Handtops, UMPC - I finally did it.., went on a business trip with only my OQO -

Earlier this week, I went on a business trip from New York to Tijuana Mexico with my only tech being my OQO and a cell phone. My primary mission was to provide training for my company's motion control equipment. I used a USB keyboard and mouse for text entry and displayed the course materials (PDFs, photos, PowerPoint, etc) using a video projector and the mini video adapter. A USB to serial adapter gave me the necessary communications to my company's product. I had to write small sections of code, but this was not a problem with the external keyboard (shipped earlier).

This is the first time I've left my laptop home. I've been on several other trips where the laptop was not taken out of my briefcase, but it was there for backup if I found the OQO was not sufficient for the task. No safety net for me this time.

I had no problems with the OQO and the customers were impressed that so much could be done in such a small package. I did run into a few nuisance problems: I had to take the OQO out of the Stronghold case to plug in the video adapter and when using the projector, the OQO's display could not be used simultaneously. Trivial, I know, but worthy of comment. A backlit keyboard would have also been welcomed. In the hotel, I had some trouble staying connected to their WiFi until I learned that they used a single directional antenna on each side of the building to blanket signal through the windows. Once I moved closer to the external walls, I was able to stay connected. A little more WiFi sensitivity would have been advantageous. Scrolling PDF documents with an external scroll mouse seemed a bit slow at times, but I suspect the extra memory of an 01+ would have made a big difference.

For entertainment in transit, I used a custom made bracket to suspend the OQO from the small hook on the plastic tray table retainer, watching past episodes of "Lost," "The Simpsons" and "Heroes." One of the flight attendants commented, "Now that's the way to travel.' I could not agree more. It dawned on me that I was probably the only person on the plane still able to watch my media (the in-flight movie was lame) while the tray table was filled infamous snack box goodies.

Using a Bluetooth GPS receiver, I was able to navigate to my destination in San Diego easily. I just wish I had GPS maps for Mexico. It would have made driving there much less stressful. Interestingly, I was able to use the GPS as an indicator of how far away from the boarder I was during my four-hour wait to cross the boarder. 2500 feet, four hours. You do the math.

I can't tell you what a pleasure it was to not have to lug around 10 pounds of laptop. With just the OQO, my entire briefcase only weighed 9.4 pounds, including the OQO, power supply, cables, lots of USB adaptors, an aluminum "portable desk," and paperwork. In fact, I didn't even take the OQO out going through security. They just assumed it was a PDA. Security was much more interested un a USB key that looked like a lighter through the x-ray. On trips like this in the future, I might be able to leave the briefcase home and switch to a "man bag" if I can find one that suits my tastes. It's amazing that technology has come so far that I can literally carry all of the equipment needed to service a multi-million dollar production machine in my pockets.

Will I do it again. Yes, I think so. The reliability issues I've experienced now appear to be part of the past. I certainly would not want to write massive amounts of code without an external keyboard and mouse, but I'm growing much more confident that the OQO can really replace my laptop.