Q1 Ultra Premium performance: impressions and info

We’ve got a bridal shower here at house today, so in preparation for that I’ve had little time this weekend to play with Samwise, the new Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium. However, I have to say that I’m still very impressed with this device; more than I originally thought I’d be. It was hard to get a feel for performance in the few minutes we played with the device at CES. After using the device for less than 10 hours, I think I can form a first general opinion that might help folks decide if this is the device for them:“If you’re looking for a UMPC form factor with the performance of a solid notebook, this is definitely a contender. If you don’t need notebook-like performance 100% of the time, then the A110-powered units should be considered”.

Why do I say that? Because the processor in the Q1 Ultra Premium truly is a notebook processor. I mentioned this in a comment prior, but let me explain a little bit because the CPU is the key differentiator between the Q1U and the Q1U Premium.The Intel Core Solo used in the Q1U Premium runs at 1.33 GHz, has a 533MHz front side bus speed and includes 2 MB of L2 cache memory on the chip. The Intel A110 CPU used in the Q1U devices run at either 600- or 800 MHz, have a 400 MHz front side bus speed and include only 512 KB of L2 cache. Since we’re chatting about CPUs, it’s probably worth a mention that the new Intel Atom CPUs will run at up to 1.8 GHz on only 2.5 Watts. My understanding is that will have the faster 533 MHz front side bus like the Core Solo, but only 512 KB of cache like the A110.So why would someone want an A110 vs. a Core Solo? The performance for battery life tradeoff. The A110 chips use up to 3 Watts of power, while the Core Solo uses nearly double: 5.5 Watts. The reason I’m seeing 6+ hours of battery life on the Q1U Premium is mainly due to the high-capacity 6-cell battery…Hopefully this info explains my statement above and of course, all of this assumes you like the form factor of this particular device. If not, then the CPU options don’t mean much. ;) I’ll be running benchmarks and such over the next week, but I wanted to share my first thoughts on performance as that’s usually one of the first aspects people ask about.Part of the reason I purchased this device from CDW was due to their liberal return policy, but I’ve already decided that I’ll be keeping the device. In fact, I just ordered a second 6-cell battery and a 2 GB RAM stick. The battery was around $98 and the RAM was $55. Combined, they’ll boost my productivity by turning this UMPC into an all day device. This also means that when I put my Q1P up for sale (later this week probably), I *will* be including the 2 GB RAM that’s currently in it so you won’t have to worry about the upgrade.More to follow if time allows today… with 30 ladies due to arrive here in about an hour or so, I have to go get my Hugh Hefner bathrobe on. ;)