The Samsung Q1 has obviously been doing the rounds this week in Europe. A number of UK and Euopean websites have been running ‘first impressions’ reviews. However, Xonio.com a German website, ran some brief tests and had a short review available back in early April. Importantly, they ran some battery-life tests. Here are the results: Working with text (Word) – 3.01 hours.Divx playing – 2 hours. The Samsung uses the Celeron processor (the least efficient of the mobile processors available in current Origami UMPC’s) and these figures are way below […]

[url=http://www.pcw.co.uk/personal-computer-world/hardware/2155011/samsung
-q1-ultra-mobile-pc]PC Computer World[/url] has just posted the first online review of the Samsung Q1 and the inital review was pretty good.

They gave the device 4 stars in every catagory including ease of use, features, and value for money, so I suppose that means it’s pretty well rounded.

[img]http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/images/samsung_q1_review_sheet.jpg[/img]

One of the big problems they seem to have with the device is the use of the Celeron M as it is not an extremely powerful processor. This hinders being able to use multiple applications at one time that are CPU heavy. Though they are quick to point out that these devices are not likely marketed at people that are going to be doing high-end application proceesing.

They also did some tests on the vents at the top of the device and blocked them to see what the fan would do and apparently after blocking the vents for a couple minutes it caused the fan to kick into high gear and got noisier. After removing the blockage it took a little while for the fan to go back to normal speed and they say it will likely heat up the device if blockage happenes to these vents, so I am sure you don’t want to put stickers over them.

They tested the Q1 out by watching a ninety minute film (with wireless and other non-essential tools turned off) and it used 70 per cent of the
battery, which was to be expected on the device.

More below…

[img]http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/images/samsung_Q1_review.jpg[/img]

[url=http://www.pcw.co.uk]PC Computer World[/url] has just received a Samsung Q1 review unit and posted some good first impressions about the device.

They say they are impressed at the ergonomics of the device when first handeling it and really like the joystick layouts which make it easy to control the device with your thumbs.

They also did some initial benchmark testing on the device which included a 30 minute DivX movie which brought the battery down 20%.

They figure the battery will last 3.5 hours, but over on their [url=http://labs.pcw.co.uk/]test bed site[/url] they claim watching a whole DVD movie drops the battery time to 1 hour and 40 minutes. This could obviously be helped with the 6 cell battery option, but it seems that so far Samsung is not sure when that will be released.

They also talk a little about the speakers which they claim are good enough for sounds but not music. So I suppose this won’t be a portable boom box.

As for the initial reaction to Dial Keys they claim it was easy to start typing relatively fast but will likely not be used for long periods of time. So, obviously external keyboards will be an item people will want to invest in.

Interestingly they also say:
There’s no doubt this a huge step in terms of mobile computing, but after spending our first day with the Q1 we’re still a little unsure what sort of user would benefit most from it.

Good question. But, at £799 I’m sure there are people who will but one just because they have money to burn.

The initial first impressions can be found [url=http://www.pcw.co.uk/personal-computer-world/hardware/2154869/samsung-q1-first-look]here[/url]
And the the test bed blog post on their site can be found [url=http://labs.pcw.co.uk/2006/04/samsungs_q1_ult.html]here[/url]

As soon as their full review is posted we will list the updated info.

PC Advisor received a review model of the Samsung Q1 UMPC and is currently putting the model through its paces. In their first look article, they mention some interesting information they received from a Samsung rep:

“Samsung was, however, keen to stress that the Q1 will be the first of several Origami devices. The spokesperson was not at liberty to disclose what or when new models were likely to be announced.”

“The company was happy to agree, however, that a marginally slimmer, lighter device was likely and, when asked whether they thought they’d missed a trick by not copying Sony’s desirable Playstation Portable’s Xblack screen, suggested that was another possibility for future versions. Increased storage capacity over the Q1’s likely 40GB is another strong possibility.”

Glad to hear Samsung is already thinking about improvements.

Yesterday I spoke with Apex Software and today I heard back from them.

On the 4th of May Apex software will ship me an Eo to play around with and review.

Expect alot more than the other reviews you’ve seen including processor and graphics tests along with several battery benchmarks, and of course I’ll make a video to find out what kids think about it!

A [url=http://www.origamiportal.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=277&start=0#forumpost1416]thread[/url] has been started in the brand new Eo forum for recommendations and requests for any tests you’d like to see me run.

–Andrew/Marix

Emily over at OrigamiProject.com added a new post about taking the UMPC with her to DevConnections Europe. She has some good info about using it on planes and while travelling around. Read the adventures [url=http://origamiproject.com/blogs/team_blog/archive/2006/04/26/4089.aspx]here[/url]

This goes along with [url=http://origamiproject.com/blogs/team_blog/archive/2006/04/21/3824.aspx]another post[/url] where she took the UMPC on a bus with WiFi and her experiences with that.

Hopefully the Origami team keeps updating their blogs with info as these devices keep coming out.

UPDATE: See all the devices in the ultra mobile PC database! Since I set up the ultra mobile PC product portal , I’ve been tracking how many people look at each ultra mobile PC product. Here’s the top 10 UMPC’s so far with percentage of views (from about 1500 page views.) Click to get more product info. Samsung Q1 12.53% ASUS R2H 11.91% Tablet Kiosk Eo 10.68% Amtek 700 9.65% Founder Mininote 6.84% Paceblade Easybook/Smart Caddie 5.95% Avertec AHI 4.72% Fujitsu P1510D 4.52% DualCor cCP 3.90% ECS EZ30D 3.76% Of […]

I went ahead and called up Apex Software and spoke with a sales rep. named Stephanie. I had a few questions about the eo’s they had and she was more than willing to answer them.

They currently have about 30 devices in stock. They only have the white model available currently. The devices if ordered today would be delivered sometime during the second week of may.

The units offered are configured with 512 megs of ram and a 40gig 5400 rpm hd.

They are available for $999, They also have available a bundle which includes real estate software from apex and a car charger for and additional $250. You can however order just the device direct from them with a savings of about $50 compaired to the tablet kiosk price for the same configuration.

Other colors and configurations can be ordered and will be shipped in early june.

If you missed the boat with Tabletkiosk and want to be the first one on the block to own an Origami go ahead and give Stephanie a call at 800-858-9958.