OQO Model e2 UMPC
Probably the world's best ultra-mobile PC
Review OQO may sound like a city in Japan, but it’s actually a company that makes ultra-mobile PCs - handheld computers capable of running a full-size operating system. It’s been around for seven years, and was founded by a team of ex-Apple engineers. The Model e2 is the company’s third shot at a UMPC, following in the diminutive footsteps of the Model 01 and the Model 01+.
Of the current crop of UMPCs, to our eyes the Model e2 has by far the coolest design. The lines are clean and uncluttered, and the glossy screen-surround contrasts with the matt black casing. With a scarcity of buttons on the front, it could pass for a media player rather than a computer.
OQO Model e2: media player styling
Where rival UMPCs resemble bulked-up gaming devices, complete with joypads and buttons, the Model e2 is dominated by its display. It’s actually an active digitiser panel, so if you specify Windows XP Tablet Edition as your operating system, you’ll be able to control the device using a stylus. There's still a Qwerty keypad though, revealed by sliding up the top.
The dimensions are slinky. It’s just about possible to shoehorn the Model e2 into your pocket, although you’ll attract a range of glances - and possibly the odd injunction - with that UMPC-shaped bulge if you do.
The 5in screen boasts a native resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. Images are smooth, although Sony's UMPC – the VAIO VGN-UX1, reviewed here – offers a sharper resolution of 1024 x 600. The OQO's screen was fine for working with documents, but when it came to viewing web pages we found ourselves having to scroll all over the place in order to see an entire page.
However, there's clearly an awareness of this awkwardness - the e2 has two touch-sensitive strips by the bottom right corner of the screen in an attempt to overcome the problem, letting you scroll up and down easily at the swipe of a finger.
Another plus comes in the form of hardware zoom buttons. Offering an interpolated 1200 x 720 pixel resolution, it’s easy to view web pages as they’re intended. The downside here is that the images lose clarity, something you always get when you run an LCD past its native resolution.
The keyboard incorporates a pointing stick between the buttons. This took a while to get accustomed to, with the smallest actions resulting in seemingly disproportionate responses, but once you get the hang of it it’s quick and precise. There are two buttons on the left-hand side of the device which work just like the buttons on a mouse.
Black box
The Qwerty keys themselves are among the most usable we’ve tried so far on a UMPC - and the ambient backlighting is excellent in poor light - but they're not perfect. The keyboard's designed to be used with your thumbs, so touch-typing isn't really an option. The biggest problem we had was with the width of the unit – the centre keys were slightly too far from the edge to reach comfortably.
Despite these quibbles, it's a lot nicer to use than either Sony’s UX1 or the tiny buttons built into Samsung’s Q1 Ultra – the Model e2's biggest rivals. Each of the Model e2's raised keys offer a slight movement so you know your actions have registered. The dedicated numeric pad is a welcome touch too, although it can still take forever to winkle out those lesser-used characters.
COMMENTS
Psion 5 is still the best form factor
I'd still rather have an updated Psion 5 - with a colour screen, bluetooth/WiFi - with that form afactor and that keyboard - fabulous - better than any of this rubbish!
RE: Rubber keys?
I was just about to say the same thing. Not that there is necessarily anything bad about looking like a ZX Spectrum. Though with Vista installed, I doubt that it will reach the performance levels of a Speccy.
ooo shiny
I like it. I can only see System on a Chip tech make it all smaller! even smaller still...
Now, form factor is an issue... qwerty is nice, but since I'm 6'10 and my hands are enormous I don't think there's a single keyboard that really pleases me except the one on my desktop. I just get used to the stylus instead, which you can learn pretty fast.
But I must say, it looks fancy. A real geek toy. It wouldn't surprise me OQO are heading the direction of mobile phones and portable gaming devices.
Still, what's the real use of this device? On the field data entry, be it a medical statistics or readings from a seismograph. Warehouse inventorising. A huge number of things, but for which most... a battery lifetime of 8 hours might be minimal.
but why o why
but why o why does it ship with vistaids? Also rubbish battery is rubbish.
Ship with less power hungry components and less aids based hardware hogging os so I can use word and an mp3s for 10 hours. Until then you are irrelevant.
Sounds like a cool device but....
... look at the price! This thing is horrifically expensive and so are most of the UMPC devices. How the hell are they going to survive the onslaught of cheap laptops such as the Asus eee PC which released this week. An Asus eee PC costs $400 and arrives in a small form factor that crosses well into UMPC territory. It also runs Linux (though Asus claims it can run XP too), and can do so better due to reduced specs.
While the eee PC is larger than an OQO, I can totally see it being the pathfinder for similar devices that eventually reach iPaq sizes but still a full desktop OS. All for far cheaper than UMPC. Arguably the eee PC has already claimed one scalp - the Palm Folio and I don't see it stopping there. Microsoft and manufacturers had better respond with their own cheap models or they'll be in a heap of trouble trying to shift these things.
