UltraMobilePCs.com New Archive

May 2007

May 8 , 2007

Notes and Photos From The Samsung Q1 Ultra Launch in NYC

Smaller and lighter in size, packed with new and enhanced features the new Samsung Q1 Ultra takes the UMPC to a new level.

Last night at the Samsung Experience in New York Samsung took the wraps off the new Q1 Ultra, Ultra Mobile PC.   The event showed off the Q1 at its best and gave the press the opportunity to view and experience the Q1 for themselves.  

Paying close attention to the requests and feedback from consumers the new Q1 Ultra includes a significant number of enhancements and improvements including a split-QWERTY keypad, 4.5 hours of battery life, SRS TruSurround 3D, stereo speakers, enhanced LCD brightness, 1024 x 600 resolution, Support for 3.5G HSDPA wireless cellular modem communications, video chat web cam support and a high- resolution  recorder/still picture camera video, enhanced biometrics and full Tablet PC capabilities

May 14 , 2007

Webcast at 10AM: Reading Newspapers on your UMPC

One Month Free Trial of PressDisplay.com and Press Reader register at www.pressDisplay.com Promo Code: MSWEB07

A tough UMPC for road warriors
Malaysia Star

TOUGH, lightweight and full-featured, the new eo TufTab v7112XTG is an ultraportable mobile PC (UMPC) built for itinerant professionals or those working in non-traditional working environments.  

According to California-based TabletKiosk, the TufTab line is designed to endure physical stress and withstand harsh environmental conditions. As such it has better protection from rain, dust, humidity, extreme temperatures and vibration than a standard computer. 

The 206 x 135 x 29mm UMPC is powered by a 1.2GHz Via C7-M ULV (ultra-low voltage) processor and comes preloaded with a choice of Windows Vista Business, Windows XP Tablet Edition or Suse Linux. 

Weighing a mere 895g, the v7112XTG nevertheless ships with enough features to satisfy most user requirements – these include 1GB DDR2 RAM, 40GB hard disk, 7in TFT touchscreen LCD and 1.3-megapixel CMOS camera. 

And for protecting those important documents from prying eyes, it also comes integrated with a biometric fingerprint reader. 

Connectivity-wise, this device ships with one USB2.0 port, Ethernet LAN, 802.11bg wireless LAN, Bluetooth, an SD-IO slot and a Type II PC Card slot.  

The UMPC also comes bundled with a port replicator that provides three USB 2.0, VGA-out, 10/100 Ethernet and serial ports. 

May 17 , 2007

This Time, Samsung Has Made a Tiny PC That's Practical to Use
online.wsj.com

I've been testing the Q1 Ultra and, at least for certain classes of users, I believe it's a pretty good product, despite some lingering downsides and compromises. It addresses the biggest weaknesses of its predecessor and throws in other improvements, yet starts at a significantly lower price -- $799 compared with $1,099 for the original Q1.

The biggest improvement: Even though the Ultra is a tablet computer, still able to accept handwritten notes and meant to be controlled by a stylus, this new model now has a built-in keyboard. It's just a tiny BlackBerry-style keyboard but it makes writing emails and typing in Web addresses practical.

In the new Ultra model, the built-in keyboard, meant for thumb typing, is split, with half of the keys on either side of the screen. This approach looks daunting, but works pretty well once you get the hang of it. Unfortunately, Samsung and Microsoft didn't build any intelligence into this keyboard, so it doesn't automatically complete words, add punctuation and capitalize the first letters of sentences, unlike the keyboards on most smart phones.

While still the same size, the screen is both brighter and has a higher resolution, so open windows can be easily moved and closed. There are now mouse buttons and an optional internal high-speed cellphone modem is available. The navigation pad is simpler and is easily programmable, though you have to manually set its arrow keys to mimic the arrows on a real keyboard.

Microsoft To Debut 'Origami' Ultra-Mobile PC Specs For Vista
CRN, NY

Microsoft is at work on a version 2.0 "Origami" experience for Windows Vista on Ultra-Mobile PCs (UMPC).

The second set of possible UMPC specifications under consideration calls for ultra-thin PCs that weigh less than 1.5 pounds, incorporate 5-inch or 7-inch displays .and are housed in an 18- to 20-mm footprint, executives said.

Potential features of the next-generation Origami design at the drawing board include an integrated QWERTY keyboard, a touch screen fully integrated into the LCD, at least 1 GB of memory, and battery life of between three and four hours, said Microsoft Vista development manager Vikram Madan, at the Windows Hardware Engineering conference.

Microsoft revealed plans for its next Origami 2.0 design in 2007 on the heels of two significant UMPC announcements by Samsung and Intel.

In March, Samsung announced the first UMPC running Windows Vista, called Q1P, that weighs 1.7 pounds. That succeeds Samsung's first Q1 UMPC released last year.

And even as Microsoft plans to move forward on its Origami experience for Windows Vista, Intel last month unveiled a new Ultra-Mobile PC platform, code-named McCaslin. It expects OEMs to begin shipping McCaslin-based UMPCs this summer.

In late 2008, Intel plans to release an upgrade to the UMPC platform, code-named Menlow, and an associated chipset solution, code-named Poulsbo, that will ship on a single piece of silicon. The next-generation UMPC platform will feature a new 45-nm processor, code-named Silverthorne, Intel said.

Meanwhile, AMD is pursuing its own UMPC agenda based on its Geocode LX800 processors. At WinHEC, one AMD executive walked the halls carrying Data Evolution's compact, sleek Cathena XP UMPC weighing less than 2 pounds and running an AMD processo.

May 24 , 2007

Samsung Q1B UMPC

Via Processor Gives UMPC Longer Battery Life