I remember being interested in the OQO back in 2003, why i even saved their website to my browser's favourites and visited it time to time to see if it had hit the market yet...

That was a lifetime ago.

General Halfshaftery

Asus really screwed those guys. They should have jumped on that wagon with a cheap and bigger version.

Compared to other similarly priced devices the OQO is by far not the easiest or most comfortable thing to use. It looks the nicest but its kind of too small.

The cost and OS is crushing it.

Great movie prop though.

RoboChop

When you have decent web browsing on phones, along with e-mail, entertainment and other features, I don't see these tiny general computers surviving. I don't see netbooks doing well either, aside from providing dirt cheap notebooks to the poor.

peacefulpony

The problem is two fold
1) Cost
2) OS - They need to custom build an OS. This is why the iPhone continues to dominate. A very easy User interface and why Garmin has the best GPS device.

Make your own OS, and make it easy for user friendly (big buttons, Fast loading times, Easily customizeable)

Drop a SIM card slot, GPS and webcam and you have the HW for a huge competitor for Garmin and Apple

sxpacks

Alas, twas price that killed the beast.

BigDogues

I imagine the bigger kick to the crotch for OQO was the $450 Asus eee PC 1000H pricepoint and not the CEO resigning.

Samifumi

Instead of the slide down keyboard, they should have an onscreen keyboard. It would cut down on the thickness and maybe even the ridiculous price.

daftrok

I'll tell you the problem, Vista wasn't made to run on that small of a pc. And the price is way to high compared to a better spec'ed netbook.
(Just for the record I wasn't being negative about Vista, thats just how it is)

gamecrazychris

I remember only the Lupins...

+ Watch video

STAND AND DELIVER!

strider_mt2k

As owner of a OQO Model 2 who has sent it in 3 different times for repairs (2 keyboards shorting out and the Sprint EVDO modem died) it might be that this little system was not ready for prime time. If I could get Ubuntu 8.04 on the thing, and keep it working I would be happier - great idea, poor execution.

:(

xylr869

it seems to be a very unqiue machine...but the OS and price kill any chance for success. its really the combo of a hand held video game machine, with a computer.

i say they give this thing a touch screen, a specialized linux distro, and enough power to watch youtube, java, flash, an handle the world wide web in general with ease. however, on the note of capabilities, i would scale the machine back considerably. it could use a 32gb sd card instead of a hdd or ssd, and the overall power of the machine in every which way scaled back considerably.

cheaper, but just as good (given what you're probably going to use it for), and easier to use. if they could manage to bring the price down to about 300 then they'd be made in the shade.

jrghoull

@xylr869: ..Why can't you get it working? Shouldn't a boot image on a USB drive be enough?

Mammoth

Too. Fucking. Expensive.

markarian

@sxpacks: @jrghoull:
The cost of an OQO is prohibitive and therein lies OQO's greatest challenge. However, switching to a proprietary OS or scaling down capabilities will be suicidal for the company. It goes against what OQO positions itself to be, a full-fledged computer running standard PC apps in your pocket.

OQO needs to work hard to justify its price tag while continuing to improving the device's performance capabilities. RMA issues aside, I've been very happy with my OQO model 2, which is with me almost always.

All to best to Dennis Moore and his new start-up.

bungee

Well, Apple sort of killed OQO. Like the rest of Silicon Valley, they ignored the obvious and went for clunky foldout keyboards & outrageous prices instead.

heroineworshipper

I have had an OQO 02 for a year and a half, and I love it. I sent it in once for a repair (screen cable), but it has been a stalwart companion and is always with me. It's my machine of choice when I go on vacation, I use it to keep grades and documents up to date in my classroom and it goes with me when i go geocaching to grab new waypoints. It's exactly the machine I need and I hope to hold on to it for years to come.

I'm sorry to see Mr. Moore go...he was always very responsive and helpful on the OQO forum boards. I'm interested in what his new startup does...

gadjitfreek

@jrghoull: Your Nokia Internet Tablet is waiting...

strider_mt2k

OQO's time has passed.

EVEs_Mako

I've had my model 02 for several months now, and I have to say that I love the portability, styling, and features, but all that is outweighed by it's poor battery life(even with extended life battery) and it's performance. It's slow when your doing things as simple as web browsing. As much as I liked it, it's a bad investment considerind the very high price and slow performance (and I have a top of the line model).

carlesious