Its great to read this article. Samsung are going to continue developing the Q1 in the ultra mobile PC market and are aiming to have a refresh available for early 2009. According to the first in a series of articles over at TechRadar, Samsung sold 100,000 units in 2007 and are apparently happy with this result considering that the device is in a category that "put simply, many just aren’t convinced by."
I’m convinced and I hope others will be too because with a refresh, the Q1 Ultra that I consider to be the best all-round ultra mobile PC there is, will get even better. I picked up the news via jkOnTheRun where Kevin asks the question ‘how would you improve the Q1.’ I left some comments about what I would consider a good set of improvements that went something like this
- Backlit, improved keyboard.
- Atom 1.6 or 1.8Ghz platform and aim for a 4-hour standard battery life
- 5mp AF HQ cam on a premium Intel-Core version
- A low-cost entry level version running Ubuntu Mobile. $499 for 1Gb/40GB.
- A real docking port and docking station.
- Slicker looking design. Show the MBA fans what a slick mini computer can look like.
The big problem I see coming up though is the lack of Windows XP. The standard Q1 Ultras are useless with Vista in my opinion.
I’d love to see a current q1u with an atom released in june. 2009 is a long ways away to forget, and a lighter $599-$799 Q1 Ultra Premium with Atom could grab some prospective EEE and MSI Wind buyers if Samsung bundles the keyboard and organizer with its UMPC.
Jerry
Word on the street is that the new q1 will be called, “Super Q1 turbo: Hyper fighting editon”
I can’t wait!
Add another vote for a backlit keyboard, make the keys slightly bigger (see Wibrain), bring the screen resolution to 1200something, swap the pointer thingy for a touchpad (again see Wibrain), make the stand out of metal and not plastic and yes…call this thing Q2 or something else. Maybe get rid of the ethernet port and put anothr USB port or CF card slot in there. Also release it with the organiser in the high end edition. My vote for putting XP on it or at least sell one version without OS. I don’t like linux at all and Vista is useless on a UMPC.
More so than the speed issues and Vista, I’m really frustrated with the 600 vertical lines of resolution. 800 is best, but I’d be grateful for 650. Ditch the thumboard altogether and replace it with an HTC Advantage-style magnetic keyboard that can stay housed on the back of the computer or secured to the organizer when not in use. Make sure there’s a dedicated row of number keys. Give me a scroll wheel so I don’t have to take out the pen quite so often, and fix the WiFi driver. Also, I echo the desire for a real docking station.
My perfect q1u would be a Premium with a slidable keyboard ala Htc shift but keep the original style keyboard for shorter messages, and make hsdpa standard.