Mobile
Computerworld: Windows 7 ‘refreshes’ an old UMPC
Computerworld posted a rundown of low-end and older PCs tested with Windows 7. On the list is an old ultra-mobile PC, and by “old”, I mean a Samsung Q1 from way back in 2007. It’s the second newest machine on their list, right before a year-old Dell Inspiron Mini 9 netbook. Still, it’s not like we don’t know ultra-mobiles are slower by necessity. I’m just glad to see some variety on the list.
Testing was reported by Ivan Golubev, a Windows and SQL database administrator. Key quote for me?
Recommend Windows 7? “Yes. It’s nicer than Vista, faster than XP — almost a dream OS.”
This lines up with previous reports we’ve seen around the mobile computing scene, such as in the forum and a report last year from Ian Dixon, and the whole list confirms my belief that Windows 7 is simply more efficient all-around. Still, I’m pleased to see news on a UMPC make it outside the niche.
More details on his setup in the article. One more thing: he suggests installing from a flash drive, a piece of advice I picked up from the comments to Warner’s time-intensive Windows 7 installation story. I think I may be starting to hear my old Tablet PC cry out for Win7.
Scott McB
08/11/2009 at 1:52 pm
Well, if you want “old”, i’ve got Windows 7 RTM running on my Acer Travelmate C302 Tablet PC, which I bought in late 2004. and I have to say, everything is running great! There was a minor challenge with the video drivers, (as only Windows XP drivers are available) but all is working perfectly!
Tatej
08/11/2009 at 4:01 pm
I just loaded windows 7 on a original samsung q1. Ian is right. Windows 7 turn it into a very useful slate pc.
Scott
08/11/2009 at 5:52 pm
^^ Agreed. Windows 7 really woke up my fujitsu (5022). Except for being unable to rotate the screen, it was quicker than xp, handwriting recognition was fantastic, and it actually recognized my bluetooth and other hardware “right out of the box” — unlike vista (which I gave up on).
Now, if only intel would release a video driver for the chipset (855gme) that works in 7!