Samsung Q1 USB cable has integrated synching software!
There's so many cool things to share about the Q1, but this one is the best up to this point. Remember my quizzical look during the unboxing, when I saw the included chunky USB cable? Turns out that this bad boy is more than your everyday, run of the mill USB 2.0 cable. There must be some flash memory in the "bubble" area because there's software integrated in the cable to set up a basic peer-to-peer connection between the Q1 and any host PC!
The cable could greatly assist with installing software if you don't have or splurge for a USB optical drive. I happen to have a USB drive with my Toshiba M205 Tablet PC, so I've already installed software from CDs. Of course, you could always install software over a network too, but this USB synch cable rocks!
When you plug it in to the Q1 and then attach the other end to a host PC's USB port, both machines fire up software called "SuperLink". SuperLink gives you a basic two-pane view between the two machines so that you can move files or folders between the two computers via a speedy USB 2.0 connection. You can't automatically synch files with this tool, just manually move them. Still, I just moved the Office 2007 beta install from my desktop to the Samsung Q1 UMPC using this method. The file is about 440 MB in size and only took 32.7 seconds to transfer! This is a great included accessory and I don't believe any other UMPC currently includes this (but I know someone will chime in if I'm wrong!)
Here's a digital photo from the Q1 screen (800x480) showing the software:
So far, I'm very impressed with this package from Samsung...the USB data sync cable is a fantastic touch! Now I'm off to finish that Office install and then hit up OneNote 2007!
-kct
Wow, thanks for the tip! I didn't see that anywhere in the documentation, so I just left it in the packaging. I may have to break it out after all.
-- Steve (on his Q1)
Posted by: Anton P. Nym | May 25, 2006 at 05:33 PM
Hi Kevin: please settle something for all of us: does the Q1 have (or not) a mouse/track stick with left/right mouse click buttons (a la Sony U)? It appears there is a directional pad on the right and on the left you have a button that resembles a track stick. Is this correct?
Thanks.
Posted by: Fernando | May 25, 2006 at 05:54 PM
I am glad to see you a bit ahead of me on this one Kevin. I can use your lessons learned. Did you, or Steve, have any issues with the stylus not being calibrated to well during your intial setup? I had some issues and just wanted to see if anyone else experienced any.
Very nice idea on the USB cable. Thanks for the info.
Rich (Illuminator)
Posted by: Illuminator | May 25, 2006 at 05:59 PM
That is excellent! Hmmm, close to remarkable. Yo Microsoft and Samsung. Ummm, a little advice, THAT SHOULD BE TALKED ABOUT!!!! As a matter of fact, just give Kevin some money and everytime he comes up with these nuggets of information and write about it, boom the proper marketing message is created and the he gets paid for doing the work that MS and Samsung should be doing. Hmmm, how would that go "Use this cable to make it easy to transfer data from you desktop/laptop to your UMPC in one very clean step". It kills me. All of those millions of dollars being paid for marketing types and they create unexciting garbage marketing messages. Great job Kevin. Keep telling us more, those of us who understand the platform will spread the word and show corporate America what "Viral Marketing" is all about. Now, if you can only help those at Tablet Kiosk correct their power debacle so they can stop their negative marketing message. Yikes!!! These companies are clueless.
Posted by: ItsShowtime | May 25, 2006 at 06:41 PM
Ok, now THAT has to be the best comment I've read in some time! Kevin getting paid to help MS and Sammy market these things? Bring it on baby!! :) Seriously, you raise a good point re: the marketing aspect. No offense to any of the marketing resources, but I have to question: do you really understand the product you're marketing? I don't mean the 50% of info that everyone knows about the product, I mean the 50% that folks don't know...and the 20% part that will give folks 80% of the key functionality they need...hmmm......
Posted by: Kevin C. Tofel | May 25, 2006 at 06:58 PM
Thanks Kevin! I didn't even see that UBS cable. Must still be in the box.
To answer Anton P. Nym question about the mouse:
Yes and No. It does not have a mouse/track stick, and mouse buttons, but if you hold in the menu button(which pops up the Q1 menu), and move the D-Pad, you can move the mouse with the D-pad. Also while your still holding the menu button, if you press the resolution scalier button, it will act as a left click.
So you can move the mouse with the D-Pad, but it's not as smooth as a mouse/track stick.
Posted by: Michael Venini | May 25, 2006 at 07:31 PM
Can you use that SuperLink to install CDROM software, i.e. use your desktop CD/DVD to do the installations on the Q1?
Posted by: Richard L | May 25, 2006 at 09:06 PM
Richard L, I don't know the answer to your question but if you put the Q1 on your network with the desktop then you can just map the CD/DVD drive to the Q1 and use it as if it was local. I regularly use this method to install s/w on my Sony U. I haven't hooked up an optical drive to the Sony in a year.
Posted by: jk | May 25, 2006 at 09:19 PM
I purchased a USB to USB product a few years back that included the SuperLink software to do exactly what you're doing above.
The version I got, however, also allows me to establish a network connection to another computer. I haven't tried this second feature in a long time, so I don't remember exactly how it works, but I do use the SuperLink software and cable occasionally on my job (computer service technician).
Posted by: Jerad from Indiana | May 26, 2006 at 06:26 AM
jk said:
"If you put the Q1 on your network with the desktop then you can just map the CD/DVD drive to the Q1 and use it as if it was local."
This works for almost all CDs, but you might find a few that don't allow you to do this.Microsoft MapPoint 2002 wouldn't let me do this on my Tablet PC without downloading a network installation utility. But it does work for most apps. I just wanted to throw that out there.
Posted by: Jerad from Indiana | May 26, 2006 at 06:34 AM
Nice review...
I didn't get the USB Synching cable with mine. I got mine from the initial 'sold out' batch from Best Buy. I wonder if it is something they added? I used an external hard drive to transfer files between PC's.
Posted by: Pete | May 26, 2006 at 08:55 AM
I did not find the cable in mine either - also from the initial Best Buy shipment.
Outside of realizing I have been left out of a cool use, I am extremely happy with the device. I even took it alone - no other laptop for my most recent week long trip. I did presentations (must use a mouse for sanity's sake), checked/responded to email and completed some user documentation. No issues at all.
Posted by: James K | May 27, 2006 at 08:11 AM
Interesting that some folks are not getting the USB Synch Cable. This was within the Samsung box, so I don't think it's a Best Buy issue; perhaps Sammy didn't get them into the first run? Here's a question for those of you that DIDN'T get one: is the cable shown and mentioned in your Samsung Q1 "Getting Started Guide"? If so, then I'd say you've got a case for calling Samsung customer service.
Posted by: Kevin C. Tofel | May 27, 2006 at 08:19 AM
For presentations on a BT equipped UMPC have a look at Salling Clicker that I wrote about recently that lets you use your phone as a remote for Powerpoint and other programs.
http://www.salling.com/Clicker/windows/
Posted by: jk | May 27, 2006 at 08:24 AM
Rich, I missed your question earlier. (Sorry!)
No, I noted no problem with the digitizer calibration out-of-the-box; it was simple to get logged in to my Administrator account with the on-screen touch keyboard... though that does need the stylus, at least if you're as fat-fingered and shakey as me.
The only time I had a problem with the digitizer calibration was after I had to reboot for a stalled-out screen rotation, only to find that the digitizer was still calibrated for the dudded 180 degree rotation (don't ask) though the boot screen was at zero degree rotation. I thought I'd "bricked" my Q1 for a while, because I found it impossible to type upside-down and backwards on the virtual keyboard to log back in. However, a quick trip to the mall (and $30 or so) netted me a silicone USB keyboard and I was able to type in my password with that.
About the "joystick", it's not an analog stick. It's a cursor control, more of an 8-way D-pad than a joystick. No enter function on it, though there's a dedicated "enter" button on the right bezel below the 4-way function keypad. I wish there were a couple more buttons on there... I've loaded a PC port of Marathon (a Mac FPS from 1994-6) and I'm about six buttons short of being able to run it without a keyboard. *sigh*
Still haven't tried the USB cable yet, as I made my DVD drive and a couple of folders on my desktop (ImMobile PC (impsey) anyone?) network resources and just swapped files from them over my WLAN. Not quite as fast, but far more convenient. (Until the router loses sync or something stupid.)
-- Steve
Posted by: Anton P. Nym | May 27, 2006 at 01:45 PM
It just occurred to me... that 8-way stick could've helped me get through that virtual keyboard as it can move the mouse pointer and I've mapped "left click" and "right click" to the user keys. *sigh* Oh well, I'm using the silicone keyboard for other things anyway.
-- Steve
Posted by: Anton P. Nym | May 27, 2006 at 03:19 PM
Steve, can you point me to a link for that PC port of Marathon?
Posted by: jk | May 27, 2006 at 07:21 PM
jk, the address is http://trilogyrelease.bungie.org
Make sure to read through all the different downloads; some of them will only work on a Mac. (Most likely, you'll be looking for the ones that work through the open source Aleph One engine... that should work on just about any Windows or Mac out there.)
-- Steve
Posted by: Anton P. Nym | May 27, 2006 at 07:56 PM
Thanks Steve! I've got Marathon 2 and Infinity running on the Tablet and will put them on the Sony U71 to see if I can run them w/o keyboard.
Posted by: jk | May 28, 2006 at 12:07 AM
Just unpacked my Q1. Thanks a million for the USB Data Cable ID parade.
I could have been scratching my head bald.
Posted by: Pazzer1 | February 10, 2007 at 12:26 PM
I didn't have high expectations for that little cable, but let me just say for the record... Wow! Worked perfectly from my Vista workstation to my she XP UMPC. Still incredibly useful after upgrading to Vista on my Q1P. It's actually a little funny, as I looked through my box for installation discs, I started thinking about ways to improve the cable by making it look like a USB drive and making the software available on the cable itself... It wasn't until I had almost given up and assumed that the installation disc was lost that I realized that was precisely what they did.
Posted by: Ryan Beesley | November 25, 2007 at 12:28 AM