Samsung Q1 Ultra-V
This full-featured UMPC has a big, bright screen; but slow performance and an awkward keyboard mar its usability.A sentence I typed on the integrated split-QWERTY keypad on Samsung's new Q1 Ultra-V ultramobile PC (UMPC) came out like this: "The quuck browm focx jumprd o er the gence." Awkward lilliputian keys, slow processing, and a mediocre screen resolution make this $1199 mini-PC hard to use.
Fingers larger than chopstick tips will struggle with the tiny keys, so Samsung offers numerous alternative input methods--a stylus, a touch screen, an on-screen keyboard, and a handwriting-recognizing tablet. In addition, you can connect a USB mouse, which I preferred to using the "Mouse" toggle with my left thumb.
Designed to supplement--not replace--a notebook or desktop PC, the Q1 Ultra-V combines the functionality of a PDA with that of a notebook, according to Samsung. It packs a 60GB hard drive, measures just 9 by 5.5 by 1.25 inches, and weighs only 1.5 pounds. Unfortunately, it is inappropriately saddled with Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, which seems to plunge every function into a molasses bath. Samsung claims that its AVStation Now software can run movies, music, or photos without performing a full Windows boot; but I found that it booted Windows and took more than 3 minutes to load--2 minutes longer than a normal Windows boot. A dedicated AV button on the Q1 Ultra-V's side launches this multimedia package.
The crisp, 7-inch-wide WSVGA LCD touch screen with a native resolution of 1024 by 600 is bright enough for indoor or outdoor use, but the type was so small that I tried to put on my reading glasses so I could see better--except that I already had them on.
The device delivers long battery life as promised (4.5 hours in my informal test) on the 800-MHz Intel Ultra Mobile CPU, even with the power-hungry, integrated 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0 running. But what good is long battery life if a product's design defeats most of what you try to do on it? While $1199 isn't expensive for a UMPC, this "companion" fails to deliver on the productivity enhancement it promises. And when will it prove worthwhile? Maybe by the time "The quick brown fox jumps over the fence."