OQO inc.

At the top of the list of things at the Sea Grille even, especially considering how long it took just to get through the crowds, was the OQO ultra-personal computer. Colin Hunter, President of OQO inc. (pronounced Oh-Q-Oh) gave us a run through on the sensitive prototype which had suffered some damage by an overzealous pen pusher (the touch sensitive screen was no longer working properly) and was clinging to life.

The small aluminum encapsulated device measures about same size as a pack of smokes (4.1" x 2.9" x 0.9"), carries a TM5800 Crusoe processor running at 1.0GHz, and runs the Windows XP Professional operating system. The OQO weights under 9 ounces and includes a 202 dot/inch 4" touch sensitive LCD display, 256MB RAM, 10GB hard drive, Firewire, USB ports, 802.11B / Bluetooth networking functionality, and a proprietory OQO-link connector for docking.

According to Mr. Hunter, "the OQO would not have been possible" were it not for the low power properties of the Crusoe processor.

The OQO device is intended to function as a portable computer when away from the office, and is intended to be dockable in a mock notebook, or desktop to emulate common user interfaces. As the OQO is the brains of each docking station, removing it allows the user to bring their data, projects and software with them where ever they may be.

The project is still in prototype stages, but OQO have told us to expect retail units in limited quantities as early as Q4 2002 for $1200 to $1400 USD.