Monday, July 30, 2007

Steve 'Chippy' Uses Q1B and Everun

Steve from UMPC Portal left a comment to a recent post stating that he uses the Q1B hsdpa with organizer pack and the Everun.

I was actually surprised to read that Steve uses the Q1B. I recently watched his video of him chatting with JKK. It came across very clear that Steve did not like the fact that the Q1 series of UMPCs do not have a good working mouse. There is a joystick type mechanism and if the menu button is held down acts like a mouse. However, this feature leaves most users of the Q1 unsatisfied especially since there are no dedicated left and right click buttons.

Steve and JKK also talk about screen resolution and Steve states that 1024 x 600 is the optimal resolution for 7" displays. The Q1 series has a native resolution of 800 x 480. It does have a virtual resolution of 1024x600 but the result is rather disappointing.

So I was curious to understand why Steve chose the Q1B out of all of the devices he has or has had as his personal UMPC. So I relistened to the Q1 discussion he had with JKK. One item is battery life. The Q1B, with the VIA chip gives Steve almost 6 hours of use with the extended battery. Another is the bright screen. Also, this unit, unlike mine (big frown) has HDSPA. Lastly, the organizer pack lets Steve use the device like a laptop.

I think its a fair conclusion to say that Steve really enjoyed his Kohjinsha SA1 and was looking forward to the SH6 with all of its improvements including the improved attached keyboard. However, in the end, battery life is too high of a requirement for Steve and with the SH6 being just a 2 hour device, the other improvements were just not enough to compensate!

A Day in the Life with James Kendrick and His Mobile Devices

I always enjoy James Kendrick's day in the life posts about how he uses his mobile devices. Lucky for us he just posted a new one. James alternates between his Fujitsu and his ThinkPad and also uses his Blackberry. I think this usage scenario nicely points out that you don't have to just settle for one tool. A carpenter wouldn't only use a hammer, particularly if he wants to cut a piece of wood. He would use a saw for that job and use the hammer for another.

James uses his Fujitsu when he doesn't need the power of the ThinkPad so he can take advantage of the smaller form factor and lighter weight. When he just needs to check email he uses the Blackberry.

Of course not all of us can afford two tablets but when considering devices don't just assume that you have to only have use one device for all of your needs.

You can find the write up here.

Q1P User Review

Craig Pringle recently had to send his LS800 out for repair and ended up using his Q1P. He blogs about what he likes and doesn't like about the Q1P. Bottom line, he is is sticking with the LS800.

Thanks to Steve at UMPC Portal for writing about this.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

What Mobile PC Bloggers Are Now Using

Back in January I published a post stating what UMPCs other bloggers were using. Below is an update. I was surprised that many are using the same device as they were using in January (Kevin Tofel, CTitanic, Thoughtfix and Mark) and that a few have moved away from UMPCs as their main mobile device to more powerful Tablet PCs. Specifically the ThinkPad x61 (Dennis Rice, Warner Crocker, Matt Faulkner, James Kendrick) was a favorite.


GottaBeMobile

Dennis Rice has moved on from his eo i7210 to the ThinkPad x61 and OQO 02.
Warner Crocker has added to his R2H the ThinkPad x61 and Q1P.
Matt Faulkner now has the ThinkPad x61 but I'm not sure if he is still using the R2H.

jkOnTheRun

James Kendrick was using a Fujitsu LifeBook P1610 Tablet PC and still does today but he uses the ThinkPad x61 on most work days.
Kevin Tofel was using a Q1P in January and is still using it today.

UberTablet

Hugo Ortega was using the Q1 in January but is now using the OQO 02.

Ultramobile PC Tips

CTitanic is still using his Q1.

Ultramobile Geek

Thoughtfix is still using his eo v7110 along with his Nokia N800.

Ultranauts

Mark is still using a Q1.

Q1P XP Essentials

Over the past 6 months that I have had my Q1P there have been a few essentials that I would recommend to others who have or are considering the Q1 UMPC.

Thanks to CTitanic of Ultra Mobile PC Tips HID drivers are available and can be downloaded here. You can find out more about HID drivers here thanks to Hugo Ortega but basically the benefits are a smoother inking experience and the floating tip.

One downside of the UMPC is the smaller screen size and the lack of some software being optimized for this size screen at the native resolution. Thanks to Vikram Madan of Microsoft there is a power toy available called the UMPC Scroll Bar and it can be downloaded here. No more having to switch to a higher screen resolution. Just scroll down to see what you couldn't before.

If you don't want to think about running out of juice, the extended battery is a must. Even with WiFi on I can expect to get just about 5 hours of usage. Unlike when I was using my Acer C110, I never give a second thought about running out of power when away from my power supply. I have even left my charger at work once and was able to use my Q1P that evening at home with power to spare. The battery adds some weight and adds about a half inch to the height but for me that is not a problem. In fact I haven't had the original battery in the device in months.

There are other programs and accessories that I use and would recommend but these would be the three that I would recommend to almost anyone who purchases a Q1 first generation UMPC.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

I Bought a New Device!

Don't worry, I haven't traded in my Q1P. I still use it on a daily basis. The device I bought was a smartphone which coincidently has a Q in its name. In fact that is its name, the Motorola Q with service through Sprint.

Since I moved to Manhattan my commute is much longer. I am spending an hour and twenty minutes each way on the train. Luckily my boss allowed me to cut back on the amount of hours I need to be at the office so I actually get home at a very decent hour. But I still need to work the same amount of hours to get my job done. So time management is even more important for me. Being able to read and respond to emails on the train frees me up to do the things you can't quite get done virtually (such as face to face time with employees, coworkers and peers) when I am actually at the office.

While I could have gotten a EVDO modem for the Q1, the space on the train is limited and having a smaller device like a smartphone just made more sense.

Overall I like the Q and will post a review soon.