In the technology industry, there are few people that have as big a voice as Wall Street Journal columnist Walt Mossberg. Many companies compete for a mention in his WSJ column and their marketers dream of a positive review from him. It doesn't always happen that way though. Walt is known for telling it like he sees it--whether it's good news or bad.
This time around it looks like the folks at Samsung are going to be quite happy. Why? Because in his latest WSJ column Walt takes Samsung's newest UMPC, the Q1 Ultra for a spin, and gives it a reasonably favorable review.
What are the top things he likes about the new Q1 Ultra:
* Lower price. A $799 version is now available.
* A built-in (split) keyboard improves the ability to enter short messages, URLs, and the like.
* Higher resolution display
Despite his overall favorable impression, he still doesn't consider the Samsung Q1 Ultra as a mainstream device although he does believe that students and business travellers that are willing to accept some limitations should consider it as a small, full-windows device.
What are some of the things he lists that still need improvement? Improved boot times. Longer battery life. And further decreases in prices.
Each of these points seem reasonable. Actually they are good goals for all mobile devices on the market today. Whether it's a traditional laptop, a Tablet PC, and a UMPC, as users we'd all benefit from faster boot times, longer battery life, and lower prices.
It is interesting that according to the article, that Samsung is suggesting that Windows XP be a user's choice if they are looking for the best boot times and battery life. It makes sense considering the experiences people are having with Vista today, but I'd really like to see Microsoft address this issue in the next version of Vista. Mobility is a mainstream feature right now and probably even more so in the future. With each iteration of Windows there need to be improvements in the mobile experience--not steps backwards.



Incremental Blogger