News

OQO has unveiled a design for the next generation of its small portable computer, also called the OQO. This despite the fact that the first generation model was never released.

The OQO, if it sees the light of day, will be a relatively small device that won't run the Palm OS, Pocket PC, or even Linux. Instead, it will run a full version of Windows XP. It will include a 1 GHz Crusoe processor from Transmeta, 256 MB of RAM, and a 20 GB hard drive.

The major change in the new design involves having the 800-by-480 pixel screen slide up to reveal a keyboard. It will offer pen-based input, plus the keyboard will include a TrackStik.

The full device will be 4.9 inches wide, 3.4 inches high, and 0.9 inches thick.

It will include Wi-Fi (802.11b) and Bluetooth wireless networking, plus Firewire and USB 1.1.

The latest design for the OQO has a docking cable, that will allow it to run a 1280 by 1024 monitor. This cable will also add Ethernet and power. The company hasn't said what the battery life will be for the removable lithium polymer battery.

OQO says this model will be available in the second half of this year for an undisclosed price.

This announcement was made at the Consumer Electronics Show, going on now in Las Vegas.

A Long and Disappointing History

The first version of the OQO was announced in April of 2002 and the company said at that time it expected a release to come later that year.

Early last year the company announced the OQO would be out soon and it started taking pre-orders. However, a few weeks later it announced the product wouldn't be released until the third quarter of 2003. Obviously, this didn't happen.

If the OQO is released, it won't be the first product in this category. The Antelope MCC, a small computer that runs Windows XP, debuted last fall. A company called Tiquit is also working on a similar device.

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