OQO Examined

D4C5CE writes "The vapor solidifies... After years of waiting and an appearance at CES early this year, some people have finally had the opportunity to try an OQO 'Model 01 ultra personal computer (uPC)' at CeBIT America, and published this report. The device is available to a few lucky pilot customers, but for the rest of us they still won't be shipping before this fall, and they have yet to beat the Zaurus line (hopefully also with wireless connectivity in its clamshell versions soon - Are you listening, Sharp?) to justify a $1500+ price tag."

Comments

my thoughts

[mandalayx]

Before you ask "Why?", I listened to a presentation of OQO's business plans and was told that they're aiming for a market of CEOs and folks like pharmaceutical reps (i.e. NOT slashdot readers).

I would be worried, though, about the plan to underproduce in the first year. I think they're going for something like the PT Cruiser, where undersupply is supposed to generate immense demand. I personally don't think that it will be a winning idea for OQO. Maybe for the iPod mini. But one of their competitive advantages is being "first-to-market" (in this particular product space of the ultra-portable) and they'd lose that if they tried to artificially underproduce.

I was told that the price will be $1500 and that it would beta on first-class seats of trans-Atlantic flights this fall. But of course that could all change. These signs all point OQO trying to position itself as a luxury product and thus wouldn't do so well in the mass market.

Interestingly, the presenters suggested that customers would have a desktop, laptop, AND an OQO (i.e. an OQO would not be a replacement for a laptop). I wonder if that is too many gadgets. Personally I will be going for a full featured ultralight laptop (IBM X31 and Sharp MM20 come to mind) instead for that price.

Re:my thoughts

[vocaro]

Interestingly, the presenters suggested that customers would have a desktop, laptop, AND an OQO (i.e. an OQO would not be a replacement for a laptop)

Odd, because if you watch the promo video on their site, the final words are: "It's the only computer you need." It also makes a big deal out of OQO's docking station, saying that it "eliminates the need to sync or use other operating systems." Clearly, OQO's marketers aren't sure how they want to target this thing.

Of course, if OQO only runs Windows XP, it is certainly not the only computer I need. ;)

Trevor

Awesome device

[lancomandr]

Finally this this thing is coming out. I sure have been waiting for a while. Its hard to find a device with the right combination of connectivity media, good input interface, powerful enough hardware, but in a very mobile form factor. I have an eNote Lite, AKA the Lindows MobilePC, which is a pretty damn small machine. However I still have to pull it out and boot it up etc. I tried an iPaq but solely Bluetooth didn't cut it, and text input was too hard. The OQO is something I could take with me in my pocket when I don't want to bring a bag, be always ready to go, has a full qwerty keyboard albeit awkward looking, and with hardware that packs a punch. The only other thing I could ask for is telephone, but thats going a little overboard. $1,500 might seem a little steep, but I'd definately shell it out for this seemingly perfect solution to all my problems.

Re:Awesome device

[Amiga Lover]

The only other thing I could ask for is telephone, but thats going a little overboard. $1,500 might seem a little steep, but I'd definately shell it out for this seemingly perfect solution to all my problems.

I'm with you there. Predicting whether this particular machine will be a success is a bit iffy. It's pricey, the specs may be a bit behind due to the time it's taken to come to market, but to me the concept is all there. Why have a different OS (XP vs WinCE) on a desktop and a handheld when the tech is there for both to use the same for *most* users? No reason.

Consistency is king, and this concept has it. It's just needed an implementation.

Pretty cool...

[midifarm]

But not something I'd use. I think it's too small for doing audio or video editing. I might consider something like that if it ran OSX, but it doesn't look like my upcoming PowerBook purchase will be deterred. I can see what they're trying to do, bravo for a PC company trying to innovate.

Unfortunately for then I think this is a "Mac" type product. No offense to OQO, but I think Apple would be able to pull off something like this.

Does anyone have an idea how well the screen would hold up to scratches and all, being exposed the way it is?

Peace

Re:Pretty cool...

[Jeff DeMaagd]

It looks like it would easily be able to do light A/V editing, just not on that screen but when docked.

I don't think such a device was meant for such tasks. Keep in mind that this device isn't for everyone, and no device should be viewed as a do-everything device. Not many people edit AV files anyway, but rather just play videos, surf the web, write email, write an occasional Word file and so on, which are all tasks that the OQO should be able to do.

Well, video would be a bit tight on a 10GB drive with XP and no optical reader, but I imagine that larger capacity drives can be stuffed into that thing, but streaming video from a web site shouldn't be a problem, and files can be stored on nearby servers connected to the wireless network.

I doubt OQO would mean the end of laptops, because laptops haven't meant an end to desktops, and desktops haven't meant an end to mainframes, and the installed base of systems in all of those categories have grown. In this case, I think it might fill a good niche.

better than my palm, methinks

[ErichTheWebGuy]

It looks only slightly bigger (I have a Palm VIIx) which I hafta keep in my laptop case, it's not very portable at all and I am pretty unhappy with it in general... But that's a different story.

Hell, this here little beauty could replace both the laptop and the palm. Now, instead of carrying a briefcase around, which holds my laptop, power supply, net cards (802.11, ethernet, modem [winmodem builtin :( ]), portable kb for the palm, etc etc... I can carry this cool device on my hip (?) and be just as productive while I am mobile as when I was carrying that big bag of shit around.

Re:gaming

[lancomandr]

Perhaps I am some sort of a radical dresser but I have what are known as "cargo" pockets that have more than enough space for an OQO. The OQO is not 2-3 inches thick. It is 0.9 inches thick as stated on the specifications page. 4.9" x 3.4" x .9". Thats thinner than my cell phone. Wow, wait, whats this? People have been carrying objects roughly fitting those dimensions for hundreds of years in their pockets with no problem.

Nice Features

[klausner]

I can see this as a PDA and laptop replacement for guys like me who use both. Looks like the PDA market is going to crater in the next year anyway. They have just about all the right features except for 802.11g. I particularly like the accelerometer to protect the hard drive.

Re:What's the answer?

[Gogo Dodo]

The OQO website links to a BusinessWeek article that says:

The name of the company and the computer, pronounced oh-QUE-oh, was picked at random. It doesn't mean anything, but they liked it because a Google search showed that no one else was using it.

I think they got the size wrong.

[Gldm]

I dunno, 4.9x3.4x0.9" seems just a little too big to fit in my pocket if you ask me. So it's too big for pockets but too small for a real keyboard or anything.

If you're going into the $1500 price class, you'll need to take on things like Acer's c110 10.4" tablet PC. It's in the same priceclass, has equal or better specs (what's the battery life on the OQO anyway?), and is still smaller than an 8.5x11 sheet of paper and around an inch thick. I'm betting the pen support is better and the ULV centrino will really give the transmeta chip in the OQO a run for the money. Plus I'm betting the RAM and HD are more expandable.

There just doesn't seem to be a realistic compromise between size and function right now, and one of the main reasons why is we're still too keyboard-centric with interfaces. It's just really hard to do even a modest text document on anything the size of a PDA or this thing. Voice recognition keeps being touted as the holy grail and end of all these problems but where is it? I remember VR demos from the 486 days, you can't tell me a 200-400mhz PDA can't manage that much horsepower.

What I'd really like to see is disjointed systems. With bluetooth finally hitting mainstream I want to see a PDA that can autodetect when I've got some portable storage device or HD based mp3 player in my backpack and mount the volume automaticly. If they had that, you wouldn't need much more space on the PDA than just the OS, everything else you could keep on multipurpose portable drives.

Sony delivered already

[my1wong]

Now that we have Sony Vaio Type U , I wonder why this OQO took so long to design/produce/whatever!

I have seen Sony Vaio Type U in person. They are sold in shops already. And obviously, the Sony Vaio is more appealing.

BTW, OQO's weight is 14oz (or 397g). Sony Vaio Type U is 550g.

Re:Sony delivered already

[Bushcat]

The Sony U70 is a very nice machine, running Windows XP Professional on a 1GHz Mobile Pentium. It's slightly cheaper sibling runs XP Home on a 900 MHz Mobile Celeron. They're great little machines, with a Palm-style folding keyboard. But my favorite is the old U3 which they effectively replace. Since the U3 is about $900 on the used market, I'm thinking of getting one and warming it over with a better HD, etc.

In fact, the only fault with the U series is Sony's determination not to useful-sized hard drives in them. I kinda get tired of my need to purchase Sony stuff because it's all marketing and no customer support, but it certainly looks right when it's sitting on the store shelf.

The OQO is a perpetually delayed unknown, and if their business model includes limiting supply to keep people hankering after it, then I think they're getting it wrong.

Re:Apple

[fastdecade]

As soon as Apple make one, my PowerBook's for sale.

Apple will be shivering in its boots. With unconditional love like this who needs competitors.

Apple *could have* released this, because the founder is ex-Apple, but Steve Jobs rejected it:


Within weeks of leaving his job at Apple Computer (AAPL) in 1999 -- as a lead developer for Apple's PowerBooks -- Jory Bell pitched his former boss, Steve Jobs, his killer idea: a portable PC slightly bigger than a deck of cards that would pack all the punch of a high-end laptop, cost less than $1,500, and give Apple a chance to license its operating system to a product that could render traditional handhelds like the Palm Pilot obsolete.


I thought that was a bad move when I first read it, but in hindsight, he possibly saw a conflict with the IPod strategy.

In any event, you'll probably get your wish as the IPod is halfway there anyway. It's got the hard drive and some basic PDA functions, now it just needs full-blown PDA action.

Well, Jack Bauer Had One

[stecker]

The Fox TV show 24 has been a paid-placement bonanza for interesting tech gear for a while. An OQO was used by the CTU (for non-24 fans, that's the "Counter Terrorism Unit") pretty heavily in hours 20 or 21 this year (Season 3). I'm pretty sure that the screens it was throwing off were dummied up, but the hardware was unmistakable. In season 1, there were so many Apple computers used, that it seemed at times like an Apple commercial. In season 2 (and even the previews for season 2), a new Powermac G5 showed up just after they were announced, but before the time that anyone but the Pope and Steve Jobs himself actually had their hands on one.

I've been dying for one since the announcement, and will be first in line to try one (to complement my laptop, multiple desktops and army of servers that I have). Then again, I was first in line to buy a new Newton, the first Linux Zaurus, and the original Rio MP3 player.

I suppose I'm one of the 50,000 suckers that Handspring co-founder Donna Dubinsky described by saying in a talk I once heard as "50,000 people will buy anything. Talk talk to me once you've sold 200,000." (my weak-memory paraphrase).

zaurus owner running to Archos

[sPaKr]

Have you seen the new Archos AV500? Its arm just like the zaurus, should be run openzuarus roms with a few hacks. but it has an 40GB drive.. and soon a 80Gb drive. Supports TV caputer and mpeg4 (D)encoding. Now that rocks. It doesnt have the keyboard, but for an 80Gb drive with a full running linux system Ill suffer the keyboard. Im just waitng for a full mandrake arm port now that would rock!

I'm surrounded by idiots...

[Grandmaster Mort]

...oh wait, that's nothing new on /.

You people keep trying to think that this OQO device is marketed as a oversided PDA with a keyboard. You people seem to think it's too big to fit into pockets. You couldn't be further from the truth on both counts. Why don't you try to see this device in action before passing such ignorant judgment on it?

http://news.com.com/1606-2-5222650.html

This is supposed to be a single ultraportable solution that's supposed to replace a business-oriented desktop, laptop, and PDA. It had a docking station that allows it to hook up a full-sized keyboard, montior, and mouse so you can use it more comfortably and efficiently as a desk environment. It's supposed to replace a laptop because it's ultraportable yet still runs the same WinXP apps that a business person might need (full versions of M$ Office, Visio, etc....not just some watered down PocketPC incarnations of any program). It's supposed to replace the PDA because there is absolutely NO need to sync between a PDA and a laptop/desktop since it will replace all 3 devices.

Granted, this comes with a slow-ass Trasmeta proc, and the movie URL that I showed above, the guy admits it only gets about 3 to 4 hours of battery life even with the Transmeta proc not consuming so much power but with its power-hungry WiFi hardware. You're probably not going to bother to edit audio on this device since it doesn't have any optical drives built-in for you to rip and encode music off CD Audio. Since it's using a Transmeta proc, you can be damned sure you're not going to be doing any video editing with this. You won't be playing EverQuest either, so forget it. This is NOT what the device was marketed for. Keep in mind that this device doesn't even support wired Ethernet on the base device but only through it's docking cable.

For the business executive on the go, this makes the perfect all-in-one solution. Set up a docking station at home and at the office so you can use the device with comfort and efficiency at the places where you get the majority of your work done, and then use the device detached from its docking cable when you're on the move. You will always have your data with you without having to sync your data between PDA and laptop/desktop.

Get it? Probably not, but I've done my part in attempting to educate the ignorant masses.

I've tried it

[edrams]

A few months ago, I got to try the OQO out. I was playing in the orchestra at my friend's church and the conductor's husband is on the OQO team. My friend's dad asked me if I wanted to see it. I'd known about it for quite a while and said, "Sure!" It's small. Holding it was quite different. It has the IBM stink-pad eraser nub to move the mouse. The keys are slightly smaller than the left over "dots" from a piece of hole-punched paper. The surface was smooth and warm. The only thing I can really compare it to is the casing of the GBA SP, but slightly more substantial. The screen was crisp and the standard XP "teletubbies" background looked crisp and defined. I saw iTunes on the desktop and opened it. I noticed it was a little sluggish compared to my desktop, but opened only a few seconds later. iTunes looked as good as the desktop background. I asked about heat and the guy (I've forgotten his name, but he used to work for Apple) said that they had run the little fan inside at full speed on the prototypes for fears of melting were, as one might expect, rampant. This particular unit, however, had very little fan noise and was warm, mostly from being held. Someone else who was there asked about frame rate. The guy said they got about 30 FPS in Quake (Which one? I don't remember). I had to leave and give the OQO back, but decided that it was worth the wait and vaporware accusations.