OQO For Sale

captainJam writes "After many delays, the OQO is available for sale, or pre-order actually. However, they will begin shipping in the middle of next month. Read the scoop for how much it'll set you back. Check this link if you're still not sure what the OQO is." Update: 10/13 13:49 GMT by H : I've got a Model 01 that was sent over for review; I'll be checking it out with both XP & Linux; it's definitely one of the cooler handhelds out there.

Panurgism

[mirko]

Panurgism is the reaction to an ever repeating tired joke :
The fact is that I am not interested anymore, I just do not believe what they kept repeating while postponing their product.

What the hell is it?

[gpinzone]

Wow. No description of what the hell this thing is, but he does give links to find out and they're both slashdotted.

Can the editors please institute a policy that they only accept/post stories that are adequately descriptive?

Submitted by Timothy...

[toetagger1]

"Check this link if you're still not sure what the OQO is."

You couldn't find enough room in the cover story to describe what it was, so you linked to a web page that was /.ed when there was a total of 1 comments posted. Great Job!

Damn straight

[Rogerborg]

Would it really fuck up an editor's day to actually do some, you know, editing? What the hell do these guys do all day, and can I get paid to do the same?

don't tell us what it is then...

[close_wait]

Why do I have to follow a &%$@ link just to find out even the vaguest idea of what the article is about...?

lack of editing mutter mutter not like that in my day mutter mutter youth of today mutter mutter ...

Sounds like a lot of money for a little computer

[nels_tomlinson]

``Under $2000'' for something which is too small and wimpy to use as a desktop replacement or for gaming (from the article: ``... the OQO isn't designed to be a desktop replacement, nor intended to be a portable video game machine ...), and too big to put in your pocket?

I think this fills a need that too many folks don't have.

Also, the article says that many of the specs are out of date, but they're going to launch anyway. That tells me that the second generation OQO is going to have more guts, and be out as soon as enough suckers have bought enough of the wimpy ones to finance further development. I'll wait.

About this OQO...

[LilMikey]

I don't know why the news kept pointing to some arbitrary handtops site but the actual site for the device is OQO.com [oqo.com]. Basically, the thing is a 1ghz laptop with a 20GB HD, 256MB RAM, and 800x480 LCD. It's been shrunk to the size of a PDA but runs full Windows XP home. So, for the unreasonably high price of $1900 you can get a laptop from 2 years ago running an OS that isn't designed for the size of the device. There is no market for this thing.

This year's underperformer...

[gillbates]

However, the OQO isn't designed to be a desktop replacement, nor intended to be a portable video game machine

So, what exactly is it supposed to be? An overpriced PDA? A toy for high level executives?

Oh, I get it - I'm going to spend twice the money I would on a desktop to get less than half the machine.

I really like the concept of the OQO:

1. Full keyboard
2. A reasonably sized screen
3. A 20GB hard drive
4. Transmeta Crusoe processor
5. 256MB RAM
6. It's small enough to fit in a large pocket

So it has everything I want in a portable, except: price. I can hardly justify spending $2000 for this thing when the Sharp Zaurus has a full keyboard, runs Linux, and costs about 1/2 to 1/4 as much. I don't think I'd have too hard a time finding at least half a dozen other comparable handtops that cost less than half as much.

Overall, I'm really interested. This would be a really cool machine, but at $2000, it will never be accepted by the mainstream. Price it at $500, and two years from now people will be saying, "Palm who?", and "What's an IPAQ?"...

Re:Overpriced small laptop?

[afidel]

Wow, I guess people just don't get it. Most PDA's these days are just a "small overpriced laptop". You pay for convenience, and I for one think I might very well buy one of these. I currently use a 750MHz P3 laptop which needs a big cushioned bag to lug around, on the other hand this thing probably would be fine with a small lined carrying case that would fit in the oversized pockets in my wool coat. I could always have my computer with me, including all of my apps and the ability to connection to any client network and use just about any external peripheral. That sounds damn usefull to me.

Re:Waaayyyyy too expensive

[steelerguy]

You are waaayyyyy too right. This thing is priced at least double what it should be priced. More realistically it should be at the $700 range like you said since the memory is low, the wireless is slow, and the processor is not all that.

Re:More info links.

[silicon not in the v]

Since this is not the first machine of theses types of machines, nor has it been modded to run Linux how does this rate as News for Nerds?

Let's see, I'm going to click on this link thing in the summary; I wonder where it goes? Hmm, what's this? "OQO CEO Jory Bell confirms that the x86 architecture is capable of being used with any x86 based OS, such as Linux. Further talks have revealed that some OQO employees have already tested out Linux on the device with success."
Gee, it's an x86 computer that doesn't even need to be modded. Now what were you saying and why did you get modded up?

Re:don't tell us what it is then...

[Webmonger]

Good grief! It's only been mentioned in 14 Slashdot stories by now. Do you want explanations of what Linux and Sun Microsystems are, too?

No innovation here

[Scooter]

This has to be the most un-imaginative approach to mobile, and unbiquitous computing: take the hardware and OS of desktops and small to midrange servers and make it all smaller. Granted there's a nod to the portability issues with the touch screen and built in wireless technolgoies but this is bolt on stuff from a design point of view.

Of course it's a remarkable acheivement in engineering to cram all that in to such a small and light device, but the design demonstrates a really blinkered approach to the requirements.

Think about what you are liekly to do on the move. The input devices fixed to the machine should reflect tese activities: you can't write seriously on a keyboard like that so why bother with the keyboard at all? Voice recognition can handle serious text input with ease these days leaving only the editing to be done when you get back to base and plug it into it's cradle giving you access to a full size keyboard and mouse.

What is the power hungry and delicate hard disk for? This should be in a datacentre somewhere and presented on the device via an intelligent caching back end that makes it look like the stuff is local.

Why is it running an OS that has it's design roots derived from hardware designed for the server and desktop computer ? Do we really need all that baggage in a portable device?

The PDA approach is a much better place to start. With the addition of the right client software it could communicate with larger systems when placed in it's cradle (using protocols like X or framebuffers like VNC), and using a full size monitor/keyboard/mouse. Storage could be central and the device is then also small enough to function a phone.

Condensing Windows, a desktop OS which in turn has it's philosophy derived from other multi-tasking operating systems for small computers like Unix et al into a small package like that is amazing, but ultimately misses the great opportunities that global networks, wireless connectiivty and a tiered approach can give.

Still - I'm sure it'll find many fans due to the familiarity factor - same as your desktop/laptop but smaller..