Just a few days ago I managed to get my hands on a Samsung Q1 Tablet PC. Although I did not know it at the time, it was one of the original “Origami” Ultra- Mobile PCs. That didn’t stop me being blown away the first time I held it in my hands and booted up Windows XP. It is about the size of a large paperback book, with a 7 inch screen. I have played with all manner of devices, but booting up the familiar Windows XP on such a small device was really awesome.

Now I have booted up Linux on an Asus EeePC Netbook. That also has a 7 inch screen. Then there were a few of the VGA screen Pocket PCs – but they don’t generally “boot up”, unless they have been reset. Yet this booted into ultra-familiar Windows XP.

This particular Samsung Q1 has a 1 GHz Pentium M processor, 1 GB RAM and a 60GB hard drive. The graphics are from an integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900. In addition it has built-in Bluetooth, 802.11b and 802.11g wireless and several ports including 2 USB ports. This model does not have a hardware keyboard (later models have a qwerty keypad with half on one side of the screen and half on the other). Fortunately a USB keyboard was provided which worked well.

Although the Samsung Q1 is not something you can carry in your pocket – you would need a really big jacket pocket, it is as portable as a Netbook. Even though I’m blown over by it, there aren’t too many advantages over a pricier Netbook, and the Samsung Q1 is relatively pricey itself.