Samsung Q1U and Skype

James Bruton of http://www.scattershot.co.uk and I had a little test of the front camera on the Q1U during a Skype call.

It turned out well. The video on the Q1U's part seemed to be at 1 FPS rate. James reported the sound was good and clear.

After a little while my Anti-Virus kicked in and it garbled the audio and video of James, but the sound on my end was still able to be heard clearly on James part.

I tried to do a Camtasa video of the Skpye call but I didn't have it setup correctly and it was recorded at 1 FPS with no sound. Oh well.

Nice review of the Samsung Q1U. UK Style!

James Bruton of http://www.scattershot.co.uk has put up a nice review of the Samsung Q1U.

Review of the Second Generation Samsung Q1 Ultra

Samsung Q1 Ultra

The Samsung Q1 Ultra is finally here. Whilst the original Q1 was quite well liked, it could have been considered the'best of a bad bunch'. Critical and popular response to Microsoft's Origami project was lacklustre to say the least.
Criticism of the first generation focused mainly on poor battery life and more general complaints with text input. First out of the gate with a second generation device is Samsung, how does it fare?

James and I had a Skype Session to try out the video on the Q1U. I'll post about that later.

2GB Upgrade and ReadyBoost

I decided to do the upgrade last night instead of running the other tests I wanted to do.

 

I ran Crystalmark for each before and after tests. As you can see in the above picture the CrystalMark score was 12879. I really question CrystalMark's numbers now. The system ran fine yet the numbers were low. Anyhow here is the number to start with.

As others saw in Hugo's video, there are 2 large screws on the left and under the battery is 2 small screws in the center and 3 large screws on the outer edge.  The case comes apart with some force. The case needed some pressure to pull apart.

Once open you can see the battery, and the memory. 

Pulled out the old memory and install my new memory. About the memory I bought: A fellow BOINC'er on our team's IRC pointed me to this URL. I bought the G.Skill 2GB 200-Pin DDR2 So-Dimm 667 PC2 5300 chip. Tax & Shipping I paid $122.95 for it.

As you can see here I believe this is the MiniPCI port for such things as a possible EVDO modem.

Here is the Sim port along with the connector for the finger scan below it.

Put the computer back together and start it up. You can notice the startup is taking less time then usual.

I decide to run CrystalMark again after the install of the 2gb ram.

You can see it does make a difference.

I decide to test it out with ReadyBoost, so I pop in my 4gb SDCard and reran CrystalMark.

 

ReadyBoost doesn't help with the numbers although I don't notice any delay or performance issues though.

To wrap this up, the 2gb upgrade is a absolute must for anyone that is a heavy user of computers. I am now able to run multiple applications with large files. This might actually be a replacement laptop for me.   

P.S. You can click on the pictures to zoom in.

Improved Calibration for the Samsung Q1U

I noticed something interesting. When the display is set to 1024 x 600, in calibrating the Tablet the pen wont click directly in the center of the targets. You have to click just the outside corner of the target. I have found a work around to this.

You first need to change the resolution to 800x600.

1. Go to Control Panel; Personalize
2. Click on Display Settings
3. Move the resolution bar to Low and click apply. Its important because you don't want to close this window yet. You will need to change back to the larger resolution in a bit.
4. You will be prompted to keep the current display settings. Click Yes.
5. Go to Control Panel; Tablet PC Settings.
6. Click on the Calibrate button.
7.  The Calibration screen will come up then.
8. Click in the middle of each target in the corners. With the lower resolution it registers without issue.
9. Once done it will ask you to save the new configuration. Click Yes.
10. Now you want to go back to the Display Settings window so you can change the resolution back to 1024x600.
11. Drag the bar to High and click OK. This will close out the window and change the resolution. You will be asked to keep the current display settings. Click Ok.

Your pen calibration is now down and a bit more accurate then it was before.

If you have a different experience please let me know. I probably have another display issue then.

Can you see me now?

I'm having a yard sale of all my old computer equipment and clearing up space. So I thought its a perfect time to do a battery and outside display test.

In this post I'll talk about using the Samsung Q1U outside. Its a sunny day today with bright blue sky here in San Jose. So its perfect condition for this type of test.

First off in direct sun the Q1U gets HOT! The black just soaks up the heat and the uncovered spots on the Q1U just get hot. I don't see being able to use this outside for long periods. Need gloves when using the right arrow pad right now. I can't remember who said it, but it should be a black matte or light gray.

On to the display. Can or can't you see it in direct sun light?

Yes and No.

Yes you can see it when the brightness is at its highest setting and you can't change the setting until you get into the desktop.  You better know how to type your password on the keyboard. I can't see a thing. I'm lucky to have practiced a lot with the keyboard.  Once your in the desktop you can hit the "Menu" button on the upper top screen and you can see the outline of the brightness buttons. Once the brightness is brought all the way up, its easily readable even with polarized sunglasses on. It does eat up more battery time so consider that if you decide to work outside with this. Also pick some nice shade so you don't cook your Q1U.

Q-Bert is much brighter then my Dell Latitude D620. I'm having troubel seeing it in the sunlight.  

Up and Running... away!

 

Q-Bert is up and running.

Everything is working well.

All tweaks have been applied.

Inking has never been better.

Samsung Q1U Wish List

Here are some things I would like to see changed on the Samsung Q1U.

• Sticky Ctrl & Alt keys like its done with Sym key.
• The Symbol on the H & J key look like _ _. The J should have the symbol raised a little to show the difference since its the - symbol.
• Be able to program the buttons around the screen like UDF, Dial Pad, and Menu.
• Better documentation on how to use the programmable key pad on the right.  

Drivers, Drivers Everywhere...

One the first tests I decided to do is figure out what Samsung Drivers and Programs decreased the performance of the Q1U. The ultimate goal is to have a set of Samsung Drivers and Programs that are ok to install without it effecting the performance of the system.

My configuration is the following:

• Windows Vista Ultimate. Clean install.
• No extra drivers. Only standard drivers that came with Vista.
• No ReadyBoost
• No Other Tweaks. Aero is running and everything.

I installed one driver or program at a time and tested the system for response. I have a System Restore set to the clean system that it started with and I will go back to it after each test.

The definitions of the three options are as follows. No Effect, doesn't cause any negative nor benefits to the system. Negative Effect, degrades the performance on the computer. Vista Driver Works, is where the default Drivers from Vista works without any update.

Driver	No Effect	Negative Effect	Vista Driver Works
Chipset Driver	√		√ *
Graphics Driver	√		√ *
Sound Driver	√		√
LAN Driver	√		√
Wireless LAN Driver	√		√
Bluetooth Driver	√		√
USB Webcam 1	√
Samsung Update Plus	√
Play AVStation 2	√
Easy Battery Manager	√
Easy Button Manager	√
Easy Display Manager 3	√
Network Manager	√
AVStation Now	√
Media Center Update		√
Menu	√
Origami Experience Pack 2	√
Play Camera 1	√
Samsung Recovery Solution II 4	√
User's Guide	√
Samsung Magic Doctor 4	√
Samsung Screen Saver	√
Touchscreen Calibration	√
Bluetooth patch(es)	√
Wallpaper	√
Windows Vista Critical Update(es)	**
UMPC Ink Patch		√
Windows Vista common patch(es)	**
McAfee VirusScan		√

1 Required the other to be used.

2 Seemed slow even on a clean system, but it didn't hang the rest of the system.

3 Doesn't seem to be worth having on the machine. The "fn" key for the shortcuts, that it is supposed to enable the display changes, don't exist on the Q1U. It is required though for the Menu functions to change brightness and rotate the screen.

4 Didn't seem to work without the 10Gb Restore Partition.

* Intel has newer drivers that work well.

** I prefer to let Windows Update run and do the full updates without these updates.  

I found some of these programs to be redundant of other applications. Several of them are not needed in my opinion.

The results are based on the individual program or driver being installed by itself without other drivers and programs running. There are to many combinations of programs and drivers that I'm not willing to go through. Also this was in no way close to scientific testing. Results may vary on your own machine.

P.S. I did another clean install of the Vista OS after all this testing. I will be installing some of these applications to get certain things functioning. This will be my base system for all further testing from here on out. I will be doing a Image Backup of this load. If I get enough comments asking I'll post what I install.

Guess who's back?

I received a IM from a co-Q1U'ser K5XJS at Gottabemobile.com. We both were unlucky and had to send in our Q1U's to the repair shop in Texas. He just happened to live 30 minutes away and contacted them directly about his. He was able to talk to the manager there and found out that Q-Bert was fixed and on his way home. What a Guy!

I received Q-Bert this night and he is all fixed. I plan on getting back to testing and tweaking this next week.

Samsung Q1U Performance Tweak List

This post will be a compilation of all the tweaks that are done to improve the Samsung Q1U out of the box.

1. Remove McAfee. This has helped immensely. Suggested replacement Anti-Virus is AVG Anti-Virus Free application.

1. Go to Control Panel; Programs and Features.
2. Select McAfee application and click on Uninstall/Change button in selection bar.
3. Click all options to be removed.
4. Reboot.

2. Change Performance settings in Windows Vista. This will remove Aero Glass and other "Eye Candy" functions of Vista, but helps with the performance.

Program: Vispa - Registry tweaker for Vista will allow you to turn off certain features of Vista, such as some of the display functions, to improve the performance.

Stardock - TweakVista will allow you to choose what starts up as well as automaticly prompts enhancement recommendations.

Manual:

1. Go to System Properties; Advance tab; the clicked on the Performance Settings button.
2. Changed the setting to "Adjust for best performance.

    To get Vista Basic look:

1. Go to Control Panel; Appearance Settings
2. Change the Color Scheme to Windows Vista Basic.

Chippy from UMPCPortal.com also has 13 Vista tweaks noted.

3. Add a SD Card to use as ReadyBoost. This will speed up the system some more.

1. Purchase a SD Card that is X133 speed. Older and slower cards may work as well. The size of the card is up to what you can finance. The maximum ReadyBoost capable is 4Gb.
2. Insert the SD Card.
3. You will be prompted if you wish to open the location or Speed up your computer? Select Speed up your System.
4. The following window will pop open. If the screen displays that  this device is not available for this function, continuously click "Test this device again" or remove the card and insert it again. It sometimes takes a while for the system to see the card as ReadyBoost capable.
5. Click "Use this device" radio button and drag the Space to reserve for system speed to maximum.

4. Reinstall the OS without Samsung Drivers.

You should first do a backup of your current system, including the 10Gb System restore. There are many ways to do this and you will need to find what best works for you. I personally use Acronis True Image. You can also use Norton Ghost. Both options will allow you to either backup to CD/DVD or External Hard Drive. I suggest the External Hard Drive. Its faster if you need to restore. You will also want to back up any data you have to a external HD or to a CD/DVD to restore after the clean install. You can find out more information on imaging your hard drive here.

Things you will need to install a clean OS:

1. USB DVD Drive.
2. Vista DVD (came with the Q1U)
3. System Software Media (came with the Q1U)

Instructions: (After backup. From here you will lose any and all data on your primary partition!)

1. Connect the USB DVD Drive to your USB port. (You may have trouble if you have another USB device like a mouse connected to the other USB port.) Insert the Vista DVD disk in the drive.
2. Reboot the Q1U. After this point you will be happy there is a keyboard on the Q1U.
3. Hit any key when prompted to "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD."
4. Click Next
5. Click Install.
6. Enter your Activation Key
7. Follow the prompts as requested.

Yeah I'm kind of getting off cheap on this one, but willing to update it with someone else's directions if they want to write them.

4a. After reinstalling the OS, you need to install some of the Samsung Drivers and Applications. Here is a list of what Drivers and Programs cause performance issue.

5. Update the Video and Chipset to the latest version from Intel. They can be found here: Http://www.Intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/CS-022034.htm

6. Get rid of the 10Gb Restore Partition. Not really a performance tweak but it would allow you to add 10Gb's to your current needed space.

I'll post more on how to do this later.

7. Upgrading memory from 1Gb to 2Gb. WARNING!! This may void your warranty.

I'll post more on how to do this later.

Please reply to this post with what tweaks you performed to confirm they work. If you have another tweak please reply in my comments and I'll add it to this list.

The end of Vectoring?

Kevin Tofel wrote about a super secret lab in Microsoft that is testing out multi-touch function with MS OS. Is this the end of vectoring issues? Will it just take a software upgrade to make your Windows Vista tablet multi-touch? If the iPhone can do it why can't my Samsung Q1U?

Microsoft Research shows multi-touch notebook project

Who knows what tech projects lurk behind closed doors at Microsoft? Long Zheng knows. Actually, so do the people behind the closed doors, but we don't hear from them much. ;) Long found this interesting video demonstration of a multi-touch notebook display that effectively simulates Microsoft's Surface computing project, only it does so in a very preliminary way and is cobbled together with sensors on a standard notebook. Well worth watching this develop as that rodent most of us have attached to our notebooks could be exterminated if multi-touch potential is reached. What's interesting is a unique difference between Microsoft's multi-touch approach compared to Apple's: what we've seen so far from Microsoft requires infrared sensors and cameras in general, while the iPhone appears to use two true touchpoints from what I can see.

Source: http://jkontherun.blogs.com/jkontherun/2007/06/microsoft_resea.html

EVDO MiniPCI card in the Q1U?

Origami Project has a thread on opening the Q1U and upgrading the  memory. In opening it up there was mention of a MiniPCI port.

"Things of note regarding the install. 7 screws 5 long 2 short. Very easy to take apart. No seals I could see. Just take out the seven screws then take a flat head screw driver and release the plastic clip your can see under the port cover right next to the VGA out. Next run your finger nail along the edges between the two pieces of the plastic case and it will pop apart. Be careful not to break any of the plastic clips, don't force it.
Interesting innards. There is a fingerprint PCB on the motherboard. There is SIM card holder and an empty miniPCI slot. It seems like it may be easy to pop an evdo or HSDPA WWAN modem card in, a la tankgirl and the OQO2. Would probably need to source an antenna though.
Nice tight construction. HD upgrade also looks easy. RAM install was a breeze. If you really want pictures I may consider taking it apart again if needed......now to test system performance......"

I did some research for MiniPCI cards and found this link.

"This will not be a problem. However, I would not get the Dell branded card, or the Rev A card you mention.
Go to a sprint store, or 3gstore.com and buy a U720. The U720 is nothing more than a Mini-PCI card inside a USB enclosure.
Install the U720 software, and Connection Manager, then
You can open the U720, and remove the PCI-Card, and insert it in the Mini-PCI adapter on the laptop.
You will need to use the Sprint Connection Manager to manage the connection.
The U720 is Rev A, and works great.
I replaced the Rev O card in my Dell D420 with a U720's card, and now I have Rev A, and GPS built in-to my laptop, what could be better?
( If you need help, just let me know. The only thing you will need is a special screw driver to open the U720, I just took the U720 to Home Depot, and they found me a $0.98 screw driver that worked perfectly. "

So it sounds like there is a possibility of adding the internal EVDO card as long as there is a way to wire up an antenna. This is something I can probably borrow off of a broken dell laptop that I have.

Sounds like I have another modding project to look forward to.

Samsung Service Center Update

Just to update where I left off at the previous post.

I received the RMA shipping label the next day in a email. More like afternoon and that was after calling them to remind them to send it. I got a different 1st tier guy and he seemed more Business and less Customer Support. He told me they have 3 days to send out the label, but checked anyhow and said it was sent out and on its way. It arrived in my inbox that afternoon. I already had Q-Bert packed up and taped, ready to make his trip to Texas.

As I understand it the repair depot is a outsourced company that Samsung uses. I would guess that they are just a turn around shop. Not setup for customer interaction. They don't respond, they only update the ticket when its done or there is going to be a extreme delay. At least that's been my experience with other similar services. Granted then it wasn't my equipment they had though. So its now something completely different and I'm experiencing the same thing my users go through.

I think I've been doing pretty good to this point. I've been drinking more coffee and only checking my email every half hour for updates. :)

I decided to find out the status of my repair this morning. I called Samsung Support again and got John. A very customer orientated fellow. I gave him my Repair # and he then called the third party repair depot to find out the status. It turns out they do have to replace the LCD/digitizer for the unit and have put in a order for replacement, but the parts dept has stated they don't have that part yet in stock since the Q1U is so new. I was then transferred to the Executive Customer Support department where I talked with Shauna. Another wonderful Customer Rep. She reviewed the ticket information and found that the repair depot suggested a replacement be sent. Unfortunately they don't have any to send. They've emailed the Business department to find out if they can get some units to send out and have asked that I wait till this Friday for followup. If after Friday they don't get a positive response they will ship my Q1U back so that I can pursue this issue through Costco. I asked Shauna to email me if any updates occur on my case.

So I'm back to drinking more then usual amounts of coffee and checking my email every thirty minutes.

Let the Q1U Modding Begin!

Since the 1st day I had Q-Bert in my hands I planned on modifying it. My first plan was to try upgrading the memory to 2Gb. I wanted to follow in Kevin Tofel's steps and be the first to upgrade the memory. Well since I had to send Q-Bert off to the Service Center, I wasn't able to do this.

To my surprise, and greatly relieved that it worked, Hugo Ortega did what I planned on doing. He upgraded his recently arrived Samsung Q1U to 2gb of RAM. He even has some naked pictures of the Q1U without its cover. 

What was his experience now that there is more memory? Does it seem to run faster? Was it still the Samsung Software load or has it been tweaked yet? From his comments:

Hi Chris. Here are my observatiosn so far. The upgrade improves the following: boot up time, shut down time, program launch speeds, multitasking abilities, file transfer abilities...and so on. I am yet to tweak the machine but it definitley improves all of the above, and for me that's more than enough at this stage. You'll never make the Processor any faster but this RAM really helps. I look forward to hearing from you in the future mate regarding your Q1U experience...sounds like your pumped!

For me that would be all I need for a great mobile system.

So here is my memory purchase information. A fellow BOINC'er on our team's IRC pointed me to this URL. I bought the G.Skill 2GB 200-Pin DDR2 So-Dimm 667 PC2 5300 chip. Tax & Shipping I paid $122.95 for it.

I weighed the 15% restocking fee to the $188 cost that another site with no questions asked returns was going to charge. I can live with $15. More then likely if it doesn't work I'll sell the memory on Craigslist.

I'll post more about it when the operation happens. I plan on tons of naked pictures. Maybe not screw by screw, but a general overview.

Active Digitizer or Passive Digitizer?

Since the current absence of Q-Bert in my life, to keep my UMPC High, I'm filling the need by browsing other UMPC blogs. I found this great post about the difference in Active and Passive Digitizers for those that don't know the difference.

I suggest you join me and add Bjorn Stromberg's UltraMobileLife.com to your RSS Feeds.

What's the Difference Between Active and Passive Digitizers?

Written by Bjorn Stromberg

Tuesday, 22 May 2007

You're interested in a UMPC, but don't understand the difference between all of the UMPC's on the market. Hopefully this video from GeekSet can shed a little light on one aspect of UMPC's that can be confusing: The Digitizer.

There are two kinds of digitizers: active and passive (also called resistive). Active digitizers require a stylus to use, while passive digitizers allow you to give input by simply touching the screen. There are positive and negative aspects to both types of digitizers and this video should help you to understand the difference.

Most UMPC's on the market today have only a passive digitizer. For example, the Samsung Q1B and the TabletKiosk eo UMPC v7110 both have passive digitizers. The OQO model 02 has an active digitizer and you'll need a stylus if you want to write on the screen. In general, you should determine what you plan on doing with the device and choose the method of input that suits you.

Source: ultramobilelife.com - What's the Difference Between Active and Passive Digitizers?  

del.icio.us tags: UMPC, Active Digitizer, Passive Digitizer, Ultramobilelife

Vectoring? Schmectoring

Thanks a many to Sohandy at the GottaBeMobile Forums for finding this post at JKontherun, that I guess I popped over it at the time when reading my RSS Feeds.

HID drivers for the Samsung Q1

Nearly a year after the first Samsung Q1 UMPC were shipped, it looks like light at the end of the HID tunnel. Ctitanic (aka: Frank) has relentlessly taken every avenue possible to get HID or Human Interface Device drivers for the Q1-series and that determination appears to have paid off. Today, he's got a post with a driver download that enables the Q1 touchscreen to be recognized as a true Tablet PC input, not as a mouse. I suspected that Frank was working with eGalax, the touchscreen manufacturer simply because Microsoft isn't responsible for the Q1 hardware and Samsung appears to have set their sights on the Q1 Ultra. Frank indicates that the new driver works with Vista on the Q1 but may work on XP as well. I'll give that a try later today and report back in a separate post; it would be great to get rid of Floattip.exe even though it has served me well. Well done Frank and eGalax!

Source: jkOnTheRun: HID drivers for the Samsung Q1

I got to see if this helps along with the newer Intel Drivers.

I'm seriously bummed in not having Q-Bert. He's off to see the Wizards at the Samsung Support Center in Irving, Texas. They should have him tomorrow and will probably start to work on him then or Monday.

Intel Drivers Newer or Older?

I want to correct a previous statement I made. In the post about doing a clean install and using the Drivers from Intel I stated they were a older version. I was wrong.

Before sending out Q-Bert I wanted to make sure the Samsung Drivers were on the system so that they didn't just install them and say its fixed. The driver installation from the drivers off the web prompted me that the drivers installed were newer.

This is probably why I liked the writing better. Also I had to push a little harder for the cursor to respond. This is similar to the P1610's Palm Rejection. I don't think it will fix the vectoring issue totally but its a start.

I'd love to hear from someone that tries out the Intel Drivers. I did both the display and the chipset and they can be found here: http://www.Intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/CS-022034.htm

Samsung Support Center

Here is some information in my dealings with Samsung's Service Center. I dialed 1800Samsung (1-800-726-7864). Prompts at the time were 4 for other devices and 3 for Samsung Q1U. 

You will get the 1st tier support. The gentlemen I talked to was very nice and when I told him about the issue he immediately recognized it as something Tier 2 should handle. He took down all my information and gave me a ticket number, but also stated they track via the phone number given as well if need be.

Matt at Tier 2 was exceptionally nice and helpful. He also found the QuickTime Video I posted on the web to be helpful. He tried many things to duplicate the issue on their in house unit and wasn't able to. He then put in a ticket for my Q1U to go to a Service Center. He informed me that it should take 2-3 days. They are to send me a prepaid overnight shipping label in the email today. Q-Bert is already packaged up and ready to go. He also gave me the Return Authorization # so they can track what units come in to what tickets and also know that the unit being sent back has authorization to be fixed.

He told me they are pretty fast and as did Kevin Tofel's experience with Sammy I expect Q-Bert to arrive back some time next week. He also noted that since I am having Q-Bert being fixed with in the first 90 days if Q-Bert needs to be replaced I would get a new unit. After 90 days, say in September, I would get a refurbished unit.
I authorized them to wipe out the hard drive if needed and then proceeded to delete any all private information, since I have a initial copy of my files from the reinstall. (I know it doesn't guarantee anything won't be copied but the initial step shows that I don't want my private files viewed or copied.)

I'll post a formal dealing with after I get Q-Bert back.

 

 

del.icio.us tags: Samsung Q1u, Support Center, Support, Customer Service, Technical Support, QuickTime, Samsung, Support Line

No CD/DVD Drive? No Problem.

Hey as for not having a cd-rom or DVD drive like on UMPC.. I got the work around. 

Its called Alcohol 52%. It a free software that allows you to mount CD/DVD images to a virtual drive.
I also bought Alcohol 120% so I can create copies of cd's that have copy protection like games and I can then use them on the Q1U. But if you don't want to buy the program and don't need to copy protected disks, you can also use ISOBuster to create the ISO's. The free one will do all regular cd's but not DVD's.

This is how I installed MS Office 2007 and other apps. I put the images on a USB Key and then loaded up the image on the virtual drive.

 

del.icio.us tags: Alcohol 52%, Alcohol 120%, ISOBuster, UMPC, CD Drive, DVD Drive, Samsung Q1u, Software install

Its amazing what a Clean OS can do.

 

del.icio.us tags: Inking, UMPC, Samsung Q1u, Vista

RDP on the UMPC?

I've tested out RDP on the Q1U.  It works pretty good. As with all other RDP, quality of the network connection is the main thing. I connected to a remote machine over the Internet and was able to browse around without issue. I was able to click with the stylus and interact with the system without a issue. The Split Keyboard came in handy since the on screen keyboard wouldn't work.

I can say that I will be using it myself for remote support or control of a server in another location.

Hope this helps.

 

del.icio.us tags: UMPC, Samsung Q1u, RDP

Joysticks? We don't need no stinkin Joysticks!

I didn't quite understand what the Joystick function on the Q1U was and why have it? It was mentioned that it was to be used for games and such, but I found out some other things it could be used for.

I have Times Reader on the Q1U right now and on my laptop, I use the arrow keys to navigate, with a left/right go through the articles and Up/Down cycle though pages.

When I set the mouse to Joystick mode, it functions just like the arrow keys. I would guess other places you use the arrow keys you can do the same with the joystick as well.

Pretty cool.

Off to the Service Center

  Just finished talking to the very nice Gentlemen at Samsung Support. Matt helped out with the problem. The QuickTime video was of great help to show them what exactly is happening.

We weren't able to do anything software wise, its off to the Service Center in Texas for Q-Bert. I'm sending him off tomorrow overnight shipping and hope to get him by next Friday at the latest. It will take two days shipping, to there and back to me. Then possibly three days in the service center.

I hope their able to fix the issue. Until then I'm going to as much as I can with Q-Bert.

Reinstalling the OS on the Samsung Q1u - Part II

I decided to forgo the restoring the old software and go with a crazy idea I had late this morning, soon after posting the last post.

I went to Intel's website and downloaded the graphic driver and the chipset driver directly from them. I noticed it is a revision behind what Samsung has provided.

I did a clean install of Vista again. (I'm getting this down pat. I barely look at the keyboard now.) I then installed the graphics driver then the chipset driver and Rebooted. The pen function worked nicely, except the strange bubble on the right hand side was still there.

Whenever you run the cursor up and down on the right hand side, right in the middle the cursor bulges out about 3 cm in a curve towards the center of the screen, then curves back in to the edge as you continue to move up or down. Its probably about a half an inch in length from the start of the curve to the beginning of the touching of the edge of the screen. QuickTime Movie of Bulge issue.

The system other then the bulge is working beautifully. Its responding fast and things just seem snappier. I configured the ReadyBoost on my 4gb SD Card and really didn't notice a difference. They system was just as fast.

The one thing that Vista didn't have a driver for was the USB Camera. This I downloaded the driver from Samsung for. I've downloaded all the drivers and software from the website already and have them ready on a USB key for when I feel I might need them or want to test them. No noticeable changes in speed occur after that install.

I decided to run CrystalMark 2004R2 on the Q1U, just to see the difference from what Dennis Rice got on his InkShow.  I got 14139 as you can see from the Snip tool capture, it is bit more then the 13024 that Dennis got from the out of the box configuration. (Corrected for Dennis's score. I had it backwards.)

On the System Software Media CD, there is a UMPC Tip fix install. I installed this and restarted only to find my system running slow again. This also didn't fix the bulge problem either. In fact it worsened the issue. I no longer could click in the upper most corners of the screen. The whole Screen not just the right side. So I had to run a System Restore to before the Windows Updates were installed to fix this.

In general the pen bulge issue is not a show stopper. I can live with it for now. I'll just have to use the mouse on the left to access that part of the screen.

My next steps are to either go back to the original system or to call Samsung Tech Support.

 I like the speed to much to go back. I'm calling Samsung and see if they can help.  

 

 

 

del.icio.us tags: CrystalMark, Samsung Q1u, Clean Install, Dennis Rice, InkShow, Intel, Drivers

Reinstalling the OS on Samsung Q1U

I decided to do to Q-Bert what I do with all my new machines. A clean install of the OS. I'm certain then to have a clean system without old drivers, bloatware, and other unnecessary utilities.

First thing I wanted to do is backup the current configuration with Acronis True Image. I booted up the CD by an external DVD-+R drive. I also connected an external 100gb laptop HD that I carry around with me for extra storage. I copied the Q-Bert image to the 100GB External HD. (Tech Note: I did have problems with booting up off the DVD Drive when a USB Mouse was connected to the other USB port. But I didn't have any problems with the external HD.) I also copied over the User directory so I can restore my data.  As for the drivers and utilities, I found out that the drivers on the cd are the same version as what's on Samsung's support website.  

I wanted to have use of the whole drive now so I wanted to delete the 10Gb Util Partition. I wasn't able to get rid of the utility partition on the HD with the Vista install drive configurator, so I popped in Darik's Boot and Nuke CD. This should wipe out the whole HD. I'm sure there are other, better ways to do this, but its best to use with what's available at that time.

I must say its getting easier to type on this split keyboard the more and more I use it. Also if it wasn't for the keyboard and the mouse on the system I would have to connect a wireless connector, since it has one USB connector, for a wireless keyboard and mouse to be able to type in all the necessary prompts. I don't think it would of worked with the issue I had with the USB Mouse.

 I didn't let the Boot and Nuke CD run too long. I didn't need the  whole drive wiped, just that the primary partition was deleted. This worked great. Once I popped the Vista DVD back in it showed 55Gb free.  

Installation is done. We have  Vista Desktop GUI. The Whole process took a little under 45 minutes.

It turns out wonderfully! Its fast response was terrific. I can't believe this is the same system. Reboots now only take a minute. Everything comes up fast. Even Aero Glass is working. The classic view Control Panel comes up in less then 10 seconds and faster after initial open. I didn't even configure ReadyBoost with the 4gb SD Card.

I then proceeded to go through the Samsung driver installs. The System Software Media has a installation application for all the extra software and drivers. You can either go with Standard Installation, Minimum Installation, or Custom Installation. I of course choose the Custom Installation with the "Minimum Suggested" selection. It  included the dreaded McAfee software. Its the only thing I deselected. Already deselected was Samsung's extra software that I agreed was not needed. The installation of all the drivers and extra Windows Updates took over 2 hours.

This did not improve things. The calibration was off as if the screen had been bowed or warped. The right hand side in the middle the cursor would go out from the edge of the screen about 3cm only to return to the side of the screen as if there was a round bulge on the edge of the screen.

The system went back to the same as out of the box with McAfee removed. In this case though Aero was still running and the system performed ok with it. So there is a little improvement.

The system did better with the standard Windows Vista drivers then the Samsung ones. I would go back to that but the pen calibration wouldn't let you touch the upper and lower right hand targets. The pen seems to lose calibration exponentially as you drag from the left to the right. By the time you get the pen to the right hand of the screen, the cursor is off the screen.

I'm going to restore the original install from the backup and check the versions of the drivers there and try to change some of the drivers to Windows Vista drivers to improve performance some more.

I'll also try different combinations of the Samsung drivers to install so as to achieve maximum performance on a clean install.

I got allot of work to do.

 

del.icio.us tags: Samsung Q1u, Windows Vista, Drivers, Clean Install

Samsung Q1U Display

Its no secret that the Samsung Q1U has got to be the best display in the UMPC world. Its bright, detailed, and all around beautiful.

Even dimmed its readable at a reasonable distance.

As for reading documents and website's, I can't say how much I enjoy Q-Bert. Its my primary RSS Feed reader as well as my Web Browser, which is exactly one reason the UMPC was created to do.

Reading PDF documents are nice and crisp. It starts off in 150% percent view but loses readability at about 50%. No need to scroll around to view the left or right text. Reading the PDF's vertical is very nice. Here you can zoom out enough to see the whole page and still be able to read it.

Website's, I feel are best viewed in horizontal format. Some website's have so much content on them that they just can't be viewed properly vertical. This is how I read Google Reader. I couldn't view it vertical due to not being able to hit the necessary keys to move on or mark.

Video's are awesome. Divx movies look fantastic. Well enough for me to enjoy. Its probably not HD quality, but at such a small size, who cares? (I know there are some media freaks out there that just have to have HD everywhere. Sorry this unit may not be for you then. Stick to a PSP.)

I'll be testing out Slingbox in another post about Movies, Media and Games.

My pictures don't do this unit justice. Its best to find the nearest location that are brave enough to stock them and view yourself, or find the lucky people that already have the Q1U to see it. I show Q-Bert off as much as I can.  

 

 

 

del.icio.us tags: Samsung Q1u, Display, PDF, Website, Divx

Thumb Keyboard on the Samsung Q1U

The keyboard is something that really has to be experienced in person. Its definitely something that one has to get used to. Like I mentioned in earlier posts, my thumbs are on the large size and I have to either hit the keys with the side corner of my thumb or the very middle of my thumb when hitting the keys on the outside of the keyboard block.

As its mentioned in others previous reviews, there is a Shift button on both sides of the keyboard which is a god send. I couldn't imagine having to hit two keys on the same side at the same time for capitalization. There is no CAPS Lock on the keyboard anywhere.

On the left side is the Ctrl, Tab, Esc, and Sym keys which are useful except the Ctrl key. Its on the same side as the Z, V, C keys. The most used keys with Ctrl that I know of. On the right is the Space, Alt, and NumLock. The Space button is larger then the other buttons which makes it easier to feel for as when I use it for Google Reader to page down. The NumLock has to be pressed and depressed after you type the numbers. Sym function key is single type, meaning it deselects after the symbol is used. Ctrl and Alt you have to hold down in sequence of the function you want. Also on the right is the Backspace, Comma, Period, and the \ key. I'm sure Vista's Sticky Keys function will help with this, but I haven't worked with it too much other then holding the shift key down too long on my regular laptop and the prompt coming up if I wanted to use it.

On the whole the keyboard is laid out as a standard QWERTY keyboard which makes learning it less hard. I find myself more feeling for the keys then watching them now.

What would be nicer is a different form for the keys. Currently they are dome shaped and all feel the same as the others. I would of liked some sort of tactile feeling on some of the different keys. A small raised dot would of helped.

I feel that this topic is going to be different for everyone and no two experiences are going to be the same. People that have been thumb-boarding it with such devices as RIM's Blackberry will get used to this faster then others. I'm tempted to find a teenager that is speed typing on their phone and see what they can do with Q-Bert's keyboard.

I'm looking forward to hearing from others experience with the Q1U's keyboard. Do you plan to use it? How has your experience been with it?

 

del.icio.us tags: Keyboard, Samsung Q1u

Tech Bags or ManPurse?

 I was asked about my opinion in the GottaBeMobile forms on UMPC bags by Camineet. Here is my response.

As we carry more and more gadgets and since battery life is not what we would like it to be, we have to carry the cables, cords, adapters, etc.. for those devices with us. We're ok with carrying a Briefcase for office jobs, but as a society we are moving away from   that with more and more information being stored on electronic devices. For the men located in the salt of the earth, many of them already carry a small bag. Not a tech bag but a gun bag. I doubt they feel emasculated in any way. (I think the gun helps that.) Also we seem to have survived the electronic device belt. Ya know the one where we carried every little thing on our belts. Check out "A Night in the Museum." The ex-wife's fiance has a belt that seemed it needed suspenders for further support.

I'm in the Silicon Valley California. Here we have men carrying big purses already and have the high heels to match. So I myself am not too worried about what I look like with my tech bag.
I see a lot of business men lately carrying really nice backpacks. The one with extra padding on the shoulders, crap full of pockets, zippers, and holes to stuff anything you want to carry with you. They look nothing like 8 year olds.

I myself seem to collect tech bags like crazy. I want to downsize, which is one of the reasons why I got the UMPC, so I don't have to carry around too much and still have the connection and information at my finger tips. I found the bag I'm using before I bought the UMPC. I pretty much decided that the next computer I bought had to fit in the bag. Lucky for me the Samsung Q1U-V fits perfectly. I put Q-Bert in the supplied cloth bag and then put that in the middle pocket of the tech bag. Not too snug, but close enough so it doesn't bounce around. It has some extra padding that will help prevent shock. It won't protect Q-Bert from a toss or a drop to the floor but its canvas, the straps are quadruple stitched and it fits the computer I have.

I would suggest you check out also James Kendricks blog www.JKONTHERUN.com. He has posted several times about what's in his tech bag and has a few he has shown off.  He posts on this specific topic directly.

If you have further thoughts on this, leave some comments.

 

Other links:

Gizmodo - Elekson Gadget Bag Doubles as USB Keyboard

JKontheRun - Philips DVD player case- cool mini laptop bag

GottaBeMobile - The Mobile Bag InkShow

JKKMobile - Good bag for UMPC ?

 

del.icio.us tags: UMPC, Samsung Q1u, Manpurse, Tech Bags