Samsung Q1 UMPC sold out at Best Buy

Despite its $1,100 price tag and nearly universal panning by critics, the initial stock of Samsung Q1 UMPCs sold out within 24 hours of appearing on Best Buy's web site this weekend. Of course, we don't know how many units Samsung allocated for the initial sales period, but we suspect it was a pretty small number. After all, there are few better ways to hype a product than to announce that it's sold out, and prospective buyers will have to wait a while before they can buy one. Yeah, we fell for it, too. But we're still not about to click on that "Add to Cart" button.

[gork @ May 9th 2006 10:35AM]

I SOOOOO want one of these. This little device is the PERFECT full up mobile podcast studio. Tuck a M-Audio box into your pack and a Heil PR40 and install CastBlaster and your set!

[0tim0 @ May 9th 2006 10:38AM]

I decided that this would be the perfect "photo store" for taking on trips with my digital camera. Right now I have a gmini. It's nice, but you can't preview RAW files. Theonly one that can is an Epson (and I think it can only preview the embedded JPEG) -- and that's $600.

If these came down to $800, I'd buy one.

[JT @ May 9th 2006 11:02AM]

This is SUUUUCH a (lame, underpowered, overpriced, misconceived) gadget...

[aws910 @ May 9th 2006 11:04AM]

What a joke. M$ is trying to pull an "apple" by overhyping a product. Hype aside, I don't see how this is much different from an OQO(or a sony-can't remember the model but dynamism sold it and it was similar in size to the oqo).

The comment by 0tim0 hints at why the UMPC push will create a glut in a "niche market". If there was such a need for things like this, everybody would already have an OQO. The fact is that there are already products that do everything this does, for a lot less.

If you want a portable MP3 player, get an iPod($200). Portable video player, get an archos($500). Portable storage for camera/WM, get a USB OTG HD($300). Mobile podcast player/viewer, get a PPC($500).

I got an HTC Universal ($850 - ebay/imeicheck) and it does audio/video/internet/podcast all in one. It's fast, small enough to fit in the pocket, and the 640x480 rez is awesome. I wonder if M$ knows that these are already on the market...

[Joe @ May 9th 2006 11:31AM]

#4 your a idiot, who makes this thing Microsoft?

no....
blame Samsung douche bag..

MS just makes the OS which makes it work.

your and even bigger fool, you spent $850 on a HTC, but then you wont spend another $250 dollars for something with twice the screen size and a hell of alot more features then a WM5... are you retarded? if you throw your money around with such wannabe status then why not piss away another $250 dollars of your parents money and get this.



i doubt you even own a HTC anything.
also this first gens UMPC all suck anyway...

[Jake @ May 9th 2006 11:37AM]

I guess aws910 missed the minor point that even though everyone is biotching about the UMPCs being overpriced, they are roughly HALF the price of an OQO. Small point, I know.

He/she probably also doesn't get that when OQO came up with the concept (2-3 years ago) of a palm sized PC running full blown XP it was such a unique concept that they were able to get an entire company funded on the business model. Oops to the VCs that funded that one -- now anybody can build one of these things.

[freepimpc @ May 9th 2006 11:37AM]

I feel sorry for these early adopters. I am gonna wait for the Q2.

[Spoonman @ May 9th 2006 11:38AM]

Gee, what a surprise. The "pundits" blast the things for months, but the smart people who see the value in it buy the crap out of them. Silly, silly pundits. Sillier, sillier people who listen to them.

#4: how do you figure? An OQO (which has a smaller screen and less powerful specs) is more than twice the price of even the Q1, which is regarded as the most expensive of the Origami-based systems. But, of course, you're missing the whole point of these devices. Why would you spend the more on a plethora of devices to get some of the same functionality? And, the HTC doesn't run XP, so you don't get the same functionality as you would with one of these.

Wow, it's really not that difficult, is it? I don't want a limited-capability PDA or a bunch of single-function devices to carry around. I want a full-featured PC. I want it to be a TabletPC, and while I don't want it to be as big or heavy as a laptop, I don't mind that it's bigger than a PDA. These devices fit EXACTLY the needs that I want to fill. As soon as they become much more widely available, and there's a few more models to choose from, I'm getting one. If you want to carry around an "army" of devices, go right ahead. If you want to lug around a full-sized laptop, go right ahead. For day-to-day use, though, these are perfect. But, just because YOU can't see the potential in them, that doesn't make it "useless" or "overpriced" or a "niche product for techies". Personally, I don't know why anyone would purchase a regular laptop when they could have a Tablet for about the same or just a little more. I guess that means laptops are heavy, useless, overpriced and stupid, huh? But, for some reason, people keep buying them. Sheep.

[Mile @ May 9th 2006 11:44AM]

I agree with Spoonman that the *potential* is there and I will be very excited when these devices are there, but until then I will stay away and wait.

[aws910 @ May 9th 2006 12:00PM]

Very funny.

Maybe some of you have enough "room in their pockets" for one of these, but I don't want to wear MC Hammer pants.

Ok, so I pay $250 extra for a bunch of "features" I don't use(I'll need photoshop during my morning commute because?). Supposing I did, I would also have to buy a geek-purse, AND another cellphone because last time I checked, UMPCs don't have cellphones integrated(would you want to hold one to your ear anyway?). Wasn't the whole point of this to NOT carry an army of devices?

btw, the OQO looks awesome. I would have gotten one(even at twice the price) but it wasn't a phone.

Joe, wasn't the Origami Microsoft's idea in the first place? I was being sarcastic. Ever heard of that? and yes, I do have an HTC. No, I don't live with my parents - I own two houses and a Dodge Viper. Any other compliments?

[Joe @ May 9th 2006 12:38PM]

no origami was a join effort like blue ray was..
MS wrote the software,
Intel bulit the chipset
and Samsung Made the thing..

I would use photoshop and dreamweaver on this thing everyday as i use a computer to make a living instead of using it to look at porn in my corner office.

umm do you even know what a CDMA/EVDO card is? and most of the gen 2 will have WiMAX/GRPS/EDGE/EVDO in some configuration out of the box.

i know you were being sarcastic...
but
how much after tax and fees was your dodge viper, and whats your mortagage for those two houses smart mouth..

[blackstone @ May 9th 2006 12:41PM]

asw910...

"If you want a portable MP3 player, get an iPod($200). Portable video player, get an archos($500). Portable storage for camera/WM, get a USB OTG HD($300). Mobile podcast player/viewer, get a PPC($500)."

lets see 200 + 500 + 300 + 500 = 1500...


makes the Q1 seem like a steal plus you get it all in one device with many additional capabilities and it runs all your favorite windows programs. I'm sorry your comments are just stupid...

[The Man @ May 9th 2006 1:38PM]

Wow, all 5 were sold out. LOL. My PPC-6700 is more portable than that!

[kman @ May 9th 2006 1:40PM]

Is it just me... or do some of these comments seem totally fake and sponsored *cough* microsoft/samsung *cough* Fire up the comment/blog spin machines!

This thing looks ugly.

[gb @ May 9th 2006 2:00PM]

kman,

agreed, $omeone$ payed a marketing firm to spam sites such as joystiq. they probably payed a room full of college kids.

easy money. i'd do it.

[gb @ May 9th 2006 2:02PM]

and engadget :P

[willyjsimmons @ May 9th 2006 2:09PM]

Let's see......

'I don't like it, therefore, no one else on the planet should like it either. Furthermore, all futher development of the platform should cease RIGHT NOW!'

Do I have that right?

Carry on.

[aws910 @ May 9th 2006 3:00PM]

My, the M$ fanboys are in full force today. I thought only linux zealots were this crass.

Why didn't they put the EVDO/UMTS/HSDPA/EDGE/GPRS/etc into it from the start?

Good luck running Photoshop/dreamweaver on it though - as I recall, a Celeron 900 isn't exactly a speed-demon. PcMag themselves said that it's slow.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1955884,00.asp

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1935960,00.asp

But what about the size? Small is cool, but it's not small enough to fit in a pocket. Hence, you'll have to carry it in a briefcase/backpack/etc anyway, why not just get a subnotebook so you actually have a working keyboard and usable pointing device? And while I'm talking about bulk, consider this: Since there's no built-in pointing device, you have to use one hand to hold the unit(1.7lbs), and the other to hold the stylus. I couldn't imagine you'd be able to get much precision after a couple minutes of holding it this way. What's the alternative... lay it down on your lap, hunch over it, steady it with one hand, and use the stylus with the other hand? You gotta consider these things when you're about to take the time to adapt to one of these.

Anyway, the market will ultimately decide who is right. I believe that nobody will buy this. A valiant attempt, though. M$ is trying to diversify in case linux/apple make inroads to the desktop.

Anyway, UMPC will suffer the same fate that the "portable media center" did. NOBODY bought those.

[Virtuous @ May 9th 2006 3:17PM]

Only an idiot would pay $850 for a HTC Universal. PDAs can't compare to any device running full-blown Windows or even Linux. Believe it or not Docs to Go and Textmaker will crash when opening some Word documents that MS Word has no trouble opening.

[Micah @ May 9th 2006 3:37PM]

Maybe they'll shop up on woot in a couple of months.

[Jake @ May 9th 2006 3:40PM]

Whoa! Aws910 ... you have a Dodge Viper? I take back everything I said. Dude, you must be a chick magnet with that thing. Can you do burn outs and everything?

[oshean @ May 9th 2006 3:48PM]

Screw off trolls and you.... umpcChristmas guy.
I have a need for WinXP in this form factor but I'm not buying one till the next gens come out and not until the price drops.

[Jake @ May 9th 2006 3:51PM]

#19, yes. You have it correct. Smaller, cheaper, full powered PCs is a ridiculous and stupid idea that should be abandoned immediately (unless it is made by OQO).

In addition, they look stupid and are "made" by Microsoft.

As everyone knows, Microsoft has no freaking clue what they are doing and has had ZERO success in the marketplace.

[willyjsimmons @ May 9th 2006 4:20PM]

Whoa!!!

My celeron based workstation isn't supposed to run photoshop or dreamweaver!!!!!!!!!

Better uninstall then!!!!

Or maybe I just have 'good luck'?

talkingoutyassitis.

[John @ May 9th 2006 4:48PM]

Who ever said that a UMPC was supposed to fit in your pocket?

[Joe @ May 9th 2006 5:32PM]

yea notice how he dodged the question about the viper, the kids a herb...

[DC @ May 9th 2006 5:48PM]

"I believe that nobody will buy this," aws910 wrote in the comments section for "Samsung Q1 UMPC sold out at Best Buy."

Irony really is dead.

[Z @ May 10th 2006 5:31AM]

DC, here's a quote from the article above that you clearly failed to read:

"...we don't know how many units Samsung allocated for the initial sales period, but we suspect it was a pretty small number. After all, there are few better ways to hype a product than to announce that it's sold out..."

That means that it was most likely a PR stunt to make the device seem more popular than it is in order to try to generate interest in an item that no one really cares about. This happens often in business.

Few people will buy these. A laptop will serve as a better solution for most people, than a UMPC. These make no sense except for very specific vertical markets like educational, medicine, and very specific business venues. These won't catch on with the mainstream, and most businesses won't invest in these - they'll purchase smaller laptops instead.

The UMPC market is a solution looking for a problem.

----------------------------

And why are people comparing an HTC Universal to a UMPC? These are two completely different devices for two entirely different purposes.

WM devices like the Universal are very expensive because of all the advanced technology they're cramming into an extremely portable unit. And no, it isn't stupid to buy one - they cost what they cost and serve a specific purpose for many, which leads me to my next point...

UMPC's can't and won't replace WM devices. UMPC's are larger, heavier, don't function as mobile phones, don't serve the same purposes, and can't be carried around in a pocket. GET IT???

So with this, let's end the stupid comparisons between WM and UMPC.

Moving on...

[jeff m. @ May 10th 2006 11:04AM]

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Not only are they sold out at Best Buy, they are sold out at tabletkiosk...

I guess these people purchasing don't see UMPC as "a solution looking for a problem" as Z does.

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[Z @ May 11th 2006 2:03AM]

This is all hype right now. But as I've said, only very specific vertical markets will potentially invest in these. The few in the mainstream who have actually purchased one are also in the extreme minority and most likely won't amount to a number worthy of news when the hype dies and the smoke clears. Not to mention, we don't know if sales so far make up vertical market sales, or mainstream (individual consumer) sales.

Does anyone know how many Best Buy had in stock to begin with? What if they only had 1000? They sell these, then claim they're sold out! WOW! So a few of them have sold. I say, big deal. Even if many more of them have sold, I don't see how this amounts to a huge blockbuster hit. If they do in fact end up being a real hit in the mainstream, so be it. I personally don't desire this product to fail, I just don't think it's going to succeed all that much. But let's wait until a few hundred-thousand of these things have shipped, and then we can talk about its success. For crying out loud, even thousands of copies of Microsoft BOB were sold, and that was a complete failure.

The specs are lackluster at best, and I think the UMPC is trying to carve out a much bigger space for itself than what's there.

[jackhammerYO @ Mar 27th 2007 3:53PM]

This UMPC looks attractive. Initially, I wanted a laptop and a pocket PC. This device seems to be a nice combination of the 2. Combined with a cell phone for internet access. This thing looks mighty attractive.