Keepin' it real fake, part CXXVII: OQO G900 mimics Palm Centro
By Sean Cooper 
posted Aug 2nd 2008 10:26PM
posted Aug 2nd 2008 10:26PM
Well it seems OQO is lowering raising the bar from the handset it appears to be aping by packing more goodies into its decidedly Centro-inspired set. The G900 features a 624MHz CPU, 128MB memory, quad-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE, a 2 megapixel camera, Windows Mobile 6.1, Bluetooth, and raises the bar with a dash of WiFi. Of course, this set may not find its way to a provider's shelves near you, but it's refreshing to see KIRF done right, and perhaps even done better for a change. Come on, sing it with us, Go OQO Go!
Update: As some readers have pointed out, this handset actually appears to be an OQO clone knocking off a Palm Centro, so yeah, it's just gotten better.
Update: As some readers have pointed out, this handset actually appears to be an OQO clone knocking off a Palm Centro, so yeah, it's just gotten better.
No, wait. They switched the numbers to the opposite side of the keyboard. That makes it 100% original.
/sarcasm
Sean Cooper,
Please make the correction. This device is NOT put out by (US computer producer) OQO as suggested in the article. I have in my hands the OQO Model 02. The Logos of my device and this Chinese Clone do NOT match (Specifically, the font of the Q differs from the original).
You may want to clarify to avoid confusion.
looks more like a 800w to me
Damn, I figured it was only a matter of time until the knock-off factories start 1-upping the originals. WMWifirouter + this would be a nice cheap pocket router.
Crap level = same.
Before I get attacked- I put a movie on there (3GP) and it froze it after a minute of playing (brand new and all!). It sucks. Period. There isn't even a power button! I had to take the battery out to get it working again!
CENTRO = EPIC FAIL
BTW- Who was the genius at their HQ that decided to make it impossible to turn it off? Idiot... At least this fake has a power button.
you are an idiot if you cant find the power button its the biggest button on the phone..
.. But i have an Iphone :-)
YOU are the idiot! I swear to god, it is impossible to turn it off (short of removing or running down the battery).
That button is not the POWER button, because it doesn't turn the POWER off. You cannot turn the Palm Centro's power off.
The button you may be thinking of is the button turns off the PHONE. I suppose you could call it the PHONE button.
Speak not of that which you do not know.
Your reply = EPIC FAIL
dont tell me i dont know the phone i worked for palm
, find out yourself how to turn it off
Worked for Palm eh? I can see why they fired you... ;p
Just Google it- there is no way to turn the Centro's power off!
Actually, he is right. The Palm I had turned off the PHONE with the powerbutton, and put it in some sort of standby mode.
@ Abuzar Baloach
Thank you, a voice of reason and intelligence at last!
Case closed folks, nothing to see here, move along....
ITs the same way with the Treo models --- you can't turn the damn things completely off without removing the battery!
People would listen to you if you didn't sound like an rambling buffoon.
Okay, so:
I have a Palm Centro for Verizon, and was actually having this discussion today with a friend of mine who also has a Palm Centro for Verizon.
We established that the so called "power" button only turns the device on if the device is already off. So if the battery is placed in the phone for the first time, the button with the red markings on the far right will turn the thing on.
Once it is on, however, this button will not turn off the phone. If you hold it, the antennae shut off. Bluetooth as well as CDMA turns off. This is the equivalent of "off" as far as airplanes are concerned, for example. This means I can continue to use my calendar on a plane, or in a foreign country where I don't get service.
However, the statement is correct. There's no "off" power button anywhere on this thing, and I've looked. It may be buried in a menu, but there definitely is no "off" button, and so if the Palm were to lock, and mine hasn't since I got it several weeks ago, the only way to reset would be to remove and reseat the battery.
Thank you, and goodnight.
Wow. Don't you guys get it? If the antennas are off and you tap the power button, then it goes into a standby mode. With no antennas on, this standby mode is basically as good as off. I took my Treo to the Boundary Waters for 8 days this way and used it as an alarm clock- still had like 1/2 a charge when I got back to land! No need for a true power off...
@ nd
Wrong, it is not as good as a power button. Mine froze up, remember? Turning off the antenna doesn't do sh*t to help with that problem, does it Einstein?
Every device on EARTH should have a button to turn off the power of the device in case of malfunction, it's just common sense.
As stupid as it sounds, I think the power button is somewhat of a dying feature. I never turn my phone off really, I have silent mode if I want it quiet and airplane mode if I don't want any interference. Not that I'm making excuses for Palm, I don't have one, I just think it's not a terrible idea to not have a power button.
@ Reader
What would you have us all do when our devices freeze up then? Take out the battery? No way that that is a sign of good technology.
There needs to be a reset button at the very least.
Yeah I don't use smartphones, don't have a need for them, so I don't know what it's like to have your phone freeze.
"What would you have us all do when our devices freeze up then? Take out the battery? No way that that is a sign of good technology.
There needs to be a reset button at the very least."
You shouldn't have to reset it often enough to require a button. I've had my Centro for 9 months, and have only had to reset it a few times. Taking the battery out is just as easy as sticking a paperclip into a recessed reset button like old Sony Clies. Would you want a reset button that was easy to hit (even by mistake)?
The sign of good technology is that it does not need a power off button besides the one for the phone.
Why would you make a crappy imitation of an already-crappy phone?
Amen brother!
If they can fit all that in a centro, why can't Palm?
yeah seriously,
well if you ask me it looks the same shape but bigger than a Centro, dare I ask for a VGA touch screen, if there's one company that knows how to pack everything into a device its OQO
thats true isnt OQO the one with that one orange phone? that pretty much had everything in it?
OQO didn't even make the device, they don't make anything other than pocket sized computers.
This is actually pretty careless reporting, go to oqo.com and see if you can find anything on mobile phones. This has happened before too, its some chinese knockoff company
(the picture's website www.139yes.com should give it away anyhow)
Who said Palm COULDN'T?
$100 bucks says this is over twice as expensive as the Centro.
Wow, first post of fail- in more ways than one.
once again, if it was supposed to be an iphone, it would be called an iphone.
Am I the only one who thinks this one looks better than the original?
The Centro was intended to be a LOW end phone for $99. You could try a Palm Treo 800w. I own one and it is sweet.
Nope, the edges are less rounded, you know, for adults.
Seriously, how do you pronounce "OQO"? I've been wasting 10 minutes of my life.. and Microsoft Bob really isn't helping..
oh que oh perhaps?
You pronounce each letter... "oh cue oh"...
And even if you don't wont to pronounce each letter, it's easy to pronounce the name.
Oh KO.
ookoo
Oak-Woe!
They make a mean pocket computer... Runs Vista and everything... You could probably even use it as a phone if you had Sprint or Verizon because you could get an unlimited data plan and install Skype on the thing and get unlimited calling... I thought about getting one, but haven't done it quite yet.
http://www.oqo.com/
Yeah, the Model 02 is pretty nice looking but the Model 01 and 01+ sucked. But I'm surprised this isn't on OQO's website, so maybe it's a knockoff of Centro made by a company stealing OQO's name? Oh, the tech-drama.
I have a centro and after looking at that Im actually quite the jealous. The winmo6 and wifi really turns me on. Something that my palm is dire need of.
Buy an 800w.
Hum I don't see any centro in there... It reminded me of another device( I forgot exactly which) but certainly not something from palm...
Have you never seen a Centro before? I own one and did a double-take. The qwerty kbb is different but the resemblance is undeniable.
that actually doesn't look bad
This....actually looks pretty decent. I'd actually consider buying one of these, as while my blackberry is awesome, there's some functions i miss from my old Windows Mobile PDA's.
Keeping it fake, for real: that's not even made by OQO, the Q in the logo is wrong. Another Chinese manufacturer taking advantage of what little name recognition that have, I imagine, and not the first time ;-)
somebody help me it says yuan and has a yen symbol so i dont know which one so its either a 420 dollar phone or a 26 dollar phone
this phone screams china.. it's yuan.. not yen
When are the chinese manufacturers going to stop doing this blatant cloning thing? If they can hire people to clone the look .. how hard is it to make your own model? Is it really that much more expensive?
I know there are some in China who don't follow this practice .. I guess the others need a cultural shift ASAP.
not unitil nobody buys, is it possible? get real, dude~ and take the advantage (rip-off rocks on the price!!!)
its a chinese fake although it looks almost realistic
the logo is supposed to be split under the Q
It is made by a Chinese manufacturer. The unit is actually pretty sound. Wimo 6.1 pro, good processor, GPS, WIFI, and a touch screen. The mini USB port came off with one good drop. Those are the standard specs from the manufacturer. I hope that since OQO is bringing it out they might give it slighter better quality.
not only is a centro imitation, it shares the same name as the sony ericsson G900!
I think this actually looks better than the Centro -- the squared-off styling is a bit nicer than the awkwardly round edges.
Seems PC Mag did a review on it when ZZZ Phone wanted to use that. Too bad they never took off.
http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/0,1206,l=227102&s=1489&a=227095,00.asp
It looks better than a Centro. Might even work better than a Centro.
I think my avatar said he would get one of these if it came in yellow. He always seems to like holding something in his hand that reminds him of bananas.
I don't understand why OQO would go into the phone market... seems pointless.
Why not just stick to the UMPC/MID market?
it looks like a FUGLY palm centro so its also gotta be as rubbish a palm
palm sucks
drone
*yawn*
Since the finger-touch screen revolution, most other phones look like crap to me. This one definitely an exception. It's pretty damn sexy for a keyboard phone. It fails on the OS option, however. Since selling my IPAQ 3765 I vowed I would never again own a pocket pc / windows mobile device. WinMo gotsta go.
"First!"
what are you talking about?! it's a fake!
ahh... stupid comments..
Until the back plastic cracks and you have to send it away to apple to be repaired.
Grr that was meant to be a reply to Ocean 10.
Did you get that MMS I sent you last night?
It looks better than the Centro, and I guess the specs are better as well.
So not really a "clone", more of an improvement.
You suck.
Dammit! That was directed at Ocean10.
OQO is the new Tandy ;) lol
To be honest, I like the way this looks better than the fugly palm centro.
just imo.
I think this OQO G900 is awesome... Wifi, gps, WM6.1 PPC... wow... if all these actually work... they are definitely the way to go...
and look at the price tag.. omg.. definitely throw around and don't care if i drop it kinda phone...
Ok, so ripoffs are stupid, but they only borrowed a little bit of the 500v, and frankly, I want it for the specs.
This looks way better then the centro.
how can I get this phone¿?¿? like it better than the centro!!!
I would very much be interested in getting one of these. It looks like a slick little PDA with all kinds of wireless functions... even if you never use it as a phone. The price is FANTASTIC too!
The moment someone can figure out how to order one, please respond to this comment!