Handtops, UMPC - OQO got it right

For all the multitude of mostly fair and valid complaints about the Model 1 and 1+ OQO's, there is one fact that I believe no reasonable person can deny: OQO got it pretty much right first time out.

The OQO Model 2 is an evolutionary step for the company, building on the strengths and correcting some of the weaknesses of the Model 1 and 1+. While technically it might have been “back to the drawing board”, there is a clear and obvious continuity of design and purpose from the earlier models to the Model 2. Conceptually the Model 2 is no different from the Model 1 and 1+. This is testament to a successful and enduring base design.

This is not to say that there can be no improvements on the current design, or that it is the perfect device for everyone, or even that there are not some basic flaws in the design, but that the basic concept, as originally executed in the Model 1 and later the Model 1+, and significantly improved in the Model 2 is a fundamentally good design, and one of just a very few “right” designs.

The handtop and UMPC market is new, and one can almost say the modern handtop was pioneered by Sony and OQO. This takes nothing away from some of the much loved and still revered handtops from some years ago, but the first desktop computers in a handtop package were developed and marketed by Sony and OQO.

The OQO is fundamentally unchanged in its latest guise. Sure, the processor has been upgraded, the cosmetics have been improved (or not, as the case may be), and the keyboard etc. have been upgraded, as has has been disk capacity, RAM and a few other things. But conceptually it is still the same machine. The same can not be said for the Sony handtop. From the original clamshell machines in the U series, through the tablet versions to the current slider, Sony has been searching for the “right” design. All of the devices were good, arguably great, and cutting edge for their time. The current Sony UX is no exception. But Sony obviously felt that the previous models had not hit the “sweet spot” of an intrinsically “right” design. Time will tell if the current Sony UX is a “right” design that will continue conceptually unchanged for a lengthy period and multiple versions (I do not consider the incremental upgrades Sony has released on the UX as new versions).

The same type of searching for a “right” design can be seen in the UMPC market and the cell phone market. Some phones become instant successes, almost in spite of their features, because they present the “right” mixture of features, ergonomics, price and style at the right time. While design, components and price all have a part to play in the final product, it is the successful combination of all the features to produce a harmonious unit that just feels “right” that is going to dictate the long term success of a phone. Exactly the same is true of UMPCs and handtops.

There is never going to be one single “right” handtop design that suits everyone. Cars are testament to this. Every year bring a plethora of new models and styles, some of which are hugely successful at the time. Few, however, survive to become classics, or the basis of a substantially unchanged lineage.

The same is true of handtop designs. Requirements regarding fashion, size, power, battery life, form factor, screen resolution, capacity and a number of other elements dictate that a variety of devices will always be needed to meet everyone's requirements. That said, a great many devices will appear, be popular for a period, and then disappear again to be replaced by the next best thing. Only a few will endure through multiple iterations conceptually unchanged.

One may complain that the OQO is not powerful enough, is too large, has too low a screen resolution, does not have a clamshell design, is too small, and a whole host of other, valid items. But in the final analysis, the OQO has survived and prospered, and is now into its second major version conceptually unchanged, and looks to be more popular than ever. Lets hope OQO can continue to get it right!