Monday, April 30, 2007

Unboxing the OQO 02 outside America

Finally I can reveal why the FedEX Man came to visit. And the reason is the new Model OQO 02 - BEST and Docking Station!

As I mentioned Mr. FedEX (his name is actually Ben) has been known to come to my place once or twice before but on this occasion I must admit that even I was a little more excited than usual. Given the Ultra-Mobile PC story and where it is up to today you’ll soon see why replacing a desktop and becoming truly Ultra Mobile is nothing but a little black-package away. (“black-on-black-on-black”)

You might note that in this video I am proud to welcome a brand new Platinum Sponsor to the website in none other than manufacturer VIA Technologies, Taiwan! In a rather timely announcement they also happen to be the manufacturer of the Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) Processor shipped inside the Model OQO 02.

Welcome VIA Technologies!






View it on MyYouTube.com


Sit back and enjoy the first ever unboxing of the OQO 02 outside of North America! My follow-up video will be posted on GottaBeMobile.com on May 10th!
My GottaBeMobile Cartoon Head!

27 comments:

Marc said...

Exceelent work on the blog and vlog Hugo. I use it as a source of all my Australia relevant mobile computing info.

This thing looks great!

I've ben greatly antipating it's release in Australia,a nd hopefully they'll have one at Cebit tomorrow that I can have a proper look at.

I wouldn't buy one without seeing it in the flesh first!

the dockling station is genius!

I wonder how this would go as a car based UMPC running streetdeck?
Can you get GPS for them?

Anonymous said...

Hugo! Awesome stuff. You are such a funny geek!

Does this thing rung Windows Vista and what is it's maximum RAM?

Hugo Gaston Ortega said...

hi Marc!

Thank you for the support and great comment. I will be at CeBIT all day tomorrow as I am part of the show so just one of the CeBIT Staff where I am and they wil find me. Failing that ping me on IM (bottom of blog) and I will reply...on my OQO 02!!!

Can't wait to show you the device!

Hugo Gaston Ortega said...

Hi Jeffa! It is a beast (and yes it ships with Vista). I just put Windows XP Tablet Edition on it! Mine has a 1.5GHz Processor and 1GB of RAM.

Look at the Aussie specs here - I bought the OQO 02 - Best

Gabriel Gonzalez said...

w0w! Amazing sexy device, it really looks really cool.

How is life with the 5" screen?

Dave said...

omg omg I WANT ONE!! (yes i know...im greedy)

Dave said...

oh and hey...dont be sorry for getting carried away!!! ITS AWESOME!! and as u keep saying SEXY!!!

Dave said...

but hmm... i agree... 5"... is it enough?

Anonymous said...

Wow...I'm really excited about this thing...it looks really sexy, and with this docking station just adorable... [...]

Maybe you could find time to read my "monster"-post", 1 blog ago and comment on it ? ( =/ )
Don't know if you read it already and stamped it as "silly guy's question" ^^ ;)

What I want to know about this device is, like some guys already asked, if this 5" screen is enough to work with...

Greets from Germany.
Yours, Julian

Alchemist2012 said...

Noway You didn't push the power button :|:|:|

Hugo Gaston Ortega said...

hi Gabriel!

I'm not sure yet ("life with a 5" device) as I have spent the day setting it up. I had to instal Table PC edition first (as I cannot live without it) and am now finishing off with my rpeferred settings.

Tomorrow will be a big day at CeBIT Australia so I will know life at 5" tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Hi Hugo

Mine arrived in rainy Norway on Friday and I've been playing with it ever since. I'm still looking forward to your review though!

I'll be interested to know what you think about the internal speaker and whether you can get an external microphoine to work. Oh yes and there seems to be a problem with vectoring in Onenote (in XP Tablet, not Vista). These are the only 3 minus points I've found so far. It's a great little device.

Unknown said...

Excellent work. I'm currently trying to convince myself not to buy one of these :)

One thing I do wonder though, since it's what I mainly do when travelling (and that's part of why I'd want such a small computer.): what's it like handling photos. As in RAW format stuff, since I use a DSLR.

I've got no idea whether you're into that sort of thing, but if you've got some RAW files hanging around, I wouldn't mind knowing how quickly it can convert them to compressed DNG. And whether running Picasa or something on it is okay. (I can handle slightly slow, but if it's totally unworkable, that's another thing.)

I assume JPEGs would be fine, but RAW is a little more taxing. (Of course, if you'd said to me 10 years ago that I could buy a 1.5GHz computer with a 5" hi-res screen, I don't think I would have worried about whether it was up to the task :) How stuff progresses...)

thoughtfix said...

Congrats, Hugo! I almost purchased one (if you follow my blog) but then held off when I discovered that the digitizer was not a touchscreen. Does the lack of a touchscreen impact you greatly or do you use the cursor/keyboard more since you don't have finger touch?

Nets said...

This was probably my favorite video. Not because of the OQO 02, as I'm not interested in any screen that small(I need plenty of space for working in Flash/photoshop/ect so the 7 inch is the lowest I'll go.

But this video was my favorite because you cant fake that kind of childish delight and excitement, and it was very fun to see how excited you are. Seeing that video I can just imagine what your
parent(s) must have seen on christmas every year when you were a boy.
I'm sure I'll have the same look when I get my first UMPC.

Spreaking of which, I'm currently bidding on a Q1P with 2x 6 cell batteries, the Super DVD drive, keyboard, and organizer kit. I'm hoping I'll win this one and I'll send you some art made exclusively on the UMPC platform.

Cheers Hugo, and enjoy your OQO 02. :-)
-Bobby

Unknown said...

This is a really nice machine and I can see why you fill with excitments in the video. yet I cannot but notice the device runs at 1.2. Is it a core duo or core 2 duo? If not, will it be a little slow for desktop replacement. Nonetheless, I'm eager to hear your next review!

Anonymous said...

Hugo when you get back and have some time let us know what you think of the OQO 02; which one you preffer Q1P 7" or OQO 02 5". Also let us know how well does the 02 performs multi tasking, etc... One other thing, I had read that the 02 screen is very senstive and scratches easly, do you think this is true? How long does the battery last on the 02? Keep up the good work Hugo.

Anonymous said...

forgot to ask on the above post how well did the 02 work for you at the CeBIT.

HG

Unknown said...

Hey Hugo,

Grats on the new toy, you lucky sonnova....

I think setting up a side by side challenge with your other existing devices would be good, along with set benchmark tasks - eg opening a large document, cutting a section of a website with Snippit tool, printing to a file with OneNote etc. Comparison of times and processors with everyday tasks would be real useful for users and readers.

Anonymous said...

Oh that thing is sexy! I wish I could talk myself into it. As I've YET to get a tablet.

You'll be happy to hear though that I've gone all Vista (no more macs) and, on top of that, rumors abound on the internet that MS is buying my company. :P

Oh, Hugo, been on the phone with our Sydney office all day today. Thought of you....hey do you have a good vendor for server purchases for Sydney? One of our DCs just took a nosedive.

Anonymous said...

Hi Hugo,

I am interested how you are finding the OQO2 as a tablet device. Does the sheer lack of size on the screen have much effect on the OQO2's usability as a tablet. I have a Sony UX with tablet edition on it. I'd love to get these side by side to see how they compare.
Gordon

Hugo Gaston Ortega said...

REPLIES TO ALL COMMENTS

@Gabriel:

Hi Gabi! Life at 5" is great and truly Ultra Mobile. I am working on getting a video up but I can tell you that these pocket devices make a lot of sense. Thanks.

@Dave:

Hi Dave"Sexy" is all that came to mind. When I pulled the device out of the packet all I could suggest is that this was a real head turner! I guess that is why OQO only made it in glossy black! Pure Sex! (This is such un-geekish talk) LOL.

@Julian:

Hi Julian. I must admit that my initial reaction to working wiht the 5" screen was WOW...followed by OUCH! I won't spoil my video - coming soon - but in short you would be surprised how we compensate the size with the new found practicality. More on that later. Great comment.

@Alchemist2012:

Hi Alchemist 2012. The only reason I did ont hit the power button was becasue of time restrictions. I know how quickly 10 minutes goes and I know how quickly I loose people attention span. Windows is Windows after all! Having said that...as soon as I stopped recording I went straight back to my office and booted the little guy! It rocks! *smiles*

@Anonymous in Norway!

Hi Norway! Admittedly I did not know you had it, and obviously I did not know you had it before me, and that you opened it outside of North America...like me. Good Job!

Like you I find the internal speaker VERY poor to say the least. I too am having issues with Tablet Edition but I am not sure if it is me or my device. The reason I say it might be me is that I did the install myself - I did not buy the Tablet XP version. Let me know if you fixed the Vectoring or not.

@Simon:

Hi Simon. Your comment was a great one. It is something that has crossed my mind frequently this week. The fact that we are even asking about RAW files and Video compression (for e.g.) is amazing. Sadly I do not use RAW files but I do edit video. I will try that and let you know ASAP as that will probably relate.

Great comment - oh, and 10 years ago we were wishing our desktop would do what you have just asked me to do now. You're right. How things progress!

@ThoughtFix:

Hi ThoughtFix. Admittedly I have reported on being a fan of touch for some time now. Having said that I find the Active Digitzer more appealing given that these pocket devices are the perfect pen-and-paper replacement. I have touch on my Vega (1" smaller than the OQO 02) and I have to suggest that I cannot use it with my finger...even though it is touch enabled. I think OQO did the right thing on this occassion. Elecrto-Magnetic (EM) Pen is a better option here. "in my humble opinion"

Great comment!

@Bobby:

Hi Bobby. What a great comment! Comparing my Adult enthusiasm to that of my Childhood was very humorous. The irony is that as a child I was known as the "serios one" in my family. So much so that at family parties I am still considered not very approachable! LOL.

When it comes to the OQO 02 I can admit that my enthusiasm is not easy to hide. It really does excite me!!!

Great comment.

@ChunShun:

Hi Chun Shun. THe OQO 02 I have runs a 1.5GHz Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) Processor made by VIA Technologies. It is not a CoreSolo or Duo. I find it to work really well and very speedy for Mobile Computing. As a Desktop replacement it is not so much the device as it is the whole experience that makes me have fun.

Great comment.

@Anonymous:

Hi Anonymous. The OQO 02 is way better than the Samsung Q1P. I have "actually" used it more often, in a single day, than my Q1P. Which is says a lot.

I find that the screen touch scratch easily but not a deep groove, it's more like a smudge. With a clean cloth I have been able to remove all of them all the time. So really the answer is NO, it does not scratch easily, but it does smudge more often than other UMPC. Does that make sense? Great comment.

WRT the battery the OQO 02 excels! I have had it on standby and got through a 6hr work day without a problem. I guess that means that I did about 4hrs work on it perhaps. I will do some more tests and let you know.

Thanks for the comment.

@HG:

Hi Hector. At CeBIT the OQO 02 was priceless. I got stopped by so many people and was asked what I was carrying. My response was: "my desktop!" LOL.

@Eugene:

Hi Eugene. I will be using the device more often and will let you know how these applications run. At present I have only emailed and viewed YouTube and surfed and read stuff on it. I will be installing PhotoShop soon and see how it hands photos. My plan is to also install PowerDirector and see how it handles editing Movie Files.

@Gordon:

Hi Gordon...The WOW has started for you mate. No more MACs. OMG! This is great. Now all we need to get you to do is get a Tablet PC. This will be a lot more fun than anything else you have played with! LOL. (I'm still pushing you aren't I?!?!)

@Alex:

Hi Alex! Great to hear that you like the new format of the Blog, i.e. the aesthetics. It was something I dreamt one night.

Great comment regarding the comparison. My plan was to leave this for a video...so great idea.

@Nick Randolph:

Hi Nick! YOU HAVE TO BE JOKING MATE! To compare the OQO 02 to a phone is a compliment to the OQO! Not only is it like comparing an Apple to a bloddy Pear, but in this case you may as well have compared an Apple to a Shoe!

The OQO 02 "IS" a Pocket PC. WM6 wishes it was a Pocket PC. Franky I can tell you that in my opinion my phone is a pain in the rear to try and "actually" work with. Not only is the screen too small, but having said that, the screen is too small! It is not "rich" either. By rich I mean for the Cleint Side interaction. I KNOW I could have done everything I blogged about on a phone - but with less ease and more inconvenience.

I will post more thoughts on this soon but at this point I thought your comment only highlighted how good UMPC are actually becoming. If 'mobile guys" like you are finally paying attention to real mobility then this is really cool!

Admittedly I like all the richness my OQO provides and I cannot see how a phone will give me that. Copy/Paste, PowerPoint, Edit Video and Photos, YouTube, (GPS too) and more. I know you would like to convince me that your phone does all that but I am afraid I am not listening. LOL. I must be too passionate mate.

@Al Iverson:

Hi Al...thank you mate.

@Scott:

Hi Scott. I saw your comment on JK and your comment on GottaBeMobile. It seems that like Nick you are passionate about your phone and I think that is great. All I can suggest is that I am not here to convince anyone except myself. I like what I can do on my OQO and I hate what I can't do on my Dopod 838 pro. My Dopod rocks...don't get me wrong. But as I walked around CeBIT and replied to email, added attachments (adited them, ripped PDFs and finished off my presentation on PowerPoint) I must admit that I did not reach for my phone once...or even look at it with longing eyes.

I like that you and Nick are comparing the OQO to your phones as it only means that Ultra Mobile PCs are actually being viewed as truly mobile.

Great comment.

@Gordon:

Hi Gordon. From memory I think you and I live close. Why on't we do coffee and put them on video next to each other.

I find the Tablet features really great! What you need to know off the bat is that the OQO actually ships with an Active Digitizer (Electro Magnetic Pen). Your Sony only has a touch screen. This alone means that the usability on the OQO for someone that is focused on Tablet PCs "Pen Features" then the OQO will always be better than the Sony.

It will be easy to prove if we get together. Great comment.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE AWESOME COMMENTARY. I HAVE BEEN SO BUSY SO I APOLOGIES ABOUT THE DELAYED RESPONSE. AS PROMISED HOWEVER I HAVE REPLIES TO EVERYONE.

Anonymous said...

A side by side video sounds great. I'll send you an email when you get home.

Gordon

Hugo Gaston Ortega said...

Sounds great Gordon! Look forward to hearing from you.

Sorry to say...you beeter warn your UX. The OQO is quite an intimidating beast. LOL

Logan said...

any updadtes on the side by side ux and oqo comparison yet?

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