>UMPC vs Heavy Computer Users with Large Hands

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I’ve been blogging about the Samsung Q1U for the past couple of months. I’ve done a lot of tweaking and installing the OS on it. Doing everything I could to speed it up and make it usable for me. In the end my needs out weighed what the Samsung Q1U could provide.

I consider myself a very heavy computer user. I typically have tons of applications open that help me monitor my customers needs as well as large documents. Sometimes two at the same time while I transfer information between them. I wanted something handheld, needed to be able to take handwritten notes, to be able to communicated from to other people and be reliable. I went into this with the understanding that this type of computer is not a system for replacement laptops, unlike others statements. I attempted at using only one application at a time. Keeping the usage to small documents and maybe one communication application running. My expectations were set low and I went into it with a open mind. I spent almost a year waiting for something that came close to meeting these needs. I tried several other UMPC’s and none seemed to meet my needs. Then the second generation of the Q1 came out and with the great reviews of the Q1P, I felt the Q1U would be just what I need. I pulled the trigger and bought the Q1U.

First impressions were not as I hoped they would be, but I was forewarned by others with previous experiences. I tweaked the system out of the box to improve performance the best I could. Still I felt the need to pull some more juice out the processor. I then installed a clean OS with wonderful results. I tested the different drivers and applications that came on Samsung’s CD to see what would work and what didn’t. I found my minimum drivers and apps that were needed for this particular computer. I proceeded to install all the applications and files that I needed to have access to on a daily and sometimes hourly basis.

Its at this point I ran into a hardware issue. I was no longer able to write with a pen in a small section of the screen. This did not bold well. Good thing though, I went through Samsung’s Support Center with no heartaches or grief. I found the service refreshing and it was pleasant to talk to the customer support representatives. If only all my experiences with other Customer Support was this nice. I sent in my Q1U with the notification it would be a week to fix and as promised I received the Q1U back a week later and working perfectly.

I spent some long period of time with the Q1U. I bought a Bluetooth keyboard and a mouse to use when in desktop mode. I spent quite a lot of time on it. In doing this I found out some things about my computer needs.

When writing into such applications as Word, OneNote, MindManager or Instant Messenger, I was only able to see 2/3 of the screen with the other 1/3 taken up by by the Tablet PC Input Panel for those applications that didn’t have direct inking too. I write big and found myself having to stop writing and click insert or scroll the page down.

This wouldn’t be a issue if I wanted to use the device with a keyboard at all times, but one of the reasons why I bought a UMPC was to ink on.

I also found that I needed the system to react faster when I have bigger applications opened. I upgraded the memory to 2gb and found it ran smoother, but not faster when switching between applications. Also I have some applications run in the background performing a task. I should of been more patient with this.

Not too soon after I found this out, the same issue that happened before occurred again. I was unable to use the pen in a even larger space of the screen now. This was now a deal killer. I then formatted the hard drive and took the unit back to the store that I bought it from.

Samsung’s Q1U is a nice system. Its made as a companion system for mobile users. Something in between the Blackberry and the mini laptop. I don’t fit in that range of users. Regardless of the hardware issues I had, it ran well and performed as it should for the size and hardware it was configured with. I can see this being used by many people.

I now I’m thinking of ordering a Lenovo Thinkpad X61T. I think a mini laptop is much more in my needs and from the 1st impressions of the x61t its looking like something I’ll enjoy having.