5"(H) x 1.0"(D)
Weight	1.7 Lbs. (W/O Optical Disk Drive)