Pros & Cons
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- 1-pound device.
- Small enough to slide into your pockets.
- Best thumb board on a Micro PC.
- Vibrant 5-inch screen.
- Built-in Sprint EV-DO modem.
- Innovative docking station.
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- More expensive than the original version.
- VIA processors appear to be slower than their Intel counterparts.
- Fan noise can get annoying.
OQO Model 02 Specs
| Graphics Memory | 68 |
| Graphics Processor | VIA VX700 |
| Operating System | MS Windows XP Professional |
| Optical Drive | external |
| Processor | VIA C7M ULV |
| Processor Speed | 1.5 |
| RAM (as Tested) | 1 |
| Screen Size | 5 |
| Weight | 1 |
| Wireless Networking | 802.11a/g |
The model 02 is about the size of a
Many of the keys are laid out intuitively: The pointing stick is on the far right-hand side, while separate left and right mouse buttons are situated on the left-hand side. Backspace, Enter, and Spacebar keys are all oversize, as they should be. The number pad is designed to look like a phone, and punching in numbers is definitely a pleaser. In contrast, the Sony UX180P has the number keys positioned in a line across the top, similar to a laptop keyboard but without a number pad. The two Zoom (in and out) buttons also come in handy for magnifying text on the miniature screen. Like the UX180P, the model 02 has a backlit keyboard for low-light situations, and you can turn it on by using a combination of the Fn (Function) and KBD (Keyboard) keys.
The 5-inch transflective screen is a breath of fresh air for OQO fanatics. It's bigger than the 4.5-inch screen found on the UX180P and just as bright. Whether you're watching a video clip, clicking through photos, or reading an eBook, the amount of light coming out of the screen will keep you focused for hours. The native resolution is 800-by-480, but you can crank it up to 1,000-by-600 without losing too much detail. (At 1,200-by-720 I found the text too small to get anything done.) There's also a Rotate key on the thumb board that lets you rotate the screen into portrait mode, which is great for reading long Web pages.
The frame is entirely surrounded by magnesium alloy, a tough, weighty material that feels substantial in your pocket. The OQO is 1 inch thick, thinner than the UX180P's 1.3-inch frame. The model 02 does have some design drawbacks: It heats up quite a bit after extensive use, and the noise from the fans gets annoying over long periods of time.
The pint-size PC also keeps in step with the recent cellular broadband-integration trend. The model 02 integrates a Sprint EV-DO modem that works wonderfully wherever there's a Sprint cell-phone signal. As on the previous version, you also get Bluetooth and 802.11 to cover all your wireless needs. The lone USB port is 2.0, thank goodness. You also have an HDMI port that outputs audio and video, simultaneously, to a larger display. You have 60GB of hard drive space to play with, but it spins at only 4,200 rpm. The unit is equipped with a built-in accelerometer that protects the heads of the hard drive, and it makes a hilarious falling-off-the-cliff noise when there's a sudden movement.
What surprised me most about the OQO model 02 is how innovative and well-designed the docking station is. The optional docking station ($399) has an articulating handle and a goal-post cradle that charges and syncs with the device. There are infinite ways you can adjust the screen position, and it sure beats the heck out of that flexible docking cable that came with the model 01. Attached to the other end of the handle is a slot-loading dual-layer DVD burner. This is a huge addition when you realize that the Sony docking station does not have an optical drive built in. The docking station also has three additional USB ports, a 100MB Ethernet port, and headphone, VGA-Out, and HDMI-Out ports on the dock.
My unit comes with Windows XP Professional, but you can also configure the model 02 with Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005. With the Tablet Edition, you get a stylus that goes with the unit. OQO took the liberty of dual-booting Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft's next-generation operating system, on the same drive. With Vista Ultimate, the Tablet Edition is built in. When I borrowed a digitizer pen, the tablet functions worked smoothly. Running tablet-supported applications such as Microsoft Office and OneNote 2003 went without a hitch, and surfing the Net went flawlessly with both Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2.0. You don't get the Aero, or Vista's 3D interface, however, because of component limitations.
The one thing that the Sony UX180P has over the OQO model 02 is more power. The previous model 01 used the now-defunct Transmetta processors, and it doesn't get much better on the model 02. It incorporates the 1.5-GHz VIA C7M ULV chip, whose core architecture is not as robust and fast as the Intel Core technology found on the UX180P. Indeed, the model 02's performance does feel a little slow. On the other hand, it comes with 1GB of RAM, which meets the requirements for Vista. But because of the shared VIA graphics chipset, the unit is classified as Vista-capable, not Vista Premium–ready. You do get most of the Vista functions, minus the pretty 3D Aero interface. Standard battery life is up to 3 hours, according to OQO. You can add a double-capacity battery that will bring it up to 6 hours.
The warranty covers one year of parts and labor. Technical support over the phone is available all year round and toll-free at 1-877-676-6688. Many common problems can also be addressed via OQO's knowledge base at www.oqo.com/support. Extended warranty options are available, and I recommend them, given the steep price of the model 02 ($2,098 direct). A two-year agreement will run you $149, and three years of extended service costs $229.
The OQO model 02 sets a new standard for miniature computing when it comes to its thumb keyboard and case design. Granted, the performance doesn't reach the level of the competition, but then again, you're not going to run Adobe Photoshop, encode video, or do any type of 3D gaming on it. The model 02 is a communication device that lets you browse the Web, compose e-mail, run the occasional office application, watch a YouTube video, or check your photo blogs. And that's just scratching the surface. It took over two years for OQO to deliver an upgrade to its flagship product, but the wait seems to have paid off. With the model 02, OQO has figured out how to build an integrated, intuitive experience into a 1-pound device.
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Final Thoughts
OQO Model 02
It's the most intuitive and innovative 1-pound PC available in the market.