The Oqo was novel when the company first debuted: a small, ultra portable PC weighing 1 pound with slide-out QWERTY keyboard. But that was eight years ago.
The San Francisco Chronicle has a little feature Monday on the latest model ("latest" being relative since it actually launched in March of last year), in which it describes how the Oqo is being forced to "defend its niche" against the rise of the mini-notebook from the likes of Asus and Hewlett-Packard. The company cut the price, added Microsoft Vista, and bumped up the storage in September. The Oqo Model 02 is now $1,300.
With the rise of the mini-notebook, the UMPC is essentially toast.
(Credit: Oqo)The Chronicle also reports the company is doing $20 million in sales these days, after a lot of early hiccups, and boasts some high-profile customers, like Craigslist's Craig Newmark. While that's admirable, it's certainly not going to be enough.
We've reported on the rise of the inexpensive mini-notebook, and consumers are clearly finding them compelling as a secondary machine. Plus, the Oqo--and every other UMPC--has been hobbled from the beginning by high prices and an identity crisis, so Asus, HP, and soon Acer and several others, should have little trouble swooping in to eat Oqo's lunch in a fairly efficient and dispassionate manner.
To be fair, the Oqo is certainly pretty--the screen is bright and clear--but it's not very consumer friendly. It's heavy and with the slide-out keyboard, the form factor is more smartphone than mini-notebook.
But the biggest weakness of the Oqo is the price. Why someone would opt for the Model 02 instead of, say, the Eee PC, or now HP's Mini-Note, confounds me. The Oqo is $1,300. The 7-inch Eee PC from Asus starts at $399 with Windows XP, and though the keys are tiny, functions more like laptop and isn't that much bigger than the Oqo. The Mini-Note from HP comes with Vista starting at $599.
Speaking strictly in terms of technology, what Oqo has done to fit a full PC into such a small package is obviously impressive. But usability and having a distinct usage category are so much more important when looking for mainstream consumer success in the gadget world.
Sharp got atomized Monday. The Japanese electronics maker along with Willcom announced the ultra-mobile Willcom D4 "communication device" based on Intel's Atom processor and Microsoft's Vista operating system.
Willcom D4 ultra-mobile communications device
(Credit: Willcom)Microsoft and Intel were also credited with development of the device, according to the Japanese-language release on the Sharp Web site.
The handheld-size device uses a 1.33GHz Z520 Intel Atom processor and runs Windows Vista Home Premium (with Service Pack 1). Other prototype devices based on similar designs--referred to as mobile Internet devices or MIDs--have also been shown running the Linux operating system.
With a separate headset, the device can also be used as a phone using Wilcom's Personal Handy-phone System (PHS) network, both Sharp and Willcom said.
The device weighs in at 470 grams (about one pound) and features a 5-inch sliding LCD (1024x600/262K colors) with an LED backlight, a 1.8-inch 40GB hard disk drive (Ultra ATA/100), 64-key QWERTY keyboard, a built-in camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a mirco SD card slot, and a USB 2.0 slot.
The D4's inclusion of a 40GB hard disk drive is an indicator that the device is meant to run Windows--because of the operating system's typically larger footprint--not Linux.
Intel Atom technology includes a single-chip with integrated graphics called the Intel System Controller Hub.
Atom will find its way into fit-in-your-pocket MIDs from Gigabyte, Toshiba, LG Electronics, Lenovo, and BenQ, among others. Netbooks (inexpensive, Internet-centric ultra-small notebook PCs) such as Asus's popular Intel-based Eee PC, MSI's Wind PC, and Clevo will also use the chip.
Willcom D4 is slated for a June release and is expected to be priced at 128,600 yen ($1,272).
(Credit:
Engadget)
If you're not making a cheap and tiny laptop to compete with the Asus Eee PC, what are you doing? Hewlett Packard's forthcoming mininotebook will use Via processors (not Isiah, however) and start at $549, according to a spec sheet that Engadget got its hands on. The entry-level HP 2133 Mini-Note PC will use Linux (SuSE Enterprise) and have a 1.2GHz Via C7-M processor, 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, a 3-cell battery, and a 8.9-inch screen with a 1280x768 resolution. Another $50 nets you the same configuration with Windows Vista Home Basic. A $749 model serves up a faster 1.6GHz CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 7200rpm drive, a 6-cell battery, Bluetooth, and Vista Business. We're not sure what to make of the "Regional" model listed, which costs $849 for a weaker configuration than the $749 unit.
Engadget reports the Mini-Note PC will hit on April 7.
Don't pay too close attention to the weights and measures listed on the spec sheet; they appear to be for the system and the box in which it ships. It's a safe bet that the HP 2133 will weigh less than 5.26 pounds. A friend of Crave has seen the Mini-Note and says it looks and feels much more expensive than it is--very sturdy and less toy-like than the Asus Eee PC. He also said it felt a bit heavier than he expected.
(Credit:
Engadget)
Features not found include solid-state hard drives, Draft N Wi-Fi, a touch screen, and GPS. Also, we can't help but be disappointed at the C7-M processor, which we've tested in the OQO Model 02 and the Wibrain B1 and have been less than impressed. Perhaps the first revision of the 2133 will bump it up to Via's Isiah chips or introduce Intel's Atom CPUs.
If the sudden rush into subnotebooks by major PC vendors is any indication, it's worth considering whether Palm's Foleo wasn't such a lame idea.
Photos of a subnotebook from Hewlett-Packard, reportedly called the HP Compaq 2133, showed up on the Web recently. And another major PC vendor, Acer, is also rumored to be entering the subnotebook fray sometime soon. Neither company will confirm anything, but in the case of the HP Compaq device, an industry insider tells us the product is for real and that the company began seriously looking into the category in November 2007. When the device will come to market, however, is still a question mark.
Palm founder Jeff Hawkins (right) shows The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg the Foleo.
(Credit: CNET Networks)But there's likely to be even more news on this front in the next few months. So what's the genesis of the sudden interest in this category? It's easy to point to the Eee PC from Asus and its surprising and instant popularity. But the Eee wasn't the first to employ the broader concept of a mobile Web device that looked like a notebook PC, but was meant to function more as a secondary device. That was the idea brought to us by Palm founder Jeff Hawkins with the Foleo.
Hawkins, who invented the Palm Pilot and the Treo, insisted the Foleo was "the best idea he'd ever had." The product was roundly panned by critics and eventually dumped before it even came to market late last summer.
The idea of a small form factor computer that is tinier than a notebook with solid-state memory, running a light operating system, Web access for e-mail is being tweaked and advanced by some of the biggest names in computing.
It's happening despite the fact that it's still a vastly unproven category of computing, and previous attempts to define such a middling type of device (see: UMPC, MID) have largely failed. So what's different?
The attraction to devices like the Eee PC, and the XO from OLPC, is partly form factor, but mostly price. At $399 for the Eee and $400 for the XO (that gets one for you and one for a kid in a developing country), they're not necessarily functional as fully loaded primary PCs, but at those prices, you're not going to expect it to be. More importantly though, at that price it severely undercuts notebook PC leaders HP, Acer, Dell, and Lenovo.
Not coincidentally, the impetus for HP's experimentation in this category was its concern over the very low price tag Asus was able to stick on the Eee PC. Selling the mini-notebook at $399, even if it's a secondary PC and runs Linux, gives it a serious chance to further chip away at the already-declining average selling prices for notebook PCs. (The 2133 from HP will have an entry level model priced at $499, and will have a Via processor, we're told.)
But that kind of pricing also could represent a good opportunity for the HPs and Acers of the world. This type of subnotebook is aimed at a very narrow group of users, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, according to Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for The NPD Group.
The pricing shows "it's not focused on being people's primary computer," he said. "Like the MacBook Air, like the Eee, like the Foleo was going to be. We tend to think of them in the context of other notebooks or portable devices, but they're really not designed to be a primary portable device. It's designed to be a niche product that focuses on a very specific usage model."
But what is that usage model? There's not even an agreed upon term for this category. Subnotebook? UMPC? Super mobile Internet device? Or as Intel is apparently ready to call it, Netbook? That definition is important to the consumer. The lack of clarity as to the purpose of the Foleo was a major reason it didn't strike a chord with a lot of consumers.
"The tough part is, this type of product is trying to navigate narrow space between a notebook and a smartphone. It can't compete with a smartphone in terms of price and portability, but it can outperform a smartphone," said IDC analyst Richard Shim. "But at the opposite end of the spectrum, these OEMs don't want to compete with notebooks directly because they don't want to disrupt the growth engine and significantly (hasten) the decline in ASPs."
So was the Foleo as silly as Hawkins' harshest critics said? Maybe the execution and timing was off. Or more likely, he was on to something, but wasn't quite able to take the idea to the next logical conclusion. In fairness to him, he did recognize at the time that the Foleo's utility may not have been as obvious to the mass consumer as he'd hoped.
"The further out you are, the more people have trouble understanding. It's hard to go back in time, but when we did the Pilot, there were a lot of people that thought that was a stupid idea. I mean a lot," he told CNET News.com last year.
Maybe he'll be vindicated--at least partially--on this one too.
Do you like me more for $699?
(Credit: CNET Networks Inc.)At its starting price of $1,999, the Vulcan FlipStart was egregiously overpriced when we reviewed it last spring. A $500 price cut last fall failed to impress, so yesterday Paul Allen and company lopped more than half off the price, lowering it to $699.
Tell me, are you more likely to consider a UMPC (FlipStart or otherwise) for $699 or do you feel that still too much to pay?
Coincidentally, I'll be posting a full review of the Wibrain B1 later today (covered previously on Crave here and here), which is the cheapest UMPC I've seen--priced at, you guessed it, $699. The review will be live later today here.
(Credit:
Dynamism)
When we last saw the Wibrain B1, a Korean UMPC, it was charting a course to unknown international markets. Thanks to Dynamism.com, the Wibrain B1 is coming to America. The Japanese-import site lists two Wibrain B1 models--for $699 and $849--with an expected ship date of mid- to late December. The higher-end model doubles the hard drive capacity (to 60GB) and RAM (to 1GB). Each model features a 4.8-inch wide-screen display with a 1,024x600 resolution and weighs 1.1 pounds. It runs a full version of Windows XP Home, but don't expect anything resembling blazing performance from the 1.2GHz VIA C7M processor--not that you'll turn such a tiny PC into a productivity machine. As a mobile communication device, however, it does hold some appeal with its pop-up Webcam, touchscreen, and split keyboard, along with navigation buttons and a touchpad below each half of the keyboard. Wireless connectivity is in abundance: b/g Wi-Fi, HSDPA/UMTS, GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WiMax, and Bluetooth.
(Credit:
CNET Asia)
The Wibrain B1 popped up on OnlyUMPC.com in August, and earlier this month CNET Asia's DigiHunter posted a picture that showed an updated-but-still-retro-looking design along with intel that it may hit some international markets outside its home turf in Korean by the end of the year. Today, Engadget posted a video (in Korean, mind you) of the Wibrain B1 with one of its handlers.
While I've never been warm on the UMPC (low on usability, high on price), and the arrival of the Asus Eee PC has left me even cooler on the idea of a UMPC, the Wibrain B1 does seem to get a couple things right. Its wide, PSP-like dimensions (7.6 inches wide bye 3.2 inches tall) make it look more like a portable Internet and communications device that happens to run a full version of Windows than simply a shrunken-down laptop stripped of many of its useful features. It would seem to be a little on the thick side, however, at 1.1 inches. From the video, the touchpad in the lower-right corner looks relatively roomy and features scroll capability. The split keyboard looks a bit more spacious and welcoming to thumb typing than the tiny, split keyboard found on the Samsung Q1 Ultra or a cramped keyboard on the Sony VAIO UX390 or the Vulcan FlipStart. The Wibrain runs XP Home on a VIA C7M processor and serves up a 4.8-inch screen with a 1,024x600 resolution. Full specs (and a shot of the older, silver chassis) can be found on the Wibrain Web site. Wibrain doesn't list a price, but earlier estimates put it at $650 to $760, which would compare favorably with other UMPCs but not to the plucky 7-inch Asus Eee PC that comes in at a trim $399.
I throw this question out to Crave's international readership: Is the Wibrain B1 something you'll be on the lookout for toward the end of the year? If not, what's holding you back: design, price, features, or all or some of the above?
Note: This blog has been corrected to reflect the new price of the OQO Model 02.
I wonder if it's OK to feel bad for UMPCs. They're cute, cuddly (OK, maybe not) and perhaps even useful, but unfortunately, not very practical. The PC industry wants us to buy them, but very few of us are biting so far. Part of the problem is how expensive they are--more than twice the price of the cheapest notebook--which is why the price drop of the FlipStart is fairly good news.
(Credit:
FlipStart Labs)
Not great news, though. Chopping $500 off a UMPC that was originally $1,999 is nice and all, but it's still $1,499 for a palm-sized computer.
OQO also recently lowered the price of its Model 02 ultramobile PC just a few months after its launch, bringing it from $1,499 to $1,299.
The FlipStart debuted earlier this spring and keeps its same feature set: it's still a 6-inch-by-4.5-inch miniature notebook, with a 1.1-Gigahertz Intel Pentium M processor and a 30GB shock-mounted hard drive.
It runs the full version of Windows XP Professional or Vista Business and has a variety of cool inputs, but it's difficult to figure out why exactly the mass consumer would need one of these in light of options of powerful smart phones that are much cheaper and more portable. And if power plus mobility is what you want, notebooks are getting smaller and easier to lug around.
Will a bigger hard drive and a slightly lower price tag move more UMPCs for Oqo?
Oqo has updated its Vista-powered handheld computer, and knocked 33 percent of the cost, bringing it down to $1,299.
Oqo Model 02 gets an update.
(Credit: Oqo)The San Francisco-based company has increased the hard drive capacities of both versions of the model 02. The entry-level went from 30GB to 40GB and the higher-end from 60GB to 80GB. Plus, now there's a 32GB flash-based option. They've also slightly upped the CPU speed to 1.6 Gigahertz.
But it has yet to solved the in-between nature of its concept. It's still either clunky yet powerful PDA or an awkwardly sized laptop. New CEO Dennis Moore declined to say how many have sold to date. He did say that the company has sold "thousands per month" and that the second quarter of this year saw more sales than all of 2006, as did the third quarter. The model 02 was announced at CES this year and began shipping in March.
Though $200 cheaper is good, the product likely be attractive to more customers when the price is in between too.
Since the iPhone's June 29 launch, we've seen several teardown reports--some from professionals, some demonstrating more enthusiasm than skill, and some that are just awful (but funny).
What's inside? Well, you can read the details in reports from various analyst firms, but it breaks down like this:
(Credit:
Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)
- A microprocessor
- A 3D graphics controller
- DRAM
- Flash memory
- An LCD
- A touch sensor
- A cell phone module
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth controllers
- An audio chip
- A microphone and a speaker
- An accelerometer
- A camera module
- A SIM card
- Assorted other interfaces, connectors and buttons
- A lithium-ion battery
- Power-supply circuitry
All these components weigh less than 5 ounces and fit into a space less than 5 cubic inches. That's just amazing to me.
What could we make by adding, removing, or changing components?
- A mini Newton: drop the cell phone module, add stylus support
- iGame: Drop the cell phone module, add a joystick and more buttons
- A wide-screen iPod: swap out the cell phone module for a 1.8-inch hard disk
- A smaller cell phone: substitute a smaller LCD, simpler software, no Wi-Fi
- A smaller iPod: the smaller cell phone without the cell phone module
- An Internet tablet à la the Nokia N800: use a 5-inch LCD, drop the cell phone
- A Newton: use that 5-inch LCD, add stylus support and Apple's Inkwell software
- An auto navigation system: use the 5-inch LCD, drop the cell phone, add a GPS receiver
- A UMPC: use a 7-inch LCD, add iLife, and iWork
- An education laptop: use a 12-inch LCD, add a keyboard and educational software
- A mobile companion à la the Palm Foleo: the same, but with business software
- A tablet Mac: use that 12-inch LCD, a faster x86 processor and the full Mac OS X
Now that Apple has developed this platform, with a custom version of Mac OS X that runs on an ARM processor, it would be silly for the company not to use it in other products where ultralow power consumption is critical. These are my favorite ideas. What are yours?
UPDATE: My friend Kevin Krewell points out that I really should have made a Transformers joke in here. To make up for that omission, I'd like to mention the Monty Python "Pet Conversions" skit, which I was thinking about when I wrote this.
By the way-- if you're looking for something to do in Silicon Valley this weekend, Saturday's Ron Paul rally at Charleston Park near Google in Mountain View, CA begins at 10:00 a.m. I'll be there probably 30 to 45 minutes earlier if anyone wants to drop by and chat about iPhones, Macs, private jets, politics, or anything else I've mentioned here. Or even things I haven't.
Before the rally, I'll be at the Electronics Flea Market at De Anza College in Cupertino. This month's event is sponsored by the Palo Alto Amateur Radio Association. Come on over and check out all the new, old, surplus, collectible, neat and junky stuff for sale!
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