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Screen resolutions of mobile devices is really a big issue. Since the screens are small, giving high resolution is not a very good idea, everything will be too small as UX. On the other hand, low resolution is very incommodious for using OS and browsing Internet as PDAs, UMPCs. If you put big screens, well, than they won’t be mobile. It’s like a paradox really.

James wrote his ideas about screen resolutions of ultra-portables. (Specifically UX,U series and UMPC)

I hope OEMs are paying attention and listening to user accounts like this one. Higher resolution is not always better when it comes to ultra-portable devices designed to be used in the hands. You have to be able to effortlessly read the screen when lots of text is displayed or the extra resolution quickly becomes a negative. Now lets see a 1024 x 600 Origami. That would be just perfect.

Actually, i believe 1024 x 600 resolution on UMPCs won’t be perfect, i believe James hopes that it will be perfect.

Kevin made a little list about things he doesn’t like about Samsung Q1. They are not very new or very big things, but worth reading. I didn’t know number 1 and 2.

1. Resuming from Standby turns the WiFi radio back on. This is by default and when I don’t need the WiFi radio on, I use the Samsung touchscreen option to turn it off and save a little power. If I turn the radio off, enter Standby and then resume from Standby, the WiFi radio is turned back on. This adds extra steps to go back and turn it off, which is a time waster. Buried in the BIOS is an option to leave the WiFi as it was when resuming from Standby. I didn’t see any mention of this in the user manual and if this is truly a consumer and companion device, I’d like to see this option mentioned in a future user manual OR find a way to control it within the OS.

2. Resuming from Standby turns the brightness up or down based on the status of the AC adapter. See number one above; same issue but you can address this in the BIOS. Again, not in the user manual.

Sony is making new UX’es, UX90S and UX90PS with integrated DVB-H and 16 GB of Flash Memory instead of a hard drive and they claim 13% more battery life and three to six times faster operation system loading. Well, i’m not very sure of that much faster loading, but it’s nice to see Flash Memory in ultra-portables.

via DigitalWorldTokyo

Mark Polino got his Powerbank for Samsung Q1. Samsung suggests 9 hours, but it is not very convincing for me, so i’m waiting for it’s reviews, but for now, Mark has not posted battery life of the Powerbank. You can see little photos of Powerbank with Q1 and learn general features.

The thin, multi-language manual doesn’t indicate a charge time for the PowerBank. It does say that when plugged in, the internal battery charges first, then the PowerBank. Mine is showing green for fully charged but the battery charge meter won’t light. It’s supposed to glow orange when charging. I’ll guess we’ll wait and see. Photos are below.

It’s available on CDW now for $239.99 !

Yes, Kevin published a UMPC Screen Protector Film (Sheet) review. Apperantly, although he is not very fond of these sheets (me too), he liked this one and says it works exactly you want. If you were worried of your screen, here is your answer, but i always thought it is easier to change the screen when scratched.

So did the UMPC Screen Sheet change my mind about screen protectors? No, but not because it’s a bad product. It works well and it works as advertised. If you’re the kind of person that feels the need for a screen protector, I think the UMPC Screen Sheet will be well worth your $12.99 and your peace of mind. Since all of the current UMPC / Origami devices sport a seven-inch screen, this should work for the Samsung Q1, the TabletKiosk eo v7110, and any other similar devices.

You can buy Dreambook UM 700, the Australian version of Amtek T700, with different configurations that you can choose your Hard Drive, amount of memory, bag and production time. Cool feature.

There are very nice comparision photos of UX and OQO at Handtops Forums posted by 3vw. Unfortunately, forum doesn’t support full pictures and you can see them only with sliders, but here you can see them in better shape.

For all photos with full size, “Contiune Reading…”
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TabletPCReviewSpot published a short Samsung Q1 review. As a Tablet user, i like their reviews very much, they post benches and take good photos, but it seems like they couldn’t find a lot of things to talk about at Q1.

The Samsung Q1 is a first of the very first generation of the Ultra Mobile PC devices. That said, we can surely expect improvements in future models. The Q1 is a perfect device for specific users who need to stay connected and productive on the go. Our advice is simply this: Do not expect the Q1 to be a “replacement” for a real Tablet PC or notebook computer. The Q1 and UMPC devices in general are an excellent alternative to users who wish to have much more functionality than they can get from a PDA, but to avoid carrying an entire Tablet PC or notebook computer everywhere. If this describes “you”, the Q1 is certainly worth your consideration.

The Gadgeteer published a great review of Sony UX50. If you are a bit interested in this device, don’t miss this review. I’m curious how JK can make a better one after all the time he spent with his unit.

My first impressions of this device were that the pictures that I had seen on the web, did not accurately convey just how thick and heavy this little guy was. I’m not sure even my pictures here can get that point across. The UX50 isn’t a pocket device by any means. It’s still gear bag sized uPC that just happens to have a PDA sized display.

Battery life for this little guy is supposed to approach 4.5hrs. I don’t know how accurate that is though. Maybe if you turn off the backlight and don’t access the hard drive. By default, the battery life indicator on my review until reported 2hrs after a full recharge. That was on the optimized setting. This is where I have a real gripe about all uPCs. That’s just not enough untethered power for a device that is supposed to be totally mobile. Who wants to carry around an AC adapter and power cord with them everywhere they go? Not I.

Back to the screen / display. Like most Sony devices, their displays are very nice. Bright, vibrant, etc. But there is a problem with the UX50 display… It’s too darn small! It’s just 4.5″ diagonal. For a PDA, it’s a perfect size. But for Windows XP, it’s pretty hard to read text. By default, the screen resolution is set to 1024 x 600. You can set it to something lower, but it doesn’t help all that much because then you can’t fit as much info on the display. The Zoom buttons aren’t very useful either as they just pump up the size (a maximum of 3x) and allow you to scroll around on the screen. It doesn’t allow interactivity with the running apps. It’s just a view only zoom.

Samsung Q1 can have some problems from screen rotation and it can lead into reinstallation of video drivers. A Samsung Q1 owner, Boris made a little utility written with .Net 2.0 with C# that lets you rotate the screen to all 4 orientations and solves video driver problems.