OQO model 02 hands on mini-review
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Hello All.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of examining an OQO Model 2 at RCS in New York City. The well-informed clerk who assisted me said that RCS rapidly sold out of all of their stock of 18 and has a growing backorder list. Like others before me, I drove hundreds of miles to give it a grope to satisfy my anticipation needs.
It’s a very impressive piece of hardware. The first thing that stood out was the display. It’s crisp and clear and a dramatic improvement over the Model 01. The zooming functions worked quickly and flawlessly. I expected the interpolation to make the display look blurry, similar to video projection, but found text and images to be quite impressive with only minimal scaling artifacts. I found even the smallest default text sizes to be easily readable. I only noticed blurring when zooming in (making the text appear larger). I see this same effect when I decrease the resolution on my laptop so this was not a surprise. What was surprising was the speed that the scaling takes place. I estimate no more than a few seconds between transitions.
The mechanism for opening the screen has been redesigned. With the 01/01+, the rack and pinion provided fairly even resistance through the entire travel of the screen. This was not so with the 02. There was increasing resistance when pushing the screen upwards, but when opened to about 50%, the screen “popped” to the open position. A similar resistance was felt when closing the screen. This spring loading will certainly prevent the screen from opening or closing on its own and will be a welcomed addition to those using the OQO for GPS navigation. The slide mechanism on the demo 02 has clearly been exercised regularly, but was holding up well.
There has also been a redesign of the track stick. Rather than feeling like a fuzzy tip on a pencil eraser, the new tip felt more pointed, narrower and appeared to protrude further from the keyboard surface. These changes made the track stick feel considerably more responsive than previous models.
OQO has really outdone themselves with the new keyboard. It’s not like any other thumb keyboard I’ve ever used each key has satisfying tactile feedback and a surprising amount of travel for being so small. Keys are spaced adequately apart so there was no danger of pushing more than one at once (although admittedly, I have small hands). The backlighting was just as impressive through cupped hands even under the bright RCS display lighting. I’m really looking forward to using this feature on my next nighttime flight. It will be a pleasure to use without having to turn on the individual seat lamp. The capacitive scrollers worked with no problems and were a huge improvement over the 01’s thumbwheel. I wish my laptop mouse had them.
I’m sure you’re well aware of this by now, but the 02 is wider than the 01/01+, but after using it for a few minutes, I really didn’t notice much of a difference. I didn’t measure, but the screen appears to be larger than the 01, or at least felt that way. I did a comparison to my 01 and found the 02 is about 10mm wider. I’m a short guy at 5’6” with average size pockets, but did not find the size difference to affect the “pocketability” in the least. Adjacent to the 02 and in the same display case, there was a Sony UX and a Samsung Q1 (I think), both of which seemed large in comparison to the OQO.
The Model 02’s black case initially reminded me of a Sony PSP, but as soon as I got it in my hands, it was not difficult to determine it’s metal. Finish was very good, even on this unit that’s likely been handled by thousands of people. The clerk could not tell me if the screen protector was installed, but it appeared to be on more careful examination. It’s quite glossy (I would have preferred one with more of a matte finish) and appeared to be free of scratches. The demo unit had XP installed, but there was no pen to try out. I should have thought to try my 01’s stylus on the 02… dang.
In the half hour I was able to play, it did not seem abnormally warm. My 01, on the other hand, was much warmer in comparison. I may not have stressed the processor much, but did not hear the fan activate at all.
Compared to my 01, the processor in the 02 is downright quick. I opened several applications with ease and only minimal lag time. If you’re an 01 owner like myself, the 02 was like comparing the proverbial jackrabbit to a tortoise. Even my wife was impressed and noticed the difference. Only time will tell.
So there you have it. In my opinion, OQO has addressed many of the limitations and deficiencies introduced with the Model 01. After having a hands-on with the Sony UX, I was tempted to go with the passive touch screen, higher screen resolution and faster processor. Now that I’ve seen the 02 up close and personal, my decision is to stick with OQO.
