The Q1 UMPC and I went to San Diego a week ago. I started to blog about it earlier but then I remembered my rule about not mixing bourbon and blogging, so I held back… from blogging that is. (In fairness, I did a lot of blogging about the conference at DynamicAccounting.net but it was an accounting software conference not mobile devices.)
What Worked
Battery Life - The Q1 ultra mobile performed flawlessly on the coast to coast flight. Both coming and going I used the Samsung power bank and landed with a completely full internal Q1 battery each time. I watched movies both ways and got caught up on my Ze Frank and Wallstrip. Battery life with the Samsung power bank gets an A+.
OneNote and HSDPA - In the sessions I was able to take notes all day in One Note and I carried around a much smaller bag than most of the attendees. When WIFI wasn’t available, a Bluetooth connection to the Samsung Blackjack PDA worked just fine.
Office 2007 - I got a free copy of Office 2007 at the conference and I was feeling adventurous (or stupid) so I downloaded the 600+ mb clogging up the hotel’s wired connection and did the install It worked pretty well. Despite my success I don’t recommend doing this with your primary PC while out of town. I blame the bourbon.
Microphone - Audacity and the Samson Q1U microphone worked great for podcasting. I snagged an interview with Mary Jo Foley. It’s not often you get to turn the tables and interview the press! (I found out why she doesn’t have a TV!)
What Didn’t Work…
GPS - I rented a car at the end of the week and drove up to see our L.A. office. The Chevy HHR I was in didn’t have any place to stick the Q1 so that my CF GP adapter would work. It was really disappointing. Frank finally has his pics of the RAM Mounts Q1 cradle. I could have used this. Mine is now on order!
Kickstand/Display - The Sails pavilion at the San Diego convention center is bright and airy with lots of natural sunlight. In other words, it’s terrible for PC displays. I had to crank the brightness up to see anything and when working with a keyboard, you can’t angle the display like you can with a laptop. I was trying to do some remote SQL work and it was nearly impossible.
All in all I was pretty happy. The display issue was a bummer but the weight (or lack thereof) while walking around the convention center was fantastic! Oh, yeah, using the Slingbox with the Q1 in the hotel was pretty cool too!
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Nice write-up! Maybe there’s a market for a UMPC sunshade!
gps device mounts…
It is small and inexpensive, but offers up all sorts of options that will meet your navigation needs with amazingly great power. This unit is unique and convenient as it has a click to enter scroll wheel making it easy to select your destinations….