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Gadgets Samsung Q1EX UMPC Now Available
Shane McGlaun (Blog) - March 5, 2009 1:10 PM
Print 26 comment(s) - last by 91TTZ.. on Mar 10 at 4:22 PM

Samsung Q1EX Front

Samsung Q1EX Profile  (Source: Samsung)
Samsung's Q1 Ultra followup sheds real keyboard for the virtual

The UMPC form-factor has lost much of its appeal as consumers have become so infatuated with netbook computers. It used to be that if you were looking for a computer with a small screen that was very portable, the UMPC was the only ticket in town.

One of the original UMPCs came from Samsung and was called the Q1 Ultra. Samsung has now introduced a follow up to the Q1 Ultra called the Q1EX-71G. That name is certainly a mouthful, and not as elegant as Q1 Ultra, but the machine itself is very slick.

The Q1EX measure 9-inches x 5-inches x 1-inch (W x H x D) and weighs less than 1.5 pounds. The device sheds its odd split thumb keyboard in favor of an onscreen keyboard and 7-inch touch panel LCD. The panel has a screen resolution of 1024 x 600 and 300 nits of brightness.

Samsung promises that the standard 4-cell lithium-ion battery pack is good for up to 4.5 hours of run time and that the extended life battery is good for up to 8.5 hours. Connectivity options with the system include 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0 is included. An integrated dual-array mic allows users to make VOIP calls using the device as well.

The hardware inside the tiny chassis includes a 60GB HDD, 2GB of DDR2 667 MHz RAM and the processor is a VIA Nano ULV U2500 running at 1.2GHz. The system runs Windows XP Tablet Edition and graphics are VIA Chrome9 HC. Samsung warrantees the Q1EX for 1 year for parts and labor.

The Q1EX is available now online for $775.99, which seems steep considering similarly specked netbooks can be had for half that amount.

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RE: Not the form factor
By Suntan on 3/5/2009 8:39:08 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
In this application what benefit does x86 have over OMAP?


Well, any programs that run on x86 but not on ARM systems. Mostly programs that run on Windows, although there are some linux programs that are not available on ARM setups if I'm not mistaken.

-Suntan


RE: Not the form factor
By n0nsense on 3/6/2009 10:11:17 AM , Rating: 2
In Linux world, every architecture supported.
It is just a matter of building (compiling) your application with right target architecture. The stuff that used by 99% of the people is:
1. Browser
2. IM
3. Media Player
I agree that most 99% of this 99% don't know anything about compilation - Here come ubuntu 9.04 on ARM in just few weeks. and they definitely trully believe that x86 is the only working thing. That's what Intel sells you. x86 is ugly, it was cheap, so it won the market over more elegant architectures. I hope that ARM is only the first to come back to our desktops and notebooks. PowerPC with Cell will probably be the next.


RE: Not the form factor
By Suntan on 3/6/2009 2:29:08 PM , Rating: 2
I care more about actually using things than I do about what is more “elegant” once you get down to the sub-microscopic levels. Would’a, could’a, should’a is fine for a theoretical discussion, but the reality is that x86 has a much larger installed base, and as a result, a much larger selection of things to use.

In addition to firefox and VLC, my netbook is required to run Adobe Lightroom (for tagging and organizing of photos while on the go) and SageTV client (for setting up recordings on the media server, etc.) When those can be handled on an ARM system (without needing to reserve 3 weeks of vacation time to actually get it working) I will be more inclined to look at one.

These are just my personal needs, if a person does not have particular software needs, then any setup may be useful for them, but then I only speak for myself.

-Suntan


RE: Not the form factor
By 91TTZ on 3/10/2009 4:22:15 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
In Linux world, every architecture supported. It is just a matter of building (compiling) your application with right target architecture. The stuff that used by 99% of the people is: 1. Browser 2. IM 3. Media Player I agree that most 99% of this 99% don't know anything about compilation - Here come ubuntu 9.04 on ARM in just few weeks. and they definitely trully believe that x86 is the only working thing. That's what Intel sells you. x86 is ugly, it was cheap, so it won the market over more elegant architectures. I hope that ARM is only the first to come back to our desktops and notebooks. PowerPC with Cell will probably be the next.


Many companies over the years have challenged the x86 architecture, saying how their architecture is more elegant and will be faster, blah blah blah. So they released their product only to find out that it didn't measure up to the x86. Apple and IBM pushed very hard back in the 90's with the PowerPC, saying how it would overcome x86 in performance. They tried as hard as they could and you know the rest. Apple uses x86 now.

The simple fact is that the x86 architecture is a very good performer. The Cell is a more specialized type of architecture, it's not as general purpose as the x86. Besides, the Cell runs mostly on hype. In reality its performance isn't that great. Remember when everyone was saying how the PS3 was going to be so powerful that it would bury its competitors? Look at it now. Just another overhyped and underperforming system.


"If you can find a PS3 anywhere in North America that's been on shelves for more than five minutes, I'll give you 1,200 bucks for it." -- SCEA President Jack Tretton

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