OQO Model 01 Windows XP Based Handheld Computer Released Discussion

The OQO Model 01 is about the size of a PDA, but it isn't a PDA per se, and even though it runs Windows XP and has a Hi-Res LCD screen it can't be called a notebook computer. For now most are just calling it the worlds smallest computer. The one thing we can say for sure about the OQO Model 01 is that it's been rumored since the beginning of time (only a slight exaggeration) but its time has now arrived and today it went on sale.

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Andrew claims I like this machine because it's shiny and expensive. Well, that might be true, but something really appeals to me about it. Perhaps it's the dream of having one device that's tiny and can do it all. Sigh...I don't know...for now a PDA and ultraport work well for me.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

a lot of things sound good in theory but just don't work well in practice. how about robot vacuums as a case in point (man you can get those things cheap now, because they don't work to clean a floor!)

i feel that trying to cram so much functionality into this size of a device is ill-founded. I tried using it a few months ago when it was being demo'd at a tech show, I found it surprisingly heavy and generally hard to use.

 

Yeah...the reviews are starting to come in and they're actually not very good at all. Aside from a few niches, it doesn't look like the OQO will live up to the hype.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

I have one of these and... What a disappointment!

1) The display setting it comes with is too dim to clearly read. In order to see the screen properly you have to set it at it's brightest and that *really* impacts battery life.

2) There is no Standby button - you have to go to Start - Shutdown etc... which is annoying when you need it off in a hurry.

3) The wifi is absolutely useless - unless you are within 15 feet of a hotspot forget about it. Every single other laptop I have goes at least 50 feet without too much problem. The main reason I wanted this machine was for using at hotspots - but unless you can get right next to one...

4) The tablet-like pen and software is beyond useless - you can only calibrate top left and bottom right for the central area of the screen. You cannot reliably use any of the outlying 8 or so millimeters. What do OQO say? They suggest you resize all your scrollbars to make them big enough. Oh - and you don't get MS tablet software or handwriting recognition or anything - the tablet pen is totally useless in my opinion.

5) The heat output of this device is so much as to be unbearably hot - I mean it you practically burn your fingers. Ouch!

6) The display is messed up. It looks like OQO have taken a Pocket PC-type display and rotated it 90 degrees. This means that the left and right eyes see different levels of brightness and it's very tiring on the eye. Try rotating your laptop screen sideways and you'll see how bad it is.

7) Speaking of which, there is no facility to rotate the screen and use it in portrait mode - which *would* be much more readable. You *can* flip the screen 180 degrees but guess what? The mouse doesn't flip so it goes in all the wrong directions.

8) You *must* use two hands to move the mouse and click. Your right thumb moves the mouse and your left thumb clicks. This makes it impossible to do anything else at all while using it. If I want to show a friend something I can only have them look over my shoulder. The old Toshiba Libretto PCs used to place the mouse buttons *behind* the mouse pad so that the thumb and two fingers of the right hand could operate the mouse. This is *definitely* what OQO should have done.

9) It is impossible to use the OQO in low light. With a laptop enough light comes from the screen to light up the keyboard. The design of the OQO does not allow this. Therefore surfing while watching TV can only be done with a main light on. The keyboard should have had a light built in and used translucent keys.

10) The resolution of the screen really makes it impossible to read most web pages because it is set at an effective 1024 x 768 (well the top half of it anyway) but in such a small unit text size is miniscule. You can improve it a little by installing Microsoft ClearType but the only way I could really use it was to install Mozilla Firefox which *properly* enlarges all browser text at a single key press (MSIE doesn't really do this very well). But... It does make web pages look very weird and not how they were designed. OQO also preset all Windows system fonts to their largest which sort-of helps - but Microsoft don't use these settings for important dialog boxes etc so you still have to squint and bring the unit close to your eyes anyway.

11) There is no built-in speaker - not even an itty bitsy one - you can only plug in headphones.

12) Speaking of headphones... I was hoping to be able to use this device like a wifi Ipod but the wifi is so poor you simply CANNOT stream any audio over this device unless you stand still next to the access point. And with only a 20Gb drive, if you have a lot of music you won't be able to copy much across to the OQO.

13. The Graphic speed of the OQO is appalling. One simple test is to go into Windows Media Player - play an MP3 and try to watch a visualization. You would think you were back on a 286. Or you can place a few photos on the OQO then select the "My Picture Slideshow" screensaver - make sure "Use transition effects between pictures" is enabled. Just watch how pitifully long it takes just to fade between two pictures. I mean it - I was shocked - it's truly flabbergasting that OQO thought this was acceptable.

In summary. OQO market this as a single PC for work, home and travel. It is NOT. It's a slightly interesting toy to travel with (better buy another battery for $150 if you want more than 2 hours though) - but as a home or work PC PLEASE do not be fooled you will be totally disappointed and waste your money - it will be the slowest desktop PC you had since your last 286!

I signed up for and paid for one of the very first of these off the factory line because I was so impressed by it's spec. I have now contacted OQO to return my unit - even though they will charge a 10 percent restocking fee - at least I'll get 90% of my money back - maybe I'll save it and buy the Vulcan Flipstart instead when it comes out...

 

I also own an OQO and disagree with much of this nonsense. Part of your discontent is certainly due to mis-information or a lack of understanding of the device and some would appear to be due to expectations that are simply out of line.

I encourage anyone interested to visit www.handtops.com for more info.

1. The display is perfectly readible at the default setting and the battery consumption is only marginally impacted by display brightness.

2. There is a standby button - as with any XP platform, you can use the power button to invoke the shutdown/standby options.

3. The WiFi is definitely a weak point. I think (hope) a driver upgrade will rectify it partially as it is not automatically adjusting data rate based on signal strength.

4. The tablet pen is actually very helpful and with the latest Wacom reference driver, performance is improved.

5. The device does get warm... I'm not sure it qualifies as hot and it certainly isn't uncomfortable for most users.

6. I'm not sure what you are talking about. The display is actually very good.

7. Agreed. Hopefully this will be resolved with future bios/drivers.

8. Not true. You can use the track-stik "click to select" function.

9. Agreed. A lighted keyboard would be nice.

10. The native resolution is 800x480 which is not big, but this is an ultra-portable after all. I agree if you need a bigger screen, get a laptop. 800 appears to be the width to which most websites are designed so it makes browsing easy.

11. Agreed. A small speaker would be nice but in reality, it's lack of a speaker is hardly a factor in its usefullness.

12. This device was not intended to be a portable music device (although it can be used like most others on the market). If you want to stream audio to it throughout your house, then simply get a WiFi repeater for $100 to increase your WiFi coverage at home. There are few portable MP3 players that can surf the web, get email and run office apps!

13. Graphics performance is actually good. People are playing action games without problems and the visualizations in WMP look great.

The OQO provides remarkably good performance for its size in terms of boot times, application access, and other tasks. I have never been sitting there waiting for the hour glass to disappear.