Samsung Q2 unveiled
Word of a Samsung Q1 successor may have first been spoken five weeks ago, but only today have pictures and specs (supposedly from some kind of PowerPoint presentation) surfaced.
Rumored to be made official at CeBIT 2007 in Germany next week, the appropriately (though unimaginatively) dubbed Q2 UMPC is said to be most similar to the Q1P for Vista, with a 60GB HDD, 1GB of RAM, and Vista Home Premium. Major (and I mean major) differences are the 1024 x 600 WSVGA resolution (same 7-inch screen), mouse stick, fingerprint scanner, docking station accessory, HSDPA and WiBro connectivity, front and rear digital cameras (1.3 and 0.3 megapixels), SD card slot, at least a 4-hour battery life, and split QWERTY keyboard that immediately brings to mind the Pepper Pad 3.
The PowerPoint slides indicate that the UMPC is less than an inch thick and 1.54 pounds (thinner and lighter than the Q1) but does not divulge its length or height. I’m guessing that it’s about the same height (5.5 inches), but the addition of those keypads may make it longer than 9 inches. For the sake of typing comfort, I hope it is. Unfortunately, unless the quick launch/user-defined buttons on the right is significantly bigger than it is on the Q1, I have a feeling it isn’t. The keypads on the Pepper Pad 3 are incredibly usable, but the device itself is 11.4-inches long.
Other unknowns are the CPU (identified as Intel), pricing, and availability. The inclusion of DMB automatically suggests a non-U.S. release, but removing the antenna is something Samsung already does with the current Q1 lineup, so it really doesn’t mean anything.
Based on all the coverage of the Q2 today, I think I’m alone in saying that I don’t really like the design. It’s too busy and I’m not entirely convinced that it’s even real. The photos could just be renderings, but if the device is going to be shown at CeBIT, I would think there’d be at least some prototypes. Where the images actually come from is unclear, but if they’re taken from a Samsung presentation, I’m surprised by their quality. They obviously didn’t go through QA (spacing and capitalization inconsistencies, some non-native English usage, the photo taken from the Microsoft website showing the woman holding what is obviously not the Q2, what looks like PhotoShop, etc.).
As usual, only time will tell . . .
[Engadget]
