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OQO Ultra-Portable Impresses At CES
carpoolio writes "One of the most-talked about gadgets at CES last week was the OQO ultra personal computer (uPC). TechTV gave it a Best Mobile Device award, and deservedly so. It's a fully functional PC that fits in your pocket. Running on a 1 GHz Transmeta Crusoe processor, the uPC packs a 20 GB hard drive, 256 MB of RAM, and has a color screen that slides up to reveal the keyboard. The price? Sub-$2,000. Photos available on OQO's Web site. Similar devices have come and gone in recent years, but this one really looks nice." OQO seems to be slowly migrating from vaporware to a release date - a CNET News article notes that "OQO said Thursday that it will begin selling the device in the second half of 2004."
We must have skipped vPC (very personal computer) and hPC (hyper personal computer). I'd still be interested in a sPC (semi-personal computer). Just don't show me the aPC (anti-personal computer).
A programmer is a machine for converting coffee into code.
Can I run my distrubted processing responsibilities for the Walled City on it, and will it tell me when Kombinat hackers are investigating about my wherabouts?
...And only two or three replies. This has got to be some kind of record.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have backups to corrupt.
Oh, yes, it is. Nevermind.
Is that an RS-232 port I see on the side? If it is, why? Is there something wrong with just providing a few USB ports?
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Isn't that called Windows XP?
Test your net with Netalyzr
Oh yeah. I'd definitely hit it.
Damon,
http://actionPlant.com
OQO 1.0
The only real change I noticed from the original spec was a 20Gb HD, vs 10Gb in the first.
--H
It shifted its target from lightweight users to enterprise users. It's friggin more expensive than cheapo PDA but has not enough juice in it.
..The keyboard looks awkward. With the device set up the way it is, there doesn't seem to be muc provision for placing it on a desk to enter data quickly (well, more quick than dual thumb tapping)
I remember hearing about OQO a long time ago; I was even invited to an early meeting where the prototype was shown. (It looked just like the "machine" they keep trotting out for press photos.)
If they introduced this three years ago, it might have sold. Now, there's the Cappuccino PC, which has been through several revisions since its introduction. Likewise, I can build a Mini-ITX PC for a fraction of the price of this new OQO. Furthermore, I can run any OS I want; this OQO can only run Windows XP. Yuck.
I'm afraid that I can't endorse the OQO. Sorry, guys. Next time don't produce so much vapour.
Sincerely,
Seth Finklestein
Miniature Computer Expert
I'm not Seth Finkelstein. I still speak the truth.
The machines run Microsoft's Windows XP operating system and all the software that goes with it
I know this is pretty much a /. cliche, but I think that it is actually warranted in this case - can you run Linux on it?
I can think of several functional uses that a PC of this size could fulfil running Linux.
ThisIsAnExampleAccountGL@yahoo.com
I didn't get to see all the photos before it got slashdotted, but I don't think it accepts that kind of input...
Jurisprudence Fetishist Gets Off On A Technicality --theonion.com
Apparently. The site's already /.'ed. Anyone get a mirror?
JA
http://www.johnalex.org/
A while ago (I have no idea) there was some story about some ex-Microsoft founder (don't know which) who was going to make a device just like this.
I couldn't get to the site to see who runs the company.
Is this that device?
The ratio of people to cake is too big
some kind of a Beowulf cluster of those things to run their website stead a single one :-)
The darn thing runs windows!. Oh.. Nm. All the other specs sound like my ibook. Needs more ram though.
I don't think this'll be fun to type on, though I'd say it would be much better than the PDA's of today. Looks well constructed from the pictures.
I'll wait for the solid state CF 2.0 GB internal drive. I've had it with HD's in portable devices. I love my iPod, but I've had so many HD's fail on me that I'm sick of replacing them.
-=fshalor
their web site is running on one of these things... probably in someone's pocket (ow!).
Let's see, 4.9 inches wide, 3.4 high, 0.9 deep, weighing 13 ounces... how does this compare in size with the Newton?
I don't know about putting it in your pocket... maybe if you're wearing a suit or jacket you could load up an outer pocket with one.
CES. What is it all about... is it good, or is it whack?
--
Will work for bandwidth.
...Beowolf cluster of these could fit in a pair of painter's pants or bib overalls.
Here is another site which shows the uPC -- with pics.
:)
Soon to be Slashdotted too, I'm sure.
Right is wrong when left is right.
that's just user-hostile.
ed
Due to the ultra small size, they probably werent able to include enough cooling to stop spontaneous combustion from high-res pictures loading on thousands of /. user's computers.
"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." - Tennyson
It's vaporware. Oqo has announced previous versions of this product several times, none have ever made it to market. I'd love to have one of them, and many people have been waiting for it, but at this point I'm not holding my breath. I'll believe it when I see it.
/. in 2002 for best vaporware:/ 12/22/022821 7&mode=thread&tid=126
It made
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02
Slashdot should not be promoting hype from any vendor that has a history like OQO until it's actually released.
Just imagine a beowulf cluster of these. /. already? Is their web site running on one of these boxes?
OR
In Soviet Russia we make computer better by largeness.
OR
SCO filed paperwork to stop production because they own the rights.
OR
Apple Powerbook engineers? It will be too expensive and too slow.
OR
Actually this didn't win best of show from techtv. The Denon/Mediabolic networked PVR won that award, this won in its category (mobile computing) http://www.techtv.com/news/ces2004/story/0,24195,3 591383,00.html
------
Got Wang?
http://www.battlewang.com
It does look sleek and sexy, but not the most practical. It fills in where a power user needs a PDA, and it seems to have the function built in to become a desktop. But the problem is that it's filling a pretty small niche of people who want more than a PDA but less than a laptop. It's not practical to use this as you primary work travel PC as the keyboard is a thumb-board and isn't good for quick entry. It is an ultimate PDA... but you've got to be a pretty high-roller to spend two grand on your glorified PDA.
Sadly it's probably a niche market item. I hope they find a way to make those innovations really work with a practical product, but I fear they'll be innovating in the field but not financially leading it. I'd love to try one out but don't see it as a practical addition to my tech tool belt.
CharlesP
wordtrip.com
Does it play ogg? Shouldn't something called oqo play ogg? Seems natural to me.
What a waste of time! 5 posts and slashdotted already....
CNet has a picture of the device:g =top
http://www.cnet.com/4520-7912_1-5116369-1.html?ta
Here are some simple steps to destroy your webserver:
...
1. Decide on an electronics device (computer, camera, etc)
2. Make device chosen in step 1 *really* small, but just as powerful as full sized device.
3. Put info about device on webserver you wish to destroy.
4. Post link to info on Slashdot.
5.
6. Profit! No! Slashdot!
~ "When I'm of that age I'm just going to live up a tree."
Sweet! I can run notepad! Paint! IE! Windows Media Player! What a steal~! I'm going to go out and buy one right now!! </sarcasm>
Maybe they meant "software that runs on Windows XP" but honestly, there isn't a whole lot that comes with Windows XP.
I used this at CES and all I can say is wow! The keyboard was suprisingly very easy to use with just thumbs. If they can bring the price down a little this will sell very well. M$ is pushing it hard (it was at their booth). I can think of a thousand uses. The dock and cord options make this a great portable.
the specification seems similar to a nano-itx board, although the dimensions (145 x 86 x 23 mm) seem a tad too small. instead of modding a mini-server into a cdrom drive, you could mod one of these boards into a floppy drive. add a microdrive and the ports you'd need and you'd be well on your way.
Or does a good slashdotting just get you off...
No need for an iPod when you can carry around a whole computer.
Just image a large warehouse filled with racks upon racks of these things running as an OpenMosix cluster... Super (space efficient) computing at its best. ;)
No, I'm New Here
TM Efficeon a little bit too late to be in this one? Bye!
SeqBox
In case you forget aboout google images, here you can see pictures of OQO ;)
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#\ @ ? Colonize Mars
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Neat idea, but the company really sucks at delivering. At least update your webpage. They are only 3 months away from not updating it in 2 years. That's just pathetic. They need to invest in some more resources and a PR team.
Please, please tell me all..
Add a 1GB CF card and you have all that plus a few hundred dollars to buy a bag of chips.
now you've slashdotted archive.org!!
Really, what are the uses of these kinds of tiny devices? Heck, for PDAs as well. They're nice toys but they lack power, easy of use and most importantly, a good use. I've only encountered a FEW situations that made me think "Yes, a PDA would be a good tool for this job." and that mostly involves truck drivers and route planners. For the rest I can't seem to find a use for these things. And I'm supposed to seel em for crying out loud.
As I see it, TINY computers ( PDAs and these toys alike ) are like solutions waiting for a problem.
Hate me!
I need a picture with a quarter in it so I can tell how small this thing is.
One of these actually made it to Real Life? And Doom3 is in pre-order? My God, can DukeNuk'm Forever be far behind?
How come Slashdot never gets Slashdotted?
Via's Eden-N platform - 12x12 cm mainboard - 15x15mm CPU - How's that for small! :)
Any technology distinguishable from magic, is insufficiently advanced.
i think the lameness filter should now catch this "1. 2. 3.profit!!" bidness
and to stay on topic, i would really like one of these, but sub $2k isnt sub-enough for me. might even be worth it, but thats hefty for a college student. oh well, pdas get bigger/better, and laptops get better/cheaper. someday ill have the $ to get some neat tech toys...
use your turn signal! you people act like it's divulging information to the enemy
what the hell are you doing to your iPod that the hard drives fail? throwing it at the wall as it loads the music into the buffer?
I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
Ok, enough being silly. :) Personally, I've been waiting on any kind of info for these as both a probable customer and reseller. It's a hell of a thing to want to tell your customers what's on the horizon only to have to bite your lip at every friggin turn due to said product being vapourware. I'm hoping against hope that they actually do get this out the door the second half of 2004 because I will buy one for myself (business expense, of course) and hopefully start selling them over here to the gadget lovers or the people that truly need something reasonably small that is a full blown PC. Now, if they can confirm that (insert distro here) runs on this thing with no problems, you have one hell of a nice little network analyzer and right about the same price as what Fluke offers (from memory), and it can be used for many other things (as opposed to what Fluke offers). Ruggedize the thing (there are people over here in NZ that specialize in that) and it would be a great tool on construction sites for conveying new building plans, emails, etc. Ok, enough rambling. I just want to see a beow... :)
sigs are like a box of chocolates, they all suck remove the underscores to email me
it's not only about OQO, but about crusoe too - photos of presentation. (warning, it is translated from russian using worldLingo)
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#\ @ ? Colonize Mars
#
The specs are still all right, I guess..for the size... but when they announced it almost two years ago it had specs I'd die for, right now it's just a too low spec too small expensive laptop, or a too high spec, too short battery life, too heavy pda.
If it had the size of an average contemporary PDA with these specs it'd be ultra, or with the performance of a P4 2.5GHz with a 120 GB HD and 1024 MB of RAM (a contemporary PC) then it'd be ultra too. Right now it's just a bit smaller, a bit lower performance, a bit more expensive... just a different compromise. Windows XP and Office XP on this hardware? Nothing ultra about that.
They're still speaking in terms of: "it will be available in QX of 200Y" though, so maybe they're just waiting for the year ipaq's have these specs and HP is willing to produce them OEM style so they can slap their by then hype-laden brand-name on...
Sorry to be OT, but this is too amusing to not comment on. Here at /. people very anti M$, but then on the home page there's an ad for visual studio. Is that ironic or what!?!?
we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively - bill hicks
Was also unveiled. It is based around an iPod-like module which uses the same Toshiba harddrive as the iPod and a Transmeta chip.
Everyone and their dog seems to think that Transmeta will never make it in terms of their ultra low heat and ultra portable processors. These things, especially seeing as this one could get off the gound, will be Transmeta's saving grace. They have realized that GHz is no longer the barometer by which users in the know guage performance but it is power consumption and consequently battery life that becomes important as our society moves towards portability bundled with performance. Transmeta has found their niche and, through products like these, will finally realize their potential.
Hey sexy mama, wanna kill all humans?
No, really!! Wait - don't mod me -1 Troll just yet.
The dimensions of this device make it smaller than a typical "blade" server, so you would have a much higher processor density than your typical rack full of blades. In addition, the Crusoe processor runs very cool and uses very little power, so you could probably fill a rack with these things and not require any extravagant cooling.
Just a thought.
I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
I recall reading about this device almost two years ago. I was pumped when I read it, and was looking forward to seeing it hit the shelves. Now, here we are, another preview of a prototype at CES, and the sheep in the mainstream IT press are cooing over it, and giving it awards! This thing has been vapor since it's original announcement. They had nice mock ups on their web page from day one. But still, no product. I will believe it when I can HOLD it in my own hand.
..stable session and development environment. everything runs off the OQO and you can connect from any, and i mean any, client.
that'd be nice. looks too expensive though.
I saw this device Thursday and drooled the rest of the day. While the rest of the show seemed to be a contest in who could put the most flatscreens in their exhibit, OQO drew a huge croud around their tiny booth in the gargantuan Microsoft display. Having held it and played with it, i can assure you that it's not vaporware. And if it is indeed vaporware, then they've managed to pull the wool over the eyes of many exhibitors who all got to play with this very chic device. While form factor is great, the best feature, i think, is the power dongle, which extends the device well past a simple "not a laptop but not a pda" category that is growing. It has vga, rj45, usb, and firewire all of the same dongle, with usb and audio on the device itself....oh yeah, and it does just fine playing back dvd's...Quite the gadget.
Why not use one of these instead? The pricing on the OQO doesn't make it that much less of a bargain...
p g
http://www.dynamism.com/u101/full/compare.jpg (Side by side U101 with older U1/U3 model)
http://www.dynamism.com/u101/full/dress.j
(In some lady's hand)
it seems to reinvent the hp 100lx and atari portfolio with colour.
More likely thrown by other people who demo his unit only to find the hard drive filled with Britney Spears and Poison.
I played with one at CES, and I must say you are dead wrong here. Try building a mini-ITX box with the size that this thing has, not to mention the sheer slickness of the device. Oh yeah, there is that 5 hour battery life also.
Look at the size of the thing:
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=13578
I spent a lot of time talking to the OQO guys, this is done right. I have not played with the cappuccino, so I can't comment there, but OQO is slick as shit.
-Charlie
so, i bought a fujitsu tablet which weighs in under three pounds. on the road, i access email via a cdma modem, and hunt and peck my way through the emails. at home or at the office, i use a keyboard. the weight was my primary issue. i was really tired of lugging around a full laptop, when the uses for a pc on the road are primarily information gathering and communication.
my questions about the oqo are: will it use tablet edition of xp, and isn't a 1gz transmeta a bit backwards for 9 months from now? i like the profile/size, but i think people underestimate the power requirements for a pc you want to use in different settings, particularly graphics processors.
New OQO
In other news, OQO will be serving its website entirely off of a single uPC
SPAM
i would love to see a pc card slot so that i could use a cdma cell phone/modem in it. talk about a full featured phone! skip the p900...
but, in terms of the market you describe, communications are key. and, there is not a slot. What good could it be in that market? oqo needs to be a bit more focused on the market for this product. fujitsu has been doing this for years, and some of the palmtop pc profiles are downright strange, yet driven by customer needs... barcode readers, technician equipment...
my wishlist would be: tablet pc driven, higher capacity hard disk, pc card slot for a cell phone, and a decent graphics card. battery capacity can be added by battery packs when needed. most people don't need the processor speed, but want to drive a decent monitor, though a 1ghz transmeta is so 2 years ago, not nine months from now.
One of the slickest things about the OQO is the cable. There is a thick cable on it that you can barely see in my pic:
I t is wrapped around the guys neck like a bandolier. It has a bump every 8 inches or so, and each bump is a port. One is for a pop-up ethernet plug, another USB, etc etc. You get all the ports in a beautifully efficient way, no clunky dock or block. I should have put it in the article, maybe for a followup. One thing for sure, transmeta had a ton of cool stuff at the show.
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=13578
-Charlie
I posted about this on usenet once, the response I got was that you'll find out very fast about CF's million read/write cycle when you are using it for a harddrive and part of that is a swapfile...
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
In Soviet Russia, the lame old joke fucks YOU up!
When the first wave of ultra portables came out, we bought about 15 Toshiba Librettos for some of our sales staff.
:)
About a year later, all of them had been thrown away in favour of laptops with a keyboard you actually can type on... These machines were also hampered by a LOT of technical issues, and I'd be a bit sceptical to a new wave of these things before they've proven to be reliable.
Basically, these things seemed like a good idea at the time, but technical - and useability issues made them more a novelty than anything you could use to get work done...
That being said, I salvaged a 110CT, installed Linux on it and I use it for running ethereal and other network troubleshooting stuff...
Second of all, it runs linux just fine. The designers have tested it with Red Hat 9 with no problems. They haven't tested BSD, but don't see any reason why that wouldn't work as well; there's some discussion of testing Darwin on it.
Third, I just asked one of the designers about ports. The reponse:
"We've got USB, FW (4 pin), Audio (stereo with "extra" feature lines), 2 docking ports, external 802.11 antenna port and Power. USB is 1.1, FW is 400Mb. On the docking connector, we've got: VGA, LVDS (for digital interface to LCD), Serial PCI (for external PCI chassis/devices), same FW, 2 USB lines, Audio, Power. On the docking cable, we've got a USB -> Ethernet converter with RJ-45 plug, male and female VGA connectors (for flexibility of plugging into devices without additional cables), and so on." There is no serial port on the device.
Fourth, the theory behind the device is to have a box that will convert from a PDA to a desktop machine and back again. You use it in the office, undock it, use it on the train, and redock it to use it again once you get home. No syncing required. It's not really meant just be a turbo-charged PDA.
Can't we just nuke the ice caps and save ourselves a few billion in water detecting probes?
Yes. that IS a joke.
You need a FREE iPod Nano
Server's down already....perhaps they are serving their site from an OQO??
Needs a Pentium-M, USB2, Cardbus slot and a much larger hard drive. Add 802.11 a/g while you're at it. Looks like they spec'ed it long ago.
Deep ones too? Nah, not too bad, but it's not a tiny device. According to the flyer from the show, it's 4.9" x 3.4" x 0l9" and 14 ounces. Metric? What's Metric?
Lots bigger than an iPaq or Palm, altho certainly smaller than a Newton.
But it's much too big for a shirt pocket, and probably too fragile for a pants pocket. Probably destined for a holster or coat.
Other details:
Bluetooth, 802.11b, FireWire, 5" VGA screen w/ digitizer, TrackStik w/2 buttons on the keyboard left edge, microphone/speaker, bettery fuel gauge (3 lights), dock, external antenna jack, thumbwheel, USB 1.1, headphone jack.
Design for Use, not Construction!
Install XP Tablet Edition so I can use the tablet features and hook it to my Wacom Cintiq as a dock.
Same pen works with both.
Guess it doesn't cut the mustard, eh?
Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
Subject says it all. I would rather not have the RS-232 port.
You're not supposed to be able to touch-type a thumb pad
Hocky!!
:)
I'm the general use computer fixit peroson for a lot of people I know. (and an amazingly high number of people I don't know.) I also manage about 40 systems and have about 5 in the house. HD failures happen. And the're happening more frequently recently.
I didn't type clearly enough. The iPod has been 100% trouble free (except for me stupidly forgetting to empty the recycling bin once after deleting about 5 gigs of data off it on one mac and then.. er, well, nevermind.)
I'm litterally to the point where I'm seriously contemplating just replacing them about once every 1.5 years. (Useing working old drive as a backup.)
Although, I've got a quartet of 9 gig scsi drives that have been on (except for 3 moves and power outages) since 1995. Those I trust.
Thankfully, ipod HD's are now pseudo user changable. Wonder about this little OOA gizmo?
-=fshalor
Well, yes, the spec may be quite impressive for its size, but for actual usability and usefulness, it doesn't look like a match for my outdated but much-loved and vital Psion 5mx...
Ceterum censeo subscriptionem esse delendam.
If only you knew that "fshalor" knows more classical music than most of the DJs of classical radio stations. :^)
Slashdot's first reaction to VMware
I went to 'page source' in mozilla and found this....
oqo: hardware: video
If it runs Linux, they might be hearing from a few litigious bastards before too long. Better watch out!
Many of the people who designed this did the design for the ti power book.
Vulcan is something else all together (doesn't have a Tablet for one).
When Bill Gates saw the Vulcan he said "That's great but where's the tablet?"
Has to be one of the ugliest computers I have seen.no? They could do with a lil color.
Lord of the Binges.
A spastic, brain-damaged monkey.
No offense to our primate cousins.
.signature: No such file or directory
"Hey sexy Mamma, wanna kill all [the] humans?"
For poop's sake... who wants to read or type on something that small? I don't know which I'd lose first... the whole unit itself because it's so small, my eyesight from looking at that screen, or my mind from typing on those little keys!
I've never seen a post so full of sentence fragments and random unconnected thoughts.
Is the default font used on it bigger than the 10px used on their website?
(Sorry, just venting... my cell phone and Tungsten T use bigger fonts...)
Copyrights, Patents, Trademarks: temporary loans from the Public Domain, not real property ("intellectual" or otherwise)
If iPods were still 15GB, *maybe* it would kill the iPod. But really, a 20GB harddrive? :P Boooo. It should have a 60. Still, I want one. Form factor is pretty sexy, a la Palm Tungstens. Shit, running MS OneNote on this would rock. So phat it makes the tablet pc look fat, and redundant.
geeks are cats who dig a certain kind of cool
Anyone know how heavy the device is expected to be? They don't list the weight in the specs. I really loathe it when companies release "specifications" for things without including what seem to me to be obvious metrics, like dimensions, weight, power consumption, heat output, etc.
"The simplest solution is to ignore your dead children."
It's not upgradeable! .... wait.. sorry.. thought we were talking about the Cube..
What for, exactly? It's an ultra-portable computer; you are not rendering 3D graphics on it. At best you are running some sort of embedded application, whose memory requirements (IMHO) should be FAR under 64mb.
Think about it. It's got storage, a sound card, general-purpose programability, and wireless. If it were cheap enough to be a mass-market item, you could write a little app that shares music over peer-to-peer wireless. Since it's a general-purpose device, it would be hard to make a lawsuit stick against oqo, and since you're not using the internet it would be rather difficult for the RIAA to deal with.
A) It can run hi-power analytical stuff like Nastran, etc. ....I'd be really interested
.
B) I can hook up my ergo-keyboard and trackball to it.
.
C) It'll output to virtual image display goggles so I can work while travelling by air without people looking over my shoulder.
.
.
A goal is a dream with a deadline
INteresting, yes.. I really only need nano, emacs for serious stuff, and a light weight X11 for Lyx, dia, xmgrace and gnumeric. And about 500 MB of storage. I wasn't implying the need for 2 GB of ram, I was implying the need for a non-converntional storage media.
-=fshalor