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OT: More re the OQO PC:

Tiny 'Ultra-Personal' PC Poised To Hit Market

By Tim McDonald April 17, 2002
www.NewsFactor.com, Part of the NewsFactor Network

http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/17306.html


A little-known company called OQO has unveiled what it calls the world's first "ultra-personal" computer, a PC the size of a handheld computer but with the power of a full-size desktop.
The OQO is a fully functional wireless PC powered by a Crusoe TM5800 processor that runs at up to 1 GHz and uses the Windows XP Professional operating system. The OQO features full Web browsing with Internet Explorer and has a four-inch "super bright" VGA color LCD -- about the same size as a Palm screen.

The modular product can be converted into either a desktop or laptop. Measuring 4.9 by 2.9 by .9 inches, the OQO weighs less than nine ounces and can fit easily into a shirt pocket, according to its designers.

Power in Your Pocket
Small peripherals currently on the market, such as Palm handhelds and Microsoft Pocket PC-powered devices, are extensions of full-size PCs and must be synchronized with them.

But OQO executives said their first product is a full-fledged, standalone PC that can be carried around as easily as a deck of cards.

"We wanted an ultra-personal computer that you always carry but that was still powerful enough to be your only PC," OQO CEO Jory Bell said in a statement issued at a Microsoft conference, where the product was unveiled. "We sought a device that incorporates wireless access as a central idea to the whole mobile experience."

Price: About $1,000

When inserted into an OQO-designed enclosure, the miniature PC becomes a notebook computer. When placed in a cradle and connected to a standard screen and keyboard, it becomes a desktop PC.

The OQO features full Web browsing with Internet Explorer and has a four-inch "super bright" VGA color LCD -- about the same size as a Palm screen.

It also has a Synaptics touch-screen, 256 MB of memory, a 10 GB hard drive, a USB port, audio and Bluetooth wireless technology. It runs for three to eight hours on battery power, depending on how it is being used.

The company said it is still negotiating with manufacturers but expects the first machines will become available in the second half of 2002. The devices are expected to sell for about $1,000.

Whole New Category?

OQO claimed the product represents a new PC category that could transform personal computing in the same way that cell phones revolutionized telecommunications.

"I've been an advocate for modular computers for three years now, and every time we've done a survey with IT folks, the largest percentage have said that if somebody can build this right, they'd buy it," Giga Information Group analyst Rob Enderle, who has seen a non-running prototype of the machine, told NewsFactor.

"They've said such a machine would meet their needs and expectations for what a future computer should be," Enderle said.

But other analysts are not completely sold on the idea.

"On the one hand, it's a significant step toward reducing the overall size and weight of a fully functional PC -- it's basically the size of a PDA," IDC analyst Alan Promisel told NewsFactor.

"However, unless you bring with you the notebook docking station, it's still no better than a high-powered PDA," Promisel added. "The usage model is just a little more complicated."

MetaPad, Saint Song

There have been other attempts at making practical, super-small PCs, including an effort by a Taiwanese company called Saint Song.

In February, IBM announced a similar product that it called "revolutionary." The MetaPad has a 10 GB hard drive and 128 MB of memory. IBM said users will be able to slip the MetaPad into a touch-screen sleeve or link it with a standard monitor and keyboard -- but the MetaPad will not ship for a few years.

Tired of Apple and IBM

San Francisco-based OQO was founded in 1999 and employs engineers and designers who previously have worked for Apple, CalTech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, IBM's Almaden Research Center, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oracle and Transmeta.

"After years of designing Apple and IBM laptops, the OQO team felt the time had come for the next step -- but a revolutionary one -- of the full-featured wireless PC," Bell said.

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