OQO Ultra-Portable Impresses At CES 268
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."
Upgrade. (Score:5, Interesting)
OQO 1.0 [archive.org]
The only real change I noticed from the original spec was a 20Gb HD, vs 10Gb in the first.
--H
Nice but.. (Score:2, Interesting)
I checked this out a couple days ago... (Score:4, Interesting)
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
customized nano-itx? (Score:2, Interesting)
Just image... (Score:2, Interesting)
But can it run Linux, does it support Ogg? (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:That's weird (Score:3, Interesting)
There are lots of printers and dongles still out there. You just know the one guy who can't run his old copy of 3D Studio MAX is going to be a whiner.
Uses? (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Re:Upgrade. (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Uses? (Score:4, Interesting)
I use mine for the basics (keep track of appointments, tasks, contacts). I also have wireless so I get email. I have my shopping list on there. I track the calories of what I eat. I keep track of my expeneses. I have a dictionary I occasionally use. I have a street map that also has points of interest, which has been useful. I have a graphing calculator. I can voice record or jot down any ideas I have. I also play mp3s on my PDA (the 256MB card still holds 3 hours of songs even with all the other software on it). And also, it can play games when I'm waiting. I've also used it to read ebooks. There are other things a PDA can do. Different people have different needs or some are creative and find other uses. It's a personal digital assistant. It assists me. It may have no use for you, but you have to be pretty blind or stupid to not see how it can be useful for solving many other people's problems. It may not be the only or even best solution. But for me, it solves many and it's easier to carry then a lot of other things combined.
Competing device from Antelope Technologies (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Uses? (Score:2, Interesting)
I have an Ipaq 3970 running Pocket Windows 2002 and fitted with a dual CF jacket housing a Wifi card and a 256MB CF card. The unit has bluetooth and I also have a bluetooth-enabled phone.
Software on the PDA includes:
PocketVNC,
PockeTTY (a ssh client),
XSForms (create forms on a PC, fill them in on the PDA and then upload the data in XML format back at base,
Pocket Informant (diary/organiser).
In my role as a 'roving' techy, consultant and trainer, I am often away from my main office, where I am one of the support guys. I can use the Ipaq to do remote diags on our servers and desktops (Win2K, XP and Linux) pretty much anywhere through my phone or a wi-fi point, and I also use the forms software for customer questionnaires/surveys - all this saves me lugging my laptop everywhere and also means I can go out even when 'on call' (Last week I checked out and rebooted a Win2K server via PocketVNC while a passenger in a car zooming along the M4 motorway (UK)! I can also check/send mail. It's not the answer to everything but it's damn handy!
The next add-on will be a CF adaptor with a vga/video out lead and an IR remote control so I can use the PDA to show full-size/res Powerpoint presentations-sure beats lugging around the laptop again and looks real smart-ass!
not vaporware (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:That's weird (Score:1, Interesting)
Just as an offtopic aside, I love whoever designed the FW400 'arrow' connector. Nice, easy, visual cue for my users as to how to plug the thing in, unlike USB which tends to have a 50% chance of being upside down if you're not paying attention. I think the FW800 plug is a reversion to a symmetrical design ( oval-ish? ) - if so, boooo.
FW400 guy, if you're reading this, I salute you.
Back, semi-on topic, this photo [pocketpclouisville.com] seems to be packing ( l-r ) a docking connector, USB and FW400??
YLFItelephone! (Score:3, Interesting)
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.
Re:That's weird (Score:3, Interesting)
There's plenty of USB-Serial adapters (Score:2, Interesting)