Samsung to ship first ultra-mobile PC in June

Samsung is bringing out the Q1, the first device to conform to the new ultra-mobile PC form factor, on June 1, costing £799.

Ultra-mobile PCs (UMPC), which were codenamed Origami, are small hand-held devices that have been heavily pushed by Microsoft and Intel.

Pre-production devices got their first public showing simultaneously at Cebit and the Intel Developer Forum in the US in early March, and the Q1 will be the first to hit the streets.

Weighing just 779g, the Q1 runs Windows XP Tablet Edition and uses an Intel Celeron processor. As well as being fully-functioning computers, UMPCs are designed to be entertainment on the move devices that can handle mp3s, photos and videos.

Microsoft and Intel have pushed them as part of their any time any where computing concept, that can get online, be used for VoIP communication, entertain or be used for business purposes.

Although Samsung admitted the UMPC wasn’t quite handbag friendly for the female market, it argued that the devices are highly portable for people on the move. Later versions are expected to be smaller and lighter.

At 3.5 hours, its battery life is slightly disappointing, but Mark Jennings, who heads up Samsung’s mobile computing division in the UK, said the company had to compromise between portability, weight and battery life.

‘We had to make decisions about whether or not to wait for low power consumption chipsets that are coming out, but we wanted to get the product out.’

A slightly larger seven hour battery can be added, or the unit can be run using a nine hour battery pack, which also trickle charges the main battery, although these options add to the overall size and weight.

The Q1 runs a Celeron M 900MHz CPU, which is coupled with 512MB of PC3200 Ram, which can upgraded by the manufacturer but not users, a 40GB ultra low voltage hard disk drive and a bright, clear 7in touch screen. The whole design is fanless, so runs very cool and quiet.

It also has Bluetooth 2 and inbuilt 802.11 b and g wireless capabilities, an Ethernet port, two USB and a mini firewire ports and a Compact Flash slot.

Jennings accepted that at 900MHz, the Q1 is not powerful enough to be used as a primary device, but he argued it would be too big a step to expected people to take this new form factor as a primary device.

However, he said it can run faster ultra low voltage Pentium Ms, and other versions of the product are on the horizon.

The Q1 uses Samsung’s AVS Now software to boot instantly into the entertainment features, and it can also be used as a GPS for satellite navigation. Samsung said discussions are under way with three companies to provide the mapping software, but would not reveal any more details.

Read our first impressions of Samsung's Q1 on the Test Bed blog
Read our indepth review of the Samsung Q1