OQO Model e2 review
Thursday, June 19th, 2008
San Francisco-based OQO have been in working in the UMPC market for about eight years now although their initial offering, the OQO Model 1, wasn’t launched until 2004. Since then OQO have made huge strides in the UMPC field.
The latest model, the OQO e2 was launched in the UK market since September 2007 so we decided it was time to review the device.
Design
From the go, we were impressed by the OQO e2 looks. This is a stylish UMPC. The aluminium frame features a jet black finish giving the OQO e2 an assuringly expensive feel. Don’t be confused. The e2 is not heavy, weighing only500g.
The OQO e2 features a full Qwerty keyboard with a Function key that assigns every key a secondary function. Unfortunately, typing on the OQO e2 is fiddly due to the small size of the keyboard. Typing relatively small strings of characters isn’t overly difficult but we wouldn’t recommend using the builtin keyboard if you want to write an essay.
Another irritating design feature is the trackpoint. The OQO e2 trackpoint is located under the right thumb position with the mouse buttons under the left. Even though the trackpoint was very responsive we never really got used to this layout. It was simply too cramped.
The OQO Model e2 ships with a 5″ display. True, it’s bigger than many PDA’s on the market but this really isn’t suitable for a device that claims to be a UMPC. A plus point for the the OQO e2 is the display. Although resolution is only 840 x 480, the image quality is fantastic. Viewing movies on the OQO Model e2 was a delight. The screen gives a crisp, bright display that easily outranks many of the competitors. The Model e2 does allow you enhance the resolution to 1000 x 600 and 1280 x 720 by using the zoom buttons under the mouse. This feature has been designed to let you set prompts that are otherwise hidden offscreen rather than allowing you to permanently raise the resolution.
The performance of the OQO e2 is adequate. The device is powered by a 1.5Ghz VIA C7-M. This CPU is fine for running Windows XP but probably won’t be good enough for Vista should you decide to try an upgrade. OQO do offer a Model e2 containing a 1.6Ghz CPU but don’t think this will save the day. An extra 100Mhz is nothing when compared to resource hungry Vista. It would seem logical to suggest that OQO will fit a processor such as the Intel Atom or an AMD Turion in the next version.
The 60Gb disk gives you ample storage, wether a business or general user.
Connectivity is adequate with 11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth which will get you online at hotspots or via wireless synchronisation to your mobile phone. There is a 3G/HSDPA variant but this add another £100 to the price of the OQO Model e2.
The OQO Model e2 sells for around £1000 which is rather expensive compared to many of the UMPC’s currently on the market. A high price but, in many areas, the OQO Model e2 is setting the mark.
Conclusion
Yes, it’s expensive. Yes, there were some aspects we didn’t like. Given the price, I wouldn’t rush out to buy an OQO Model e2. However, if OQO can bring the price down by a couple of hundred pounds and improve the keyboard…I’ll be off to the shops with cash in hand.
Specifications
VIA C-7M CPU
1Gb DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz
60Gb hard disk
Display 5″ (840 x 480 with zoom functionality)
Downside
The price. The keyboard was also irritating when we attempted to use it for typing large documents. The processor was another area that needs addressing. Surprisingly, the OQO Model e2 is still running a single core VIA C-7M. Admittedly, the Intel Atom wasn’t around when this device first shipped but it would be good to see OQO selling the e2 running an Atom or AMD Turion.
