Handtops, UMPC - I Switched ;)

12/23/04 + tke918

I switched from OQO to U70 ;)

Here is my impression about u70 so far.
1. It's fast.
2. It's heavy.
3. It's big! Un-pocketable.
4. 802.11g is fast and has a good reception!
5. U70's LCD is bright and sharp. Also, 800x600 is good ;)
6. u70 is quieter than OQO
7. The stylus sucks.
8. The cradle is very functional, not just a stand.
9. U70 looks ugly

You should try both if you are interested. Both of them are not perfect and they are just different! Anyway, I'm now an U70 owner. Call me a trader ;)

12/23/04 + mikecane

Exactly *why* did you switch? What was lacking in the OQO that made you try and then want the U?

12/23/04 + tke918

1. I loved my OQO but I knew it wasn't perfect. So, I just wanted to try another device.
2. My friend offered me U70 plus $1000 for my OQO. I thought that wasn't a bad deal ;)

12/23/04 + anthonyb

tke918, you are like me in having a tendency to try everything.
You will probably not have your U70 for very long. I probably will not have my OQO for long either but I don't know why because it's an awesome machine.

Recent Blog: Smartercase with ultra clip for OQO

12/23/04 + fil

What issues made you switch from the OQO?

Recent Blog: Apple iPhone Switch

12/24/04 + jlp

tke918 said: "I switched from OQO to U70 ;)

Call me a trader ;)"

I thought it was spelled T.R.A.I.T.O.R. in English?

Isn't it? Be nice to me English is only my third language !!

(and I'm just kidding about the spelling

)

12/24/04 + tke918

jlp said: "

tke918 said: "I switched from OQO to U70 ;)

Call me a trader ;)"

I thought it was spelled T.R.A.I.T.O.R. in English?

Isn't it? Be nice to me English is only my third language !!

(and I'm just kidding about the spelling

)"

Yep! That's it! I meant "traitor"!! ;)

12/24/04 + mikecane

OK, let's say you haven't bought EITHER yet. Having tried both the OQO and the Sony U, if you had to put up $$$ *today*, which would it be? And don't you miss the OQO's pocketability?

12/24/04 + Ravellar

Looks like your so called friend saw a sucker and took advantage of you. What does your friend think of your, I mean his OQO.

12/25/04 + tke918

mikecane said: "OK, let's say you haven't bought EITHER yet. Having tried both the OQO and the Sony U, if you had to put up $$$ *today*, which would it be? And don't you miss the OQO's pocketability?"

I'd buy an OQO. In the bottom line, it is truely pocketable. It doesn't need any special bags to carry around. When I go out, I could just put it in my pocket. I already have a desktop PC and a good portable laptop, OQO can compliment my computing environment very well.

Ravellar said: "Looks like your so called friend saw a sucker and took advantage of you. What does your friend think of your, I mean his OQO."

Nahh. I can sell U70 for $1000 easily ;) He loves HIS OQO. He already installed a Japanese XP and playing with it ;)

12/28/04 + mikecane

Is your friend nearby? Please answer this question!

link

12/28/04 + deanw

I switched... from an OQO back to nothing.

I don't _want_ an external bluetooth keyboard, or mouse or whatever that makes the OQO functional. To me, that defeats the purpose and point of a lightweight computer. I want to pull it out, use it, put it away. If the touchscreen worked better and there was integrated application support for same, that might have made a difference.

Battery life (currently available, not some hypothetical extended life battery available at a non-specified future date) is another factor. I repeatedly chewed through the available battery capacity in the course of half a day, so I found myself packing the power supply with me. I suppose I could have bought a second battery, but it's still the same issue- something *else* to carry.

Another issue was desktop use. A real docking station would have been a huge plus. The cable thingy is OK for trips, but I'd really rather have a docking station with all the plugs on the back- power, USB, firewire, power ,etc, instead of spacing them out every six inches, stringing all those cables all over my desk instead of one bundle. The idea should be to reduce wiring clutter, the OQO did the opposite.

It also never quite got along with my desktop LCD display- the video was alway slightly off and caused headaches, while my desktop PCs deliver crisp clear video to the same display. It was actually easier to read the built-in display than my 19" LCD.

The unit went to someone else in my company, one of the owners- where it'll probably become his primary PC, replacing the ancient 333Mhz 505-series Vaio he's been using, and it'll only leave his desktop once or twice a year. We'll both be happier- he gets a cool geek toy and faster PC, I get (hopefully) an easier system to support.

I do now have a better idea of what I need/want from a pocketable computer; better built-in HIDs and longer battery life top the list, and those may mean a device that's not actually pocketable. Meanwhile I'll schlep around the LifeBook.

12/28/04 + anthonyb

deanw, you did the right thing to offload your OQO.
Your next to last sentence tells the whole story regarding you not being compatible with an OQO. A truely compatible OQO owner considers pocketability more important than any other criteria. You on the other hand consider features your most important criteria. You will easily find what you want since most new, highend laptops have the features you need. OQO is the only company with pocketability however with fewer features.

Recent Blog: Smartercase with ultra clip for OQO

12/28/04 + mikecane

deanw said: "I repeatedly chewed through the available battery capacity in the course of half a day, so I found myself packing the power supply with me."

Ha! I do that with my *PDA* -- a palmOne Tungsten E. So, this wouldn't be news to me. Having *real apps* would be, though.

edited: Dec 28 2004 + fil

If the U only had a keyboard, it's about the most functional carrying solution out here right now without the performance and battery life problems. I'm getting over 5 hours of battery life with a double capacity battery and every app is snappy.

It's getting cold in Atlanta, so I'm starting to carry it more in my coat pocket.

I used it to research prices and reviews while out shopping using Firefox and RDPed (without screen resizing) to my home server to lookup my DVD database. I've actually considered the U101 with a quad battery, but the U101 prices are higher or equivalent to the price of a U70--$1700 (it's the keyboard).

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