OQO looking for buyer, Model 2+ future in limbo?

Oh no, OQO. According to some chatter on the OQOTALK forums, the company's in dire financial straits and is looking to sell, and that the Model 2+ may be the last OQO device made, if it ever gets released. More worrisome, European retailer eXpansys is reportedly canceling orders for the MID and removing all the company's products from the site, due to what it's telling customers is "uncertainties to stock availability." Ouch. Whatever's going on, right now it's not sounding too good -- guess that Model 2+ Lie to Me cameo wasn't enough to rile up overwhelming support.

Read - jkontherun
Read - OQOTALK forums

[754Boy @ Apr 14th 2009 2:24AM]

They cost too damned much....end of story.

[unzarjones @ Apr 14th 2009 2:41AM]

Not quite. A high failure rate with various components drained the company coffers. If OQO goes, then the low end pretenders will be the only option, and that truly sucks for those of us waiting for a usable, pocketable computer and are willing to pay for it.

[AVG @ Apr 14th 2009 8:14AM]

I had to send mine in 5 times.

FIVE. TIMES.

Horrible customer service. Horrible device. Horrible tech support. I was unable to use mine for nearly 7 months from the date that I bought it. Real good. I am actually GLAD they are going under and nobody else will have to deal with this.

[Azayzel @ Apr 15th 2009 4:04AM]

Here, here! I totally agree with this statement. OQO pretty much shot themselves in the foot by thinking they could make a living selling an outlandishly priced UMPC. Maybe since they thought $ony was doing it, they could too. What they missed was that $ony is an established company with a pretty good track record and a line of components from low-to-high end products.

I do also agree with the statement that OQO helped get the UMPC-channel flowing, but that eventually turned into the whole Netbook market. OQO's prices are way too high and the quality is pretty bad. I have a Model 01 and a 01+, I picked up the 01+ to deal with the crappy slow wireless and to get more memory, but their batteries are worthless and software/driver support nonexistent! Sure, I drooled over the Model 02, but the price actually was higher than their first-gen device.

Sorry OQO, you brought this upon yourself and I doubt there's going to be anyone to bail your gold-digger butt out of the toilet. Good luck with that!

[glenskey @ Apr 14th 2009 2:34AM]

dire financial straits. ha, love it!

[lens42 @ Apr 14th 2009 2:42AM]

I never "got" this company at all. How do you make a market out of high priced tiny PCs, when Sony does the same thing way better than you do, and has a lot more resources to do it with. Even when the computer world was fat and happy, this company made no sense. The only guy who I can believe would invest in it is Paul Allen.

[Frostblade10 @ Apr 14th 2009 2:46AM]

Very good point.

Is it bad that I thought of American Psycho and not the real Paul Allen? :)

[Markarian @ Apr 14th 2009 4:01AM]

Let's not forget Paul Allen DID invest in tiny pocket computers in a company called Vulcan. They had a mini PC in the works for almost three years before they released the Flipstart to a market that completely didn't care. It's a damned shame, but Netbooks have made these devices seem like an unnecessary expense. The Sony UX is a nice little piece of kit, but updates to the platform are slow outside Japan.

[Frank @ Apr 14th 2009 2:47AM]

The OQO is a great product, probably the best MID at all, sadly too expensive and the battery life too short. Give them a battery life of 10hours and let it cost something like the Vaio P, then I would by it.

[Kris @ Apr 14th 2009 12:41PM]

you mean on paper ? AVG had one and he doesn't seem to happy with it :)
When i saw it i fell in love but i guess i'll never get one now...

[lens42 @ Apr 14th 2009 3:32PM]

That's like saying a Hummer is great product if it could only get 50mpg. There are a 1000 companies who can make "great" things if they don't have to meet one or more critical requirements.

[CaramelZappa @ Apr 14th 2009 2:48AM]

OQO started up before microsofts UMPC platform ever launched and lasted longer, too. Fantastic little device but with it's huge cost and slightly less portable netbooks being a fraction of the price I can see why they're going out of buisness.


Clearance OQO's?

[OddManOut @ Apr 14th 2009 2:50AM]

Yeah, I feared for the OQO once netbooks and other mids came on the seen. OQOs big thing in the first few years of it's existence was it was the only way to get REAL windows XP into your pocket. Now Netbooks and some of the newer MIDs are making it incredibly easy and exceedingly CHEAP by comparison to have full blown windows with you everywhere you go. The OQO probably is superior to cheaper devices in a lot of ways but it's the old Lamborghini vs Corvette problem. No question, the Lamborghini is technically the superior performance car. Unfortunately you don't get 10x the performance of a $50k Corvette from a $500k Lamborghini but you do pay 10x the price. And the average driver would never take either to their limit, so the value of the extra performance of the Lambo is effectively null.

Same with the OQO. Most people are satisfied with their freakin PHONE for pocketable computing. The added capabilities of something like an Aspire 1 or even a Nokia N810 are more than most people need. So what chance does the OQO have when it's 4x - 6x the price ?

[darkstar @ Apr 14th 2009 8:08AM]

well said sir.
now, im still waiting for a netbook with a form factor like the OQO.

[Brandon @ Apr 14th 2009 2:51AM]

I'll be waiting for OQO2 at Woot.com
See ya!

[hh83917 @ Apr 14th 2009 3:07AM]

Too bad, it's a pretty device, but it cost too damn much and too underpowered. Other than that, I don't like to use joysticks and never can get used to them. Those cheap netbooks seem to be more attractive and the upcoming nVidia platform is very promising too.

[Jeff Lewis @ Apr 14th 2009 3:19AM]

For me - the OQO was just too expensive and weirdly all over the tech map.

Then UMPCs came out and kind of took away the market for 'small touchscreen' devices.

Then netbooks came out and took away the market for small/cheap laptops.

And the next gen of convertable touchbooks - and Atom Duos - which kills the performance curve...

The OQO had a small window of opportunity - and it missed it.

[GuN pOiNt @ Apr 14th 2009 3:32AM]

how about lowering the price by 400 bucks, get retail stores like Best Buy and Frys to sell them and you'll be back on your feet. Most people don't go googling for a cool gadget they find in movies and tvs. they think it doesn't exist and is part of a prop. I say blame it on the PR and Marketing department!

[anvaraziz @ Apr 14th 2009 3:41AM]

i always wanted this device,, but the price.... u guys have a market but not at that price,,

clearance anywhere ? i still want one... 500-700 $ is the best price for this little PC..

[rita hainsworth @ Apr 14th 2009 5:40AM]

I have one but never use it..and I will tell you the biggest problem with it..you cant play video on it..not really.

[gadjitfreek @ Apr 14th 2009 6:14AM]

I have had my 02 for the last two years, and it is my favorite computer of all time. It is the Windows version of my old HP200LX, the machine I had been waiting for all these years. It stinks with video, but is excellent for every other portable computing need I have. It has gone on vacation, to work every day and gets more use than any other computer I have ever had...except the HP200LX (which I still have). I was hoping to get an 02+, but I have been hearing nightmare stories of insane repair times...6 weeks and no word, stuff like that. That is the only thing turning me off of the 2+. A year ago I had to send my 02 in to get a replacement screen cable, it was back to me within 4 days. I don't know what happened to OQO as a company, but their recent record is what is going to ultimately kill them. That would be a shame.

[darkstar @ Apr 14th 2009 9:34AM]

what kind of videos were you playing?
i played around with one. youtube was streaming fine over the built-in Sprint EVDO service

[Rafael Blanco @ Apr 14th 2009 7:07AM]

I would love to buy an OQO 2+, but the price is killing me. Is the perfect form factor, but the fact that they pre-announce the 2+ model is killing the sales of the current model. This been happening for the last 2 and a half months. Also the other issue is that the Windows performance in the current model is not optimal. If they developed a true retail relationship the customers awareness of this product will skyrocket on it virtues, common, a netbook that is really portable, powerful (for the 2+ model) and is not made on plastic. This is not for children but it's perfect for IT people, lawyers, doctors, travelers, UPS employees, and other vertical markets.

[bebop @ Apr 14th 2009 7:37AM]

The OQO was an lot of engineering effort for something that, increasingly squeezed between smartphones on one hand and netbooks on the other, was not going to sell in any significant quantity.

Like the Pocket PC and PDAs, its a gadget that has had it's day in the sun.

[RuleYourMoney @ Apr 14th 2009 7:46AM]

I'd agree with other comments. Price is way too high for such product. Let us look at Willcom D4. It cost 700USD and has comparable specs.

[Hackettman @ Apr 14th 2009 10:12AM]

It just never seemed worth it. Id much rather go with the crazy little fujitsu that Ive heard works "Ok".......

[Jacob @ Apr 14th 2009 10:29AM]

dynamism still has it on their website: http://www.dynamism.com/#Product=oqo2plus

I think this device was great though. I consider it one of the greatest tech achievements this decade. It was the UMPC before there were UMPCs, it was the MID before there were MIDs, it was the netbook before netbooks. well, not really a netbook, but it served a similar function.

I think this category of computers is probably having a lot of trouble overall. I don't think UMPCs or MIDs are selling as well as they hoped. It's competition included the Flipstart which was delayed endlessly and died off quickly, the Vaio UX probably sold ok but didn't last long. It seems like smartphones and netbooks are where it's at these days. People don't have a ton of money to drop on niche devices like these.

Also there wasn't any advertising for the OQO. I've never seen a commercial for it on TV, and everything I've heard about it has been only on tech sites. I've seen it on TV shows, but as someone else said most viewers probably assumed it was a prop and not real. Too bad, they missed a real opportunity there.

[nikescar @ Apr 14th 2009 11:51AM]

If only they would've started off making the OQO less high end. It was already gonna have a high starting price because of the components and miniaturization but then they decide to use high cost materials too. Would the EeePC line have took off like it did if Asus would've launched the N10 first? Doubtful.

[bandigolo @ Apr 14th 2009 12:52PM]

OQO's been looking for a buyer since Fall '08. Actually a cool little company set up in the Bay area. Lots of U.S. talent hard at work. It's a shame they just couldn't move more product and generate necessary cash flow. The tech space is absolutely brutal for small players.

[Sandra @ Apr 14th 2009 5:06PM]

It's to bad, I really love the form factor of the OQO, but ulimately a few less than idea choices made me going with the somewhat larger Sony UX over the OQO, WSVGA over WVGA, touchscreen over the active digitizer which is made worse by the lack of an internal storage slot for the digitizer pen like the Sony has for the stylus and the processor speed, the 1.86Ghz Atom is a good upgrade from the VIA processor they were using but I prefer the extra power of the 1.33Ghz core solo/1.20Ghz core 2 solo in the Sony, now if they put the dual core version of the Atom in the OQO it would have made it much more interesting.

[Bryan @ Apr 14th 2009 6:03PM]

this really makes me upset. I was wanting to get an OQO Model 2+ but if they're going to go out of business, then I guess it's pointless. I have a Dell Mini10 but I don't want to carry around a laptop bad. I already have 2 BlackBerries on my hip for work so I figured if I could get the OQO, then I'd be good. I'd be able to get my Internet in a better format than on the BlackBerry Browser and still have the ability to do more. I so hope someone buys them or they put the Model2+ into production so I can buy one. I don't even care if the warranty doesn't pan out, as long as the product works!

[Scott @ Apr 14th 2009 8:00PM]

I've had the 02 for about a year. It's a great product and never had any problems. I bought mine refurbished for 1,000 w/Sprint EVDO. I wasn't willing to pay more than that. I agree with one of the posts above. They should have put the OQO in BestBuy or Fry's to promote their product. I hope they stay in business, but i think the lack of customer support, high price and poor marketing have taken their toll and the company is bound to fair. I'm sure the recession is to blame as well.

[Admin @ Apr 16th 2009 12:04AM]

has anyone else received one mysteriously? i work at a distribution center, and it was addressed simply to the company's name, which could be anywhere from corporate in florida to one of the many other centers across the US. I called multiple times to try and piece together who had originally ordered the item (model 02 executive pack), but all they gave me (after a couple DAYS, not hours, of calling) was the SO #, which was on the delievery sheet. Is there a way to dodge responsibility by having product sent across the US, in order to have less in stock? Shipping apparently cost $16.37. I know that someone is getting ripped off or they're dodging something they should held responsible for at the least.

[rittenour.groups @ Apr 16th 2009 1:12PM]

My OQO just returned from their one-month tech support of replacing a mother board....and, now, i'm in an indefinate holding pattern waiting for my next RMA to return for a drive problem. I've been waiting for a week just to get them to send an RMA. No one returns my calls or emails and their online LIVE support is a joke, I don't think they even monitor it. $3000 paper weight. sucks.

[Alan @ Apr 16th 2009 6:21PM]

It is not the price but the size and shape that really is the problem. How do most people use a full Windows computer? it is not with their thumbs and that is the key issue. Since most people do not find it ideal nor comfortable to much input with their thumbs then most OQO owners probably have multiple computers. People do want a pocket laptop but most would want it to just work the same way as a normal computer so that means touch type input and they are likely not to own another computer.

That is why price then comes into the picture as it is expensive for something that does not have the expected input method people would expect for their sole computer.

This design has been unchanged in shape and size and it sells somewhere between 8-15 thousand units a year; that is pretty weak. They should add a second model that is about 7″ to 7.5″ long by 4″ to 4.3″ wide and about 1″ or less in height; that would provide the size needed for a good keyboard. Yes a small handheld if designed right can provide good input. Remember the Psion 5mx at only 6.9″ by 3.6″ I could type about 80% of desktop as the keys were large and easy to type on.

[JeffreyA @ Apr 17th 2009 1:28PM]

The basic flaw is to believe that people would want to do the kinds of work they do with a full laptop using your thumbs? That basic assumption is what has doomed OOQ since they started years ago. Updating anything in the computer without addressing that basic key assumption which is wrong will never create any demand.

People would be willing to sacrafice and use a smaller screen, not have all of the frills of large laptop, but even anticipating a tighter position with your two hands to type, people would never want to use a two fingered approach to performing PC work. They should have used a traditional handhelds clamshell design.

Those handhelds back in the 1990's were the perfect size to carry and use. Their only flaw was nobody at that time could fit a full PC into that small cavity. Now technology can enable that but so far all of the computer companies have forgotton about the basic way we want to use a computer.