Samsung Q1: a first look

The Samsung Q1 is quite a smart piece of kit: it's mostly shiny black, with silver accents, accommodating a 7in. 800-by-480 (WVGA) TFT touchscreen within its 22.7cm (wide) by 13.9cm (deep) by 2.45-2.65cm (thick) dimensions. It weighs a handy 779g without any external or internal add-ons, is powered by Intel's ultra-low-voltage 900MHz Celeron M processor and comes with 512MB of DDR2 SDRAM in its single DIMM slot. Graphics are handled by the GMA 900 module integrated within the Intel 915GMS chipset, while internal storage comes in the form of a 40GB hard drive. The overall impression of the hardware lies somewhere between a small Tablet PC, a large handheld and a bloated Sony PSP (although the screen isn't as gorgeous as the PSP's).

The operating system is Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, with the addition of Microsoft's new Touch Pack, which provides a number of interface features designed to make stylus- or fingertip-driven operation easier. The Touch Pack's Program Launcher organises applications into categories, using large buttons and icons to simplify the process of finding and launching programs. There's also an innovative Dial Keyboard -- two fan-like arrays of touch-keys on each side of the screen, conveniently placed for thumb typing. Other navigation/interface elements include an 8-way joystick, a four-position user-definable button, enter and menu buttons, and an Auto Scaler button that toggles the screen between its native 800 by 480 and 800 by 600 or 1,024 by 600.

As far as connectivity is concerned, the Samsung Q1 has Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) and Bluetooth (2.0+EDR) built in, along with wired 10/100 Ethernet. There's no wide-area wireless connectivity in the shape of GPRS or 3G, which might have been expected in such an eminently mobile device. So to access the Internet away from an office, home or Wi-Fi hotspot, or to get a GPS fix, you'll need to have a suitable Bluetooth, CompactFlash or USB add-on to hand. Ports and connectors are arranged as follows: on the left is the power connector, a USB 2.0 port and a VGA connector; the right-hand side houses a hold switch, a volume rocker, an audio jack and a powered USB 2.0 port. The dual microphones are on the front fascia, along with the stereo speakers. The top edge houses a dual-mode power and AVS switch (AV Station is a pre-boot application for accessing multimedia content), a reset button, a Type II CompactFlash slot and the Ethernet connector.

The Q1 comes with a useful-looking array of accessories: a keyboard, an organiser bag, an external optical drive, a car cradle and an 8-cell extended-life battery pack. Samsung claims up to 3.5 hours of life for the device using the internal battery, or 'over 1.7 hours' of DVD playback.

First impressions

The Samsung Q1 is an intriguing piece of kit, but some natural selection needs to occur before it can evolve into an indispensable mobile companion. Key functionality such as GPRS or 3G connectivity is not integrated into the device, and battery life is nowhere near long enough at around 3.5 hours. That said, we look forward to a hands-on review of the Q1 and its brethren, and also to charting the development of this new mobile computing platform.

Update (7/4/2006)

Expansys has now made the Q1 available for pre-order on its Web site. The price: £680.81 (ex. VAT; or £799.95 inc. VAT).