Steve Paine blogged today that the the top 5 UMPCs in the UMPCPortal are laptops, ie all have keyboards. I can't say I'm surprised. In fact I truly miss not having a keyboard for my Q1 like I had with the Acer C110. The Q1 is great and I enjoy the UMPC usage scenarios that Steve lists. However, I would give up some lightness to have an attached keyboard that would be available on a moments notice. The main reason is that I am very proficient with a keyboard, much more so than with ink. I am getting much better with inking but no where near as proficient as with a keyboard. On top of that, I am on the train for almost 3 hours a day now and I find its almost impossible to ink due to the vibration of the train.
Personally, I give the manufacturers lots of credit for building what are essentially smaller form factor convertible tablet UMPCs. In my opinion it gives the user the best of both worlds, a UMPC and a laptop and the advantages that come with both.
With that said, I am going to start up the search again for a new device and blog about that search here. So stay tuned!
Showing posts with label UMPC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UMPC. Show all posts
Friday, September 07, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
How Do Use Your UMPC?
Neil at Ultra Mobility.com wrote a posting entitled "UMPC Triumphs Over Pen and Paper". He relates an experience where he is at a client and instead of grabbing a pen and piece of paper to write down some information, he 'wakes' his Q1P and inks away. He relates the story well and lists criteria needed for the Q1P to win this 'competition'. I will let you read his post for the specifics but it made me want to share my experiences of when I decide to use pen and paper or the Q1P.
Just an hour ago I walked about 50 feet to a manufacturing operation to collect about 10 pieces of numerical data. I chose pen and paper to record the numbers. Now, I did actually give some thought to using the Q1P but as it was already connected to my desktop setup, I decided not to disconnect it. So I reached into my desk draw to get a piece of paper and grabbed my pen I keep on my keyboard.
However, last week, the Q1P came out on top. I was planning on spending a few hours in our production area and brought my Q1P with the extended battery. I was also collecting data on a number of processes and used Sticky notes in full screen view to ink the data. I later typed the numbers into Excel but I prefered to use ink at first just because its easier to just jot down the information than to enter it into Excel cells.
These two experiences tend to represent my usual usage habits. If the situation is one where I only need to use it for a short period of time and then return to my office, I'll use paper. This is mainly because its just too much effort to disconnect from my desktop setup as compared to grabbing pen and paper. However, if I will be away from my office for awhile then the upfront time spent disconnecting the UMPC from the desktop is worth it.
Some of you may think, 'this guy is lazy'. And perhaps I am but that is not really the point. The point I would like readers to take away is that there are many tools in our toolbox, pen and paper being one of them. Just because I spent over $1200 for UMPC does not mean I have to only use it. Just like you would not consider never watching a movie on a TV again because you have a UMPC, why should you not use pen and paper when that tool is the best option for a specific task?
With that said, if UMPC manufacturers and Microsoft want the UMPC to be the better option more of the time, they should first read Neil's post.
Just an hour ago I walked about 50 feet to a manufacturing operation to collect about 10 pieces of numerical data. I chose pen and paper to record the numbers. Now, I did actually give some thought to using the Q1P but as it was already connected to my desktop setup, I decided not to disconnect it. So I reached into my desk draw to get a piece of paper and grabbed my pen I keep on my keyboard.
However, last week, the Q1P came out on top. I was planning on spending a few hours in our production area and brought my Q1P with the extended battery. I was also collecting data on a number of processes and used Sticky notes in full screen view to ink the data. I later typed the numbers into Excel but I prefered to use ink at first just because its easier to just jot down the information than to enter it into Excel cells.
These two experiences tend to represent my usual usage habits. If the situation is one where I only need to use it for a short period of time and then return to my office, I'll use paper. This is mainly because its just too much effort to disconnect from my desktop setup as compared to grabbing pen and paper. However, if I will be away from my office for awhile then the upfront time spent disconnecting the UMPC from the desktop is worth it.
Some of you may think, 'this guy is lazy'. And perhaps I am but that is not really the point. The point I would like readers to take away is that there are many tools in our toolbox, pen and paper being one of them. Just because I spent over $1200 for UMPC does not mean I have to only use it. Just like you would not consider never watching a movie on a TV again because you have a UMPC, why should you not use pen and paper when that tool is the best option for a specific task?
With that said, if UMPC manufacturers and Microsoft want the UMPC to be the better option more of the time, they should first read Neil's post.
Monday, May 14, 2007
So You Want a Q1...But Which One?
So after reading my blog and doing other research you decided to get a Q1. Of course you want the latest one, the Ultra, especially since pricing starts at a low $799. But is that really the one you want? Or the best one to meet your needs?
So lets review what is currently available here in the US.
Q1: This is the original device. Its powered by a 900Mhz Intel Celeron M processor, has a 40 gB hard drive and 512 MB of RAM. Even with the announcement of the Ultra it still goes for $970 at Newegg.com.
Q1P: This is the device I have. Currently, at Newegg you can get one for $1149, preloaded with Vista, 1 Gb of RAM, 60 gb hard drive, and powered by a 1 GHz Pentium M processor. This is the UMPC Kevin Tofel of jkOnTheRun.com uses and Steve at UMPC Portal has used. Here is a video review Steve had posted a few weeks ago. It appears some of the Q1Ps have LED backlit displays which give them a brighter display and drains the battery less.
Q1B: This version goes with a VIA C7 1.0 Ghz processor and for $870 at Newegg.com comes with a 40 GB hard drive and 512 MB of RAM. VIAs tend to be less powerful than the Intel Pentium M processors but use less power resulting in extended battery life. To get a feel for the difference in processing power check out this video at UMPCPortal.com. For a feel for the additional battery life check out this post at jkOnTheRun.com.
Q1 Ultra: As I mentioned in a previous post, the look and feel of this device WOW'd me when I first saw it. While the other three are basically the same device on the outside, the Ultra has a whole new look and pricing will start at $799, the lowest of these four devices. So what do you get? First, these devices are powered by Intel's Ultra Mobile A100 and A110 processors with speeds of 600 and 800 Mhz, 1 Gb of RAM, and either 40, 60 or 80 GB hard drive. The device also has a higher native resolution of 1024 x 600. In addition, the device has two cameras (.3 and 1.3 Mp), a fingerprint reader, integrated EVDO, and a mini split keyboard. Its also a bit lighter (.2 lbs) and battery life is rated at about 4.5 hours.
So this should be a no brainer, go with the newest model, the Ultra, right? Well, maybe not. First lets look at the Q1 Ultra that is closest in specs to my Q1P with XP. That would be the Q1U XP which goes for $1150, same price as the Q1P at Newegg. Even though the Ultra has lots of new features, the main concern is how will the Q1 Ultra's A100 and A110 Ultra Mobile processors perform. We will have to wait and see but right now the best comparison done is probably the one by Steve at UMPCPortal.com.
So to answer the questions above, which Q1 should you get; again it depends on your needs. The Q1B has excellent battery life but a less powerful processor, the Q1P has what most would consider the most powerful processor but it also has a higher price tag. So the best advice is to list your needs and intended uses for the device and pick the device that will work the best for you.
So lets review what is currently available here in the US.
Q1: This is the original device. Its powered by a 900Mhz Intel Celeron M processor, has a 40 gB hard drive and 512 MB of RAM. Even with the announcement of the Ultra it still goes for $970 at Newegg.com.
Q1P: This is the device I have. Currently, at Newegg you can get one for $1149, preloaded with Vista, 1 Gb of RAM, 60 gb hard drive, and powered by a 1 GHz Pentium M processor. This is the UMPC Kevin Tofel of jkOnTheRun.com uses and Steve at UMPC Portal has used. Here is a video review Steve had posted a few weeks ago. It appears some of the Q1Ps have LED backlit displays which give them a brighter display and drains the battery less.
Q1B: This version goes with a VIA C7 1.0 Ghz processor and for $870 at Newegg.com comes with a 40 GB hard drive and 512 MB of RAM. VIAs tend to be less powerful than the Intel Pentium M processors but use less power resulting in extended battery life. To get a feel for the difference in processing power check out this video at UMPCPortal.com. For a feel for the additional battery life check out this post at jkOnTheRun.com.
Q1 Ultra: As I mentioned in a previous post, the look and feel of this device WOW'd me when I first saw it. While the other three are basically the same device on the outside, the Ultra has a whole new look and pricing will start at $799, the lowest of these four devices. So what do you get? First, these devices are powered by Intel's Ultra Mobile A100 and A110 processors with speeds of 600 and 800 Mhz, 1 Gb of RAM, and either 40, 60 or 80 GB hard drive. The device also has a higher native resolution of 1024 x 600. In addition, the device has two cameras (.3 and 1.3 Mp), a fingerprint reader, integrated EVDO, and a mini split keyboard. Its also a bit lighter (.2 lbs) and battery life is rated at about 4.5 hours.
So this should be a no brainer, go with the newest model, the Ultra, right? Well, maybe not. First lets look at the Q1 Ultra that is closest in specs to my Q1P with XP. That would be the Q1U XP which goes for $1150, same price as the Q1P at Newegg. Even though the Ultra has lots of new features, the main concern is how will the Q1 Ultra's A100 and A110 Ultra Mobile processors perform. We will have to wait and see but right now the best comparison done is probably the one by Steve at UMPCPortal.com.
So to answer the questions above, which Q1 should you get; again it depends on your needs. The Q1B has excellent battery life but a less powerful processor, the Q1P has what most would consider the most powerful processor but it also has a higher price tag. So the best advice is to list your needs and intended uses for the device and pick the device that will work the best for you.
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