'ning all

It's toy time in the Bomber household. I've been waiting for this for 2 years; the OQO.

OQO stands for something clever but actually means "really small shiny computer". This unit was originally announced in April '02 and is testament to my geekery that I have been following it like a lovelorn puppy ever since. It won 2 vaporware awards ('03 and '04). and has had a shipping date that's slipped more often than a Catholic priest's vestment. Finally; it's out.




OOOOOOhhh ... shiny

I was sent this review by a fellow lovelorn puppy today, a very positive (almost informercial...hmm) piece. In counterpoise, this quite negative review on CNET

Includes comparisons with Sony U50 and Sharp Actius. Conclusion;

Size; OQO wins big (or small, depends how you ... well anyway)

Battery life; OQO loses to Sony, but not by a hell of a lot

Battery life (Higher numbers indicate better performance)BAPCo
MobileMark 2002 battery life in minutes

• Sony VAIO VGN-U50 - 163
• Sharp Actius MM20 - 148
• OQO Model 01 - 135

Computing power; OQO a very poor third

Mobile application performance (Higher numbers indicate better performance)BAPCo MobileMark 2002 performance rating

• Sony VAIO VGN-U50 - 105
• Sharp Actius MM20 - 98
• OQO Model 01 - 53

I'm not too sure about CNET reviews. Generally I find it a very useful site, but they have been accused of bias in the past (although MAC fans will say anything...). The review screams "1st Gen hardware; wait for model 02!" but that sort of attutude is not what has had me hanging about on tech sites for the last 2 years or so.

My thoughts;

For me OQO is undeniably cool (although CNET claims it runs hot; so does my TP X31 so not unexpected, I suppose) and beats the pants off the Sony visually. 2KUSD? a bit pricey, but it's shiny so I could get over that. Computing power I could live with and is only to be expected with the form factor. How Sony manage to be twice as fast in benchmarks I suppose just goes to show that the Crusoe is as slow as everyone says. Screen res I think is fine, at least they use the whole frontage, unlike the Sony. Battery life is a real let down; what of the 6-8 hours I recall being touted by OQO in '02? 2+ is really not enough. Trading off computing power for battery life is something I could definitely rationalise; but losing out on both? Also, XP Tablet is not being used, which is really wierd; I (and others on this form) had assumed that integration of XPt was one reason fro the shipping delay. Whatever with that.

'Merkins will get first bite of the shipping cherry, no doubt. Only fair really, after all Hong Kong is NORMALLY a great place to be based for grabbing the latest tech; it's only fair we miss out some times (poo...) Then they have a psycho for a president (and we have a lapdog for a PM) so it all evens out in the big picture ;-)

Conclusion; If there are any left when my bonus comes in (Feb '05) then I might sack off the plans to get a projector and splurge on some OQO loveliness, otherwise, I'll wait for better battery life.

One final thing; that gorgeous case. That will end up in some computer Hall of Fame in years to come, I guarantee it.

Sorry; went on longer than intended

Bomber out

Fuck me; an appendix ... specs of the machines in the CNET test

OQO Model 01
Windows XP Professional; 1GHz Crusoe TM 5800; 256MB DDR SDRAM; Silicon Motion Lynx3DM; Toshiba MK2004GAL 20GB 4,200rpm
Sharp Actius MM20
Windows XP Home; 1GHz Efficeon TM 8600; 512MB SDRAM, Mobility Radeon 16MB; Hitachi DK14FA-40 20GB 4,200rpm
Sony VAIO VGN-U50
Windows XP Home; 900MHz Celeron; 256MB DDR SDRAM 333MHz; Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME 64MB; Toshiba MK2004GAL 20GB 4,200rpm