In the storage department, the base model features a 60GB hard drive, with 80GB and 120GB disks also available. A 32GB solid-state drive can be specified, although the cheapest e2 with an SSD is £1339/$2400, rising to a massive £1539/$2800 when equipped with Vista Business and MS Office. That hefty tag is still worth considering, however - with no moving parts, it’s bound to be more robust and cooler to the touch.
Thumb-friendly keyboard...
The Model e2's chipset features an integrated VIA UniChrome Pro II graphics core, a budget offering that delivers considerably less performance than the Intel GMA 950 chip used by rivals. The Model e2 was unable to run either 3DMark 05 or 3DMark 06, and scored a paltry 84 in 3DMark 03.
Multimedia performance wasn't anything to write home about, though to be fair the Model e2 makes a decent enough fist of running office apps and even the odd movie.
Despite the integrated GPU and small display, battery life was unexceptional, offering just 3-4 hours' usage between charges. A larger, extended battery is an option, offering a more respectable six hours away from power.
...but a tricky-to-use integrated mouse
Verdict
The Model e2 is a great example of how diverse the UMPC arena currently is, differing vastly from its rivals. The 5in screen is a reasonable compromise between size and portability, and the slide-down keyboard is the best we’ve seen on a UMPC.
It’s a shame, then, that the Model e2 has many of the same problems as rival devices. After a couple of minutes the heat of the thing becomes annoying, it’s still too bulky to fit comfortably in a pocket, and at up to £1539/$2800 it’s as far away as ever from Microsoft’s dream of an affordable, ubiquitous device.
As a mobile companion for your desktop, the Model e2 may be a winner. It’s better than the rest of the current crop of UMPCs, and is actually a usable device. For this money, however, we’d rather have a decent ultra-portable laptop.
OQO Model e2 UMPC
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.
