UMPC Debuts to Poor Reviews

The Samsung Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) is out to poor reviews, like this one, that state: "Unfortunately, the Samsung Q1 is so deeply flawed in key respects that it amounts to little more than a toy for techies. For everyone else, it's impractical and frustrating. "

This techie really wants this form factor to succeed. So much so that I'm likely to blow my year's "toy" budget on one.

Waiver: I am a realistic optimist. When asked if the glass of water is half-empty or half-full? I reply "It is 100% full. Half with water, and half with air."

I just don't understand the calculus of those involved in this release. This article for example states that "Microsoft's designers set a target retail price of $500", yet the unit on sale now is more than double that. I'm guessing that those involved also figured out that battery life for this mini-tablet PC form factor is critical, yet the first one shipped has poor (~2 hour) battery life. I imagine someone in the chain calculated that it was more important to get to market than to get it right.

I think they have miscalculated. They are not the first ones to overvalue "getting something out there fast", I just hope they are the beginning of the last wave of that kind of thinking. What will it take? The Mossberg review ends "My advice is to skip the Q1, and hope that the next generation of the UMPC will be better."

What do you think? Leave comments.