Samsung has made a big splash in the U.S. with its NC10 netbook, but its ultra-mobile PCs never really took off with consumers. They were too expensive (more than $1,000) and featured an awkward split keyboard that straddled a small 7-inch touchscreen display. But these devices have gained traction in vertical markets, especially among workers who need to input data on their feet.
The latest edition, the Q1EX-71G, ditches the integrated keyboard in favor of a pure slate design, although an optional dock/carrying case includes a netbook-size keyboard and touchpad. Samsung also replaced Intel’s 1.3-GHz Ultra Low Voltage processor with a slower 1.2-GHz VIA Nano CPU, presumably to cut costs. The result is a UMPC with a more affordable price tag ($749) but shorter endurance with the standard battery, making the Q1EX less than ideal for the target audience.
See our hands-on video with the Samsung Q1EX-71G here »
Design
Weighing just 1.4 pounds and measuring 9.0 x 4.9 x 0.9 inches, the Q1EX is certainly among the most travel-friendly slate tablet devices on the market, and it’s both lighter and thinner than its predecessor. (The Q1 Ultra weighed 1.9 pounds and was 1.2 inches thick). It slipped easily into a backpack and its weight and size were barely noticeable. Although the device isn’t ruggedized, it certainly felt solid in hand.
The left side of this UMPC has a Menu scroll/click wheel, which lets you tweak various settings on the fly, and a combination Power/Hold button. You’ll also find the hand strap attachment. The included hand strap has an area to stow the bundled stylus; too bad the Q1EX itself doesn’t have a stylus holster. A Ctl+Alt+Del button, the power jack, and two USB ports line the right side of the device. The top houses the 3-in-1 memory card reader and the audio jack, while the bottom has the docking connector.
On the back of the Q1EX is a 1.3-megapixel camera, which could come in handy for workers who want to capture images on the go. Unfortunately, unlike earlier models in the Q1 line, this unit lacks a webcam in the front, so you can’t conduct video chats. The back side also has a convenient kickstand and a battery-indicator button that lights up five LEDs to tell you how much juice is left, even with the Q1EX is in standby or turned off. We also appreciated the two rubberized strips on the back of the device, which makes it easier to grip and keeps it from sliding around (or off) a table.
Touch Display and Audio
The 7-inch LCD on the Q1EX is one of its greatest strengths. It’s sharp, at 1024 x 600 pixels, impressively bright, and boasts generous horizontal viewing angles. Although a 720p video clip stuttered during playback, the color accuracy and level of detail were both quite good. The resolution of this UMPC is also ideal for surfing the Web, since you don’t have to scroll horizontally to see the whole page.
As a touchscreen device, the Q1EX is finger-friendly—to a point. Clicking on the Start button and selecting icons and programs was fairly easy, but you’ll likely want to use the stylus for exiting or minimizing applications, or for selecting links on a Web page. You’ll also want to use the stylus for entering text using the cramped onscreen keyboard. Unlike earlier Q1 devices, this one lacks a digit-friendly keyboard.
Although the Q1EX runs the Tablet PC Edition of Windows XP, even Samsung admits the resistive touch panel, which does not employ an active digitizer, is not good enough for accurate handwriting recognition. Writing in Windows Journal with the thin stylus was an exercise in futility, as we had to press down rather hard for our scribbles to register.
To test the Q1EX’s speakers we cranked Sublime’s “Santeria” through Slacker. The sound was surprisingly loud and pleasant given this system’s small footprint, and we heard no distortion at maximum volume.
Samsung also includes a voice-recording utility with the device, which lets you capture audio in WMA or WAV format. Even with the record volume set to 100 percent, the playback volume was a bit faint (but understandably so). You might have trouble recording meetings with the Q1EX, but it should suffice for conference calls. The volume slider control was too tiny, too; even with the tip of the stylus it was difficult to adjust.
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