File this post into the better late than never category.

Samsung started into the UMPC market with the original Q1 [Portal page] from there, they upgraded to the Q1 Ultra [Portal page] which added a split keyboard, increased the screen resolution, and made some other upgrades. Now Samsung is getting back to its roots with the Q1EX which was spotted at CES 2009.

The Q1EX looks like a more refined version of Samsung’s original Slate UMPC, the Q1. They dropped the split keyboard from the Q1 Ultra and moved to the Via Nano platform for processing. They were able to get the price down to a pretty reasonable price, but they made some compromises like battery life and no more keyboard.

Laptop Mag got their hands on a Q1EX for a review session. They found the price to be more reasonable than the predecessors, but didn’t like the reduced battery life and lack of an effective method of text input. I would say that the unit is definitely an upgrade over the original Q1 which would be great for anyone who enjoyed using one. There is also a pretty cool organizer case which has a keyboard that attaches to the Q1EX to make text entry a bit easier (pictured below).