Apple Newton vs Samsung Q1 UMPC

The Q1 is about the size of a large hardback book (228 by 140 by 25mm) and weighs less than an average bag of sugar (779g), so though it's too large to carry around in your pocket, you can comfortably transport it in a medium-sized handbag or manbag.

The Q1 may not be the sexiest device in the world, but only a cursory glance will show you it means business. The Samsung logo at the bottom of the unit, the SRS surround-sound logo and a huge range of ports hint at the device's massive potential.

I quite like the Q1's slightly retro look, which I think is more appealing than the Newton's harsh, industrial aesthetic. I especially like the glossy black bezel around the screen, which is far cooler than the dull, grey, cheap, nasty plasticky finish of the Newton -- which looks as if it belongs in a sweaty builder's back pocket. I've been mincing my words, so let me just say it outright: the Newton is flat-out ugly.

Either design has changed very little in the last ten years, or Apple was ahead of the curve here. The Q1 looks suspiciously like it was modelled on Apple's Newton MessagePad 2000. The appearance of the two devices is almost identical, although the Newton is three quarters the size of the Q1 at 119 by 210 by 28mm and weighs only 640g -- 139g less than the Q1.

The Newton is coated in a clean, grippy non-slip plastic, while the Q1 has a glossy black exterior that quickly picks up fingerprints. Samsung isn't committed to the pen-based interface to the extent Apple was in the late 90s. The Q1 is cluttered with buttons and dials, while the Newton is completely free of any input other than the elegant stylus, which is stowed at the top of the device.

The Newton packs a 162MHz StrongARM 110 processor, 8MB of Mask ROM and 5MB of RAM (1MB of DRAM, 4MB of Flash RAM). These are impressive credentials for a unit that is almost ten years old.