OQO officially launches Gobi / OLED-equipped model 2+, we get hands-on

We already knew a fresh OQO handheld would be headed to Digital Experience! here at CES, and lo and behold the model 2+ has arrived in our oh-so-fortunate hands. The 800 x 480 (native) OLED touchscreen was positively gorgeous to look at, and the Qualcomm Gobi dual-mode HSPA / EV-DO WWAN chipset was much appreciated. It's also sporting a 1.86GHz Intel Atom CPU, 2GB of RAM, WiFi / Bluetooth, DirectX 9 and H.264 video decode support, 3.5 hours of battery life (7 hours on the double capacity cell), a world keyboard and a global power supply. The unit checks in at under a pound and can support 1,9200 x 1,200 external displays with HDMI / DVI / VGA interfaces. Get ready to lust after one (we already are) when it ships in 1H 2009 starting at $999.

Gallery: OQO officially launches Gobi / OLED-equipped model 2+, we get hands-on

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[Via ArsTechnica]

[Leindurstit @ Jan 7th 2009 11:38PM]

1,9200 x 1,200, eh? Must be their response to the Vaio P-series's obnoxiously-wide resolution...

[Damo @ Jan 7th 2009 11:53PM]

I think they mean One, 1920x1200 screen not 1,1920x1200 screen.

[OneLove @ Jan 8th 2009 1:45PM]

Did they update the "touchscreen" so you can use your fingers or any object? if not fail. The current model requires the "special" stylus not a true touchscreen.

[i.c. weiner @ Jan 8th 2009 4:22PM]

Geez damo...thank you captain obvious!

[RioRyan @ Jan 7th 2009 11:38PM]

"1,9200 x 1,200"
Man, that's one crazy display adapter you've got there.

[Zunavio @ Jan 8th 2009 12:01AM]

Shouldn't it be 19,200x1,200

That's 96:6
[|||||||||||||\/\/|DE|||||||||||||]


ok, ok it's 1920x1200

it's still high def though.


So.. What you get ? a :P or an OqO

[Richard @ Jan 7th 2009 11:39PM]

That starting price isn't bad. But I know the model I'd want would probably be at least twice that :(

Very sweet device though!

[iEye @ Jan 7th 2009 11:40PM]

this is worth it, vio p not so much

[Joe H @ Jan 7th 2009 11:48PM]

Unfortunately, they removed the active digitizer which means I'm not interested.

[Trevor Bommersbach @ Jan 8th 2009 12:05AM]

Joe-

Read the website under "specs". The stylus support is there but as an accessory. The stylus is no longer including in the package. There's also a usage shot on the first info page.

[RioRyan @ Jan 8th 2009 12:25AM]

I think he means that they switched to resistive touch rather than the active digitizer. A touch screen and an active digitizer are two different things. The first minute or so of this video explains better..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOpe3wqZ7ts

[OneLove @ Jan 8th 2009 1:49PM]

active = fail for me. I want to use my fingers too.

[Trevor Bommersbach @ Jan 7th 2009 11:52PM]

That's it OQO you've earned my business. It been an agonizing wait for the 02+, but now it's got a decent CPU and OLED screen. It's perfect. Just hope I can save my $$$ fast enough...

[Gad Get @ Jan 8th 2009 12:03AM]

I've found my dream UMPC! Oohhh, I so want this!

[dark star @ Jan 8th 2009 12:11AM]

i really like this form factor in a minibook! wish other companies take notes from oqo.

[Chris @ Jan 8th 2009 12:09AM]

Sweet. Although wish it had GPS built-in. That is an omission. An OLED screen though... wow.

Also I wonder if that H264 decode actually works; could it actually decode 720p.

[Horse @ Jan 8th 2009 12:11AM]

Agreed. I'd pick this up over the Sony P any day. I love the 1,9200 x 1,200 resolution as well!

[Shinigami @ Jan 8th 2009 12:49AM]

If you can, please pass OQO that they are totally GREEDY. Since laptops with more capabilities cost much less than that.

[Shyam D @ Jan 8th 2009 12:59AM]

And you TOTAL don't get it.
This isn't a netbook. This is far smaller. I hate how people expect something for nothing. You're not going the UMPC form factor without some sort of premium. Yes the Gigabyte M528 and its rebadges are a little bit cheaper, but not by much. The advantage that OQO has is that it has a superb keyboard for the form factor ( if they kept the 02 keyboard that is).

[Zorque @ Jan 8th 2009 2:55PM]

How many laptops have you seen with an OLED screen?

[alexmueller @ Jan 8th 2009 1:08AM]

2 questions... Screen Size? and does it have a USB port?

[Davorin @ Jan 8th 2009 1:28AM]

looks like it could have a USB port on the far left their of the first picture, other than that, its one sexy toy.

[quangdx @ Jan 8th 2009 6:37AM]

as on previous OQO 02 models, there is one USB port.

[quangdx @ Jan 8th 2009 6:38AM]

as previous oqo 02 models,
there is one usb port
and the screen size is 5inches in the diagonal.

[shugg @ Jan 8th 2009 1:33AM]

let me start off by saying,$999!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!what the fcuk!!!!!!!n we had grips of engadgters complaining about new sony p,for $900.,this device will tank miserably.,not only in usa but on a global scale.guaranteed.who in their right mind would pay $1080 after tax for this,anyone? didnt think so.

[Matt @ Jan 8th 2009 8:32AM]

My friend has a wallet made by a company called FCUK... it's quite funny really...

[mayq @ Jan 8th 2009 3:44AM]

this is much better than the vaio P :)

[img eL @ Jan 8th 2009 5:54AM]

Will this refresh have hdmi audio out?

[JC @ Jan 8th 2009 2:39PM]

shugg, the OQO is a little larger than a 3x5 card. It has a completely different form factor than the significantly larger Sony P. It doesn't make sense to compare the two. Your argument is akin to saying that no one would ever spend money on a laptop because desktops are cheaper. As with a laptop, there is value in the form factor.

If you need something with a 1.33 GHz Atom that fits in your pant pocket, you have no other choices. You will inevitably buy the OQO. If you can make do with a wimpier processor, or if you don't need for it to fit in your pocket, then it really doesn't matter how much, or how little, it costs. In that case, this is not the device for you, but it may be for someone else.

(And yes, the OQO does fit in your pant pocket. I don't own one, but I did borrow one for a while. One of the things I did was walk around for a while with it in my pant pocket. Doing that was not a problem.)

[quangdx @ Jan 8th 2009 6:35AM]

The physical native screen resolution is only 800x480,
although it can do 1000x600 and 1024x768 interpolated modes,
same as the previous OQO 02 models.
the 1920x1200 is the resolution of an "external" display it can support.
The screen size is 5inches, all specifications can be found here.
http://www.oqo.com/intl/products/model2+/specifications.html

[renegadechic @ Jan 8th 2009 9:43AM]

It looks nice and seems like a pretty darned capable device but that price tag puts me off immediately. It will be interesting to see what happens to technology like this when something like the Pandora gets released. I will freely admit that they (the Open Pandora team) already have my business and I am still eagerly awaiting the release of it (which I am confident of), but at considering I could pretty much buy 3 Pandoras for the price of the OQO. Theres bound to be some kind of realistic price change to keep this competetive.

[TomServo @ Jan 8th 2009 11:22AM]

I would probably have sex with this thing.

[Tyler Ransom @ Jan 8th 2009 1:25PM]

O.M.G. Finally! $1700 for the way I want it. 999 entry thats just wonderful. This is going to make the 02 drop like a rock.

[MICHAELSD @ Jan 8th 2009 8:43PM]

Wow, if I could use this as a phone, it had an NVIDIA integrated graphics card (or especially discrete) and it had multi-touch, I'd definitely buy one to replace my iPhone. Right now, I'm just considering it to use with my iPhone...

[unzarjones @ Jan 20th 2009 11:59AM]

It said there was a larger battery for 7 hours of use. Does anyone know if that would take it out of the pocket-size category?

[unzarjones @ Jan 20th 2009 12:12PM]

Judging by the photo on their website the double capacity battery is easily twice the thickness but I can't tell how much it adds to the overall size. Anyone interested in a lightly used AAO?