At a media briefing yesterday in San Franncisco, Samsung announced that its Q1 ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC) will be available via Best Buy’s e-tail “outlet” on May 7, 2006, with a retail price of $1,100. Selected in-store availability is scheduled for “later this summer,” which in product-release speak could mean anywhere from June to late September. Best Buy will also be carrying add-on accessories like a USB keyboard, organizer, batteries, and an external optical disk drive.
The Q1 represents a collaboration between Microsoft, Intel, and Samsung, and is one of the first UMPCs to come to market. UMPCs are being heralded by some as the next big thing in personal computing, combining portability with strong processing capabilities, mainstream applications, and strong mobile connectivity. The UMPC form factor is typically a tablet design with a touch screen interface; naturally, UMPC products backed by Microsoft are based on Windows XP Tablet Edition and, eventually, Windows Vista.
The Q1 offers a 7-inch screen, a 900 Mhz Celeron M ULV processor, 40 GB of storage, 512 MB of RAM, Bluetooth and 802.11b/g wireless networking capabilities, and supports a variety of multimedia including photos, movies, music, and navigation without booting directly into Windows. The unit weighs just 1.7 pounds (without an optical drive).
