by Stephanie Bruzzese

CeBit: Round Two for Samsung Q1, Asus portable

news
Mar 16, 20071 min

CeBit’s kick-off today in Germany saw some vendors giving their mobile products a second go. Among the most notable was the Samsung Q1 Ultra, the second generation of the first ultramobile Origami device announced at CeBit last year. The first-generation Q1 had less than stellar sales, so Samsung’s hoping that the new system will fare much better–though its reported price (about $1,500 U.S.) may still be too high for many. To that end, a Samsung exec said that the company may consider producing a cheaper version of the Q1 Ultra that costs about half the price. System enhancements include an integrated TV tuner, GPS, and cameras; it’s currently slated to arrive in May.

Asus also dusted off its Vista-based W5Fe SideShow portable that it initially announced at CES (which I talked about back in January) and re-revealed it at CeBit. But a little time can’t heal this portable’s primary wound–namely, the tiny LCD in the back of the lid (or on top of the laptop with the lid closed, however you choose to think about it). It didn’t sound like a good idea then, and it still doesn’t now.