Comments on: Walt Mossberg disses the Samsung Q1

By: sunil

sunil — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 18:38:47 +0000

just bought a q1 and am delighted with it. umpcs have some way to go in usability improvements of the os – at moment its just a tiny pc. better screen resolutions and paper white displays are needed for these to gain mass appeal. myq1 satisfies my needs – small concealable pc that can be used in the living
room.

By: Scott Guthrie

Scott Guthrie — Thu, 04 May 2006 19:56:04 +0000

For about $700 more, he should just buy a Fujitsu P1500…then he can have his keyboard and stop complaining.

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 04 May 2006 19:39:22 +0000

“I’ll be honest, I had plans on getting one for my wife (when it was advertised to be between $500.00 to $1,000). I haven’t seen any to justify the $1,000.00 that the manufacturers are asking.”

Exactly, that 1000$ price point is the key. Get in the target range, and I’m there. If we do ever see the cPc with GSM, then I’ll go higher.

By: Dwight Silverman

Dwight Silverman — Thu, 04 May 2006 14:48:54 +0000

JK:

Don’t presume Walt hasn’t used this day to day. He reviews in a similar fashion to the way I do … he actually uses the stuff. Of course, if he finds it klunky or frustrating to use, he’s going to say that.

I have not tried one of these yet, and I’m looking forward to it. But I think it’s just obvious that $1,000 is too much for something like this, just as it’s obvious that the price is going to come down fast. The frantic gotta-have-it-first adopters will buy it at any price, helping pay off the R&D, so us poor regular slobs can have them at more reasonable prices. Ever was it thus.

By: bobm

bobm — Thu, 04 May 2006 14:20:28 +0000

Well, I like gadgets a lot, but the price/feature set for these just don’t thrill me. I think the Pepperpad (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009AFX0S/sr=1-1/qid=1146769761/ref=sr_1_1/104-8829955-1275133?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=pc) is a good example of failure in this market segment. It seems to have died out pretty much.

I have/had the Epod, smart phones (2), a Vadem Clio (pretty cool when it worked), a bunch of palm/handsprings, an avertec tablet (way too hot running), a fujitsu p1120 (nice and small) and bunches and bunches of laptops. I’m hoping it will drop to the 500-600 price range but at over 1k I’ll probably pass and start saving for the mythical tablet.

By: Mark Sumimoto (Sumocat)

Mark Sumimoto (Sumocat) — Thu, 04 May 2006 12:15:53 +0000

“When are reviewers going to wake up…”
Most reviewers will never “wake up”. Remember, most of these guys sit at a flat surface, type all day, and never go out to find news. They are office journalists, not field journalists. If a field journalist reviewed a UMPC, we’d be more likely to be given an account of actual mobile use, possibly delivered from the device itself as it is being used. That’s the kind of review I’d like to see.

By: Tablet PC User

Tablet PC User — Thu, 04 May 2006 11:45:47 +0000

Let’s face it, it will be hard for parents to justify spending so much money for a UMPC when a Vista ready tablet can be purchased for a few $$ more, or even a vista ready laptop for the same price! Samsung and the rest of early UMPC manufactures have totally missed the view that MS had for the origami. Hence, it will be a select few that will purchase them since the cost-to-value factor is very low for the 1st gen UMPC (you can’t even get a full day of work done with 2/3 hrs of battery).

I’ll be honest, I had plans on getting one for my wife (when it was advertised to be between $500.00 to $1,000). I haven’t seen any to justify the $1,000.00 that the manufacturers are asking.

If some manufacturer (hey, even Microsoft) wants to make tons of $$ for these UMPCs, sell one between $500.00-$700.00 and you’ll have at least 20-50 customers that I already know of!

By: Scotty

Scotty — Thu, 04 May 2006 11:21:20 +0000

The UMPC’s get compared to laptops precisely because Microsoft spec’d them out of Notebook technology and added nothing.

Since there is no innovation to distinguish them from their laptop roots people will, correctly in my opinion, continue to view them as nothing more than over-priced mini-laptops.

That no tier one maker has announced a product in the space is also hurting the credibility of the platform.

I hop on the 15 hour 747 ride from SFO to HKG in 48 hours and even if FedEx dropped a Q1 on my desk this morning I wouldn’t be packing it along. The Q1 is not even close, much less superior, to my Sony EBR-1000 and 5G iPod. To get traction in the ultra mobile space it needs to be capable of replacing some of these devices, and it isn’t.

Walt may have cited some weaker reasons for not buying but he got the overall picture right. :-)

By: Ross

Ross — Thu, 04 May 2006 11:05:14 +0000

Sorry, I was referring to small 12″ laptops not “mini’s” as there is no portability advantage of the UMPC over “mini’s”, only cost vs. power. Dave’s right, it’s not for the mainstream although if the price drops to around 600-700 bucks it has a chance.

By: Dave Zatz

Dave Zatz — Thu, 04 May 2006 10:24:59 +0000

The UMPC market is a niche within a niche… they’re not for mainstream consumers as mainstream media is pointing out. Personally, I have no desire for one and doubt they will be big seller. I’d rather have a convertible tablet to use in whichever form is appropriate for the setting.. I want fewer devices, not more.