Julie wrote:

That little Lifebook that you showed your contest video looks like a perfect size for traveling! I’d stick with something like that before going for the OQO.

Aren’t they selling the Flipstart? Or am I thinking Flybook? Whichever one it is, it’s crazy expensive if I remember correctly.

I took the Lifebook travelling last summer and it worked out really well. I had my larger camcorder on that trip, so the Lifebook stayed with my clothing in my carry-on. Next summer, my Xacti will become the camcorder of choice, so the Lifebook will take up residence in the main compartment of my Ellington bag, and my Treo, Kestrel, Xacti and Canon SD700 IS digicam in the padded electronics compartment. The nano will be in the top flap pocket, along with its earbods, and a 1-day pill case will go in the underflap pocket. I will be carrying my 60cs gps with me, but that will stay in the carryon, as I will only be geocaching in the morning before we leave for a day of chasing. Next summer, my Treo 650 may be replaced by what comes next on Verizon.

The Flybook is selling, at a ridiculous price. The Vulcan Flipstart is the epitome of vaporware, though it is my idea portable machine.

Why the Xacti AND the SD700IS? The Xacti takes excellent video but terrible pictures…the SD700IS takes mediocre video but fantastic pictures.

Mark

Aren’t they selling the Flipstart? Or am I thinking Flybook? Whichever one it is, it’s crazy expensive if I remember correctly.

Julie wrote:

Are you going to get one?

I had one for a few weeks back in the late spring…and while it is a neat device,the keyboard is essentially useless and the digital pen is so inaccurate as to make it virtually unusable. The mouse is really good, the screen is nicely transflective and the response is reasonably zippy on many apps…but I don’t think I can justify plopping down that kind of dosh when I have a Lifebook P1510D…which is not getting as much use as it has been, thanks to the Toshiba M115 I got three weeks ago (the largest notebook I have ever owned). If I had known about the new Dell XPS 1200, I would have sold my Lifebook and gotten that. It’s a great machine…i saw it in action at Digital Life. The Oqo is pretty tasty, but it’s still not worth the money, IMHO. With the price dropping so much, can the next model be that far off?

I still want my Flipstart.

Mark

Mark

(vVv)

Julie wrote:

banzaiboy:

I’ve seen the OQO popping up on a couple TV shows lately. I just watched an episode of Alias last night (it was TIVO’d) and Syndey used one for a few seconds. You only saw her slide of the screen from the back, but there was no mistaking what device it was. I saw it earlier this week on another show, but now I can’t recall what the show was…

I’ve seen the OQO popping up on a couple TV shows lately. I just watched an episode of Alias last night (it was TIVO’d) and Syndey used one for a few seconds. You only saw her slide of the screen from the back, but there was no mistaking what device it was. I saw it earlier this week on another show, but now I can’t recall what the show was…

(vVv)

isobutane wrote:

Well, I finally did it. I ordered a Fujitsu P-1510D. Should be here in a week or so. 1.2 GHz Centrino processor, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB hard drive, XP Tablet, 802.11 a/b/g, fingerprint sensor…all for about $400 less than a similarly configured OQO. My P1120 will be up on Ebay after I do a file transfer to the new machine. Now I have to write up the ad!

Mark

Well, the Fujitsu P1510D is here, and it’s pretty cool. A tiny bit larger than its predecessor, the P1120, it’s a very capable convertible. There are a few quirks that I am trying to get ironed out, but I will be doing that this weekend. I am glad I opted for this rather than the OQO…it’s nice, fast and easy to type on. My Fujitsu P1120 will be going up for sale on Ebay this weekend, LOADED with accessories, in more or less perfect condition.

Mark

Mark

I picked up an 01+ immediately when they were announced (my first-run 12″PB died a second time, so it was time for an upgrade… and the 01 *really* had too little memory…)

I’ve never run XP on it at all: plugged in a USB cdrom drive and a Ubuntu (debian-based linux but with a lot more end-user polish) CD, and it booted right up. There is some amount of tweaking (wacom driver, accellerated video driver (though VESA does work), patches to the atmel driver) but really surprisingly little, as linux laptops go. There’s an “unsupported linux stuff” page on oqo.com with plenty of info from one of their engineers (who you’ll find on the handtops.com forums too.)

I’ve been wearing it on my belt the whole time. The armored case is a win; heat hasn’t been a problem mostly because of the linux tools for using the Crusoe “thermal management” support and cranking it way down. The screen protector is a must. I haven’t had calibration problems — I’m no artist, but I sketch out designs with TuxPaint with great skill (I can’t draw with a *mouse* at all, this convinced me that whatever follows it *has* to have a tablet screen – none of my PDAs have ever had large enough screens to convince me.)

One note about the keyboard – it’s rather like the old Clie NX keyboard, with one important difference – the modifiers work right. If you hit shift, it stays on for just the next key. if you hit shift twice, it locks. If you press shift and another key and release them both – you get the shifted key, and shift is released. That latter bit is the key thing that the Clie got wrong.

I do hook up a real keyboard when I’m at a desk… actually, I’ve built a cradle that attaches it to an IBM Clicky keyboard, which looks kind of insane (pictures on flickr) but works pretty well. Being able to pull it out and get work done anywhere, without having a gear bag at all, has been a real win for me.

Unfortunately, it just went back to oqo for repair; their support process has been pretty good so far, though.

neps wrote:

How about the Nokia 770? (nokia.com/770). Just picked one up for my wife and it’s great. Runs a version of Linux, and does web, email, audio, video and anything else you want to install. Its the first in their line of Internet Tablets.

Doesn’t have a built in keyboard (does bluetooth tho), and the screen is firm (not spongy). it also has some handwriting recognition that was pretty hot.

I have one of these, too. Not in the same class as the OQO, IMHO. And the HWR is horrible.

Doesn’t have a built in keyboard (does bluetooth tho), and the screen is firm (not spongy). it also has some handwriting recognition that was pretty hot.

Judie wrote:

Mark, I agree with you on the Fuji. If the DualCor actually comes out, but it isn’t the “end all be all”, then I will probably spring for another mini-laptop from their line.

The old P2110 is still going strong, and it has been thouroughly used over the years.

As has my trusty old P1120. I think I am going to hold on to it a lot longer than I had anticipated. I don’t think I will be able to afford a new laptop for quite a long time. This one is still doing the trick, albeit somewhat slowly, so I will get as much use out of it as I can. Fujitsu really knows how to make a great tiny notebook. I used it today to do the chemical inventory at my school. After 4 hours of straight data entry, the battery was at half capacity. To recharge it to full took less than an hour. I use the extended battery. I can keep the P1120 on standby over the weekend and when I fire it up on Monday, it’s right where I left off, with virtually no battery drain. I use it every day to do Powerpoint work, to keep my students’ grades, to do document creation…most of what I use it for involves Office. My only wish…is that it had 512 MB RAM instead of 256. It is the first laptop I have ever had with truly unbelievable battery life.

Mark

The old P2110 is still going strong, and it has been thouroughly used over the years.

Mark

Even so, I’ve been lusting after the 01+ since its release, mainly due to the size (… and gadgetitis ) Maybe Model 02 will have a brighter screen.

No, the U750P only came with XP Pro.

Many users have installed Tablet on it, though, and you should consult the following webpage for instructions and tons of info on the U’s:

http://www.greyhat.com/sonyu/

Search for “Tablet OS on the Sony U” on that page.

Brian

Thanks for a great review, the first one I’ve read about the OQO that made any mention of its deficiencies.

After reading it, I too am sorely disappointed with the device.

I currently use the Sony U750P, purchased from SonyStyle the moment they were orderable two Novembers ago. It has served me well and is even better now that I have a Socket CF Bluetooth card in it to use the ThinkOutside BT mouse and keyboard with it. The handwriting recognition works well enough that I only use the keyboard when I know that I have a lot of E-mail to write.

I dismissed the original OQO due to its USB 1.1 ports (I use USB hard drives for backup and external storage and need USB 2.0 speed) and small memory. I was disappointed that the 01+ only has 802.11b instead of the 11g that my Sony has. Also, the screen on the Sony is awesome and doesn’t suffer from the poor digitizer calibration or “black spot syndrome” that you found on the OQO. Plus, it has more pixels which is always good.

At this time, there’s no suitable device to replace my Sony U, and I’m surprised that Sony doesn’t have a replacement for it as the U750P’s sold out rather quickly here. My U goes everywhere I do, and I would be hesitant to carry anything larger than it.

Too bad the 01+ has so many deficiencies…

Brian