New Samsung Q1 Ultra models ditch Vista for XP

When Samsung launched its Q1 Ultra series of second-generation UMPCs in May 2007, four of the five models comprising the new lineup were running Windows Vista Home Premium (Q1U-EL, Q1U-V, Q1U-CMV, Q1U-SSD).

The Q1U-XP ($1149) had been the only unit to stay true to its predecessor's roots by sticking with XP Tablet PC Edition . . . until today. Samsung announced today the supposedly immediate availability of two new XP Tablet models: the Q1U-ELXP ($999) and the Q1U-SSDXP ($1649). I say "supposedly" because neither model is listed on the official Q1 Ultra microsite or on the product pages of various retailers named by Samsung as carrying the new UMPCs.

In addition to tentative availability, it's unclear whether the new XP-based Q1 Ultras have the SD/MMC slot or built-in WWAN radio found on some of the previous models.

Here's what's known so far:

	Q1U-ELXP	Q1U-SSDXP
Price:	$999	$1,649
OS:	XP Tablet PC Edition	XP Tablet PC Edition
CPU:	600MHz Intel A100	800MHz Intel A110
Disk:	40GB HDD	32GB SSD
WWAN:	unknown	unknown
Cams:	300P front 1.3MP rear	300P front 1.3MP rear
Slot:	unknown	unknown
Security:	Fingerprint scanner	Fingerprint scanner

And here's a reminder of the five original models:

	Q1U-EL	Q1U-XP*	Q1U-V	Q1U-CMV	Q1U-SSD
Price:	$899	$1,150	$1,200	$1,500	$1,999
OS:	Vista Home Premium	XP Tablet	Vista Home Premium	Vista Home Premium	Vista Home Premium
CPU:	800MHz Intel A110	800MHz Intel A110	800MHz Intel A110	800MHz Intel A110	800MHz Intel A110
Disk:	40GB	60GB	60GB	80GB	32GB SSD
WWAN:	--	--	--	HSDPA	HSDPA
Cams:	--	300P front 1.3MP rear	300P front 1.3MP rear	300P front 1.3MP rear	300P front 1.3MP rear
Slot:	--	unknown	SD/MMC	SD/MMC	SD/MMC
Security:	--	Fingerprint scanner	--	Fingerprint scanner	Fingerprint scanner

*When first announced, the Q1U-XP had the SD/MMC slot but not the fingerprint scanner. Today, Samsung confirmed that the "new" Q1U-XP has the scanner but didn't mention anything about the memory card slot.

Whether this means that there are actually two versions of the Q1U-XP is unknown.

[Press release via Tablet PC Talk]

Comments

[Bruno]

Am I the only one who is getting increasingly confused (and annoyed) with the way Samsung (and others, to be fair) organize their product lines? Scrambled codes that make little sense, hard-to-compare models, same models released under different names/model numbers in different countries, model lines changing all the time with the consumers unable to know whether the changes are for real because one cannot find them on the official websites... release of products out of sync with the release of accessories... I mean, I love Q1U, but this is really annoying.

[MathProfJohnson]

Well, I happen to agree. I bought the $1199 and was irratated to find it didn't have the fingerprint scanner, but the model with XP that is $50 cheaper has it???? I would actually be all for including an installation disk with both XP tablet and Vista so the end-user can choose their poison. Fat chance of that happening :)

[zorg]

b&h is now (1 Sep) showing at least the Q1U-SSDXP with detailed specs including:

Flash Media Slot
1x Secure Digital

but no mention (that I can see) of WWAN (of course it took me a while to see the slot since I was searching for SD rather than Secure Digital)