From former Apple employees (TiBook designers) comes a revolutionary product: OQO Ultra PC
Ultra PC is a full featured desktop machine in your hand, includes: Small 200dpi 5-inch LCD, 4-pin Firewire port, USB 2.0, video/audio out, ethernet, microphone, speaker, and a digital pen. Wireless connectivity is implemented via Bluetooth & 802.11b. The battery life is so-so at only three hours, so you’re limited to what you can do without a power outlet. The Lithium Polymer battery is removable so buying a second one will allow you to swap it out and work longer. The OQO is powered by a 1GHz Transmeta Crusoe chip.
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From former Apple employees (TiBook designers) comes a revolutionary product: OQO Ultra PC
Ultra PC is a full featured desktop machine in your hand, includes: Small 200dpi 5-inch LCD, 4-pin Firewire port, USB 2.0, video/audio out, ethernet, microphone, speaker, and a digital pen. Wireless connectivity is implemented via Bluetooth & 802.11b. The battery life is so-so at only three hours, so you’re limited to what you can do without a power outlet. The Lithium Polymer battery is removable so buying a second one will allow you to swap it out and work longer. The OQO is powered by a 1GHz Transmeta Crusoe chip.
If you can get over the fact it runs Windows XP, this little device is very impressive. If you just can’t stand Windows enterprising users are already hacking the think to run Linux.
Considering it doesn’t have an Apple badge (although the founders are former Apple employees who designed the TiBook) the UltraPC is a credible and nimble workstation for people on the go. The screen alone is reason to use one of these rather than a PDA. The 200 dpi screen (from my understanding) has more desktop space than a 12-14″ 72dpi screen. Need more viewing area, just plug in a monitor. With a high resolution monitor all you need is a mouse and you have a decent work environment.
Gaming is another area this product can eliminate redundant gadgets. No need for a Gameboy or PSP just play regular PC games (although the Model01 could improve in the video memory department – the puny 8MB is going to choke up quickly). Not that I want to get rid of my iPod, but I usually don’t need more than 5GB of music with me so the OQO could double as a portable music player too.
the keyboard is uniquely done, standard QWERTY with the placement of the “Track Stick” on the right between the alpha-keys and the numerical keys and the two mouse buttons are to the far left. In addition to the keyboard, a thumb wheel is located on the right side that acts like the scroll wheel on a mouse. With no mouse OQO has replicated the “mouse experience” very nicely.
So all-in-all this a well designed product. The OQO Model01 should pave the way for a similar products from different vendors and if Apple should one day follow someone else’s idea an Apple-badged UltraPC would fit nicely between the iBook and PowerBook product lines.
Extra points: Drop a EVDO modem or attachment onto the OQO and run Gizmo or SKYPE and you have a phone substitute… add a video camera attachment and you have a very interesting diverse product for people working out of hotels and are on the go.
