Unreleased OQO model 2+ sells for $4,500 on eBay, must be love

We may be gadget nerds but we're not immune to the heart-tugs of romance. In fact, we've been known to dress a new smartphone or two in a tight-fitting sleeve of silicone and set it conspicuously on the bar for lesser men to admire, wishing it was theirs. And nothing rouses a man to a fit of sentimental flourish faster than the premature demise of his favorite company. So are we surprised to learn that r***r paid $4,500 to "win" a slightly soiled, but never released OQO Model 2+? Not in the least... you'd be surprised to learn what a man would pay for a Foleo.

[Thanks, Lambdajones]

[SpaceQ @ Jul 15th 2009 8:19AM]

as one who touched OQO2+ I know what LOVE IS!

[darkstar @ Jul 15th 2009 8:46AM]

i wish more netbooks incorporate a sliding out kb like this!

[OneLove @ Jul 15th 2009 11:04AM]

F***k! thats insane.

When it breaks the first time he boots, it will be ghostbusters for him (who you gonna call?).

[ES @ Jul 19th 2009 7:41AM]

I've owned the OQO 02 (older with ViA CPU) and dressed it out with all the accessories and maxed out the RAM and took a CDMA card and it has been a horrible experience.

I could ramble for too long but the admirable characteristics deserve first mention and (it) is the LCD, super bright and crisp and surprises everyone who's surprised to see a use able screen on a PC about the same width and length of a VHS tape. The keyboard is a pleasant surprise, if you're capable of using a BB, Treo or WindowsMobile thumboard then you'll love the OqO board, the blue backlight is your best friend on transatlantic flights and lets you avoid annoying the neighbors since you won't have to use your overhead lamp in First Class or Coach section.

But the reliability and tech support is sad and the characterization is worse when you factor the premium cost.

You can't get a decent carrying case for it, OqO has the "Stronghold" case except it can barely protect against bird droppings since it doesn't latch ! An Altoids tin is sturdier than the $80 Stronghold case that splits open at impact to spill the 02 onto the floor with bits of shrapnel that were formerly parts of your 02.

The extraordinary heat isn't a surprise and the OqO's are famous for serious cooling but it is almost as loud as the mens room handdryer and more audiences joke about it and become distracted / even annoyed by the CPU fan since more alternatives exist to drive a dull PowerPoint.

The CDMA card is a joke, OqO jams the buyer for full price when you order the WWAN option but Sprint and Verizon still DEMAND A TWO YEAR COMMITMENT and you're double screwed on the cost of the card plus a contract as if you were an ordinary customer receiving the free / discounted card in exchange for the contract. I got an 02 with EVDO Rev. A card and my Blackberry Curve over BlueTooth still runs more bandwidth when measured by Kbs and anecdotally.

The tech support group is moody and that's before you accuse them of behaving speciously. These things aren't flying off the shelf and its unique features can likely challenge the fluent into calling OqO support frequently during the first days of ownership, they're small enough in numbers and you'll repeatedly reach and recognize their engineers. You'll start to determine who is moodiest and useless and learn who is helpful but even their helpful techs are just inexplicably nasty sometimes even if you remind them of your last nicer conversation. But the worst part is the answers and explanations change from tech to tech and for a group so small I'd wish they could at least b.s. me consistently. Their reaction isn't surprising if you challenge one tech's excuse with the contrary story told by another tech just two hours earlier and both will accuse the other guy of being incompetent.

The desktop DVD burner "docking port" is great way to blow another $400 and the fasteners will crack then fracture over time, those fasteners won't affect the OqO's sturdiness when "docked" but the Realtek Ethernet jack works intermittently and defeats the purpose of a docking port.

Since tech support is a hit / miss, you'll invariably find yourself relying on the forums and Google postings for diagnosis and this is where you learn that every 02 seems to have a unique quirk like an Italian roadster. Owners experiences and even tech support seems to confirm the fact every 02 has at least one specific quirk with a specific function such as the sound card may hiss when trying to use headphones, or others experience sluggish keyboard input when sliding the LCD open and even after they've disabled the default "suspend on lid close" option included with the operating system. These individual quirks aren't terribly surprising since OqO's assemblers are in Singapore and they build each one to spec and after your credit card / check has cleared. I'm not trying to denigrate Singapore or JiT manufacturing and the sporadic sales seems to be part of the explanation for these stylized quirks if Singapore is constantly starting and halting the manufacturing process with different assemblers rotated to making other companies products between OqO orders.

It runs LINUX with less hassle than other notebooks, there is an unsupported Unbutu build hosted at OqO's FTP server in iso format and I've booted mine with LIVE Russix which detects the Atheros chip set w/o hiccup and native LCD support even expansion mode for the wider screen.

The sub $500 netbook with an integrated WWAN or external card is a better choice can be dressed out for more horsepower than anything OqO offers, but the crappy support is enough to convert your ownership experience into suckerhood when you realize how much money you've dropped for the same level / less performance a 10 inch Acer Netbook has.

I've been treated to a demo of the new 02+ OLED screen at a demo and convinced the reluctant rep to compare his new OLED next to my two year old LCD and the OLED is superb, whether it is worth the extra cost is for the buyer to determine....BUT the startling point of the demo was the fact the same OLED 02+ was also dressed up with their SSD option and it was just as warm and the fan just as noisy as my older 02 with the 60GB hard drive and what seemed to be only marginally faster in performance, just twice as expensive as what I paid brand new in 2007 !

[ProfessorDex @ Jul 15th 2009 8:19AM]

Proof that there are some people with more money than brains.

[Proud Japanese @ Jul 15th 2009 8:28AM]

You don't have to look far. Just look at the people who buy Apple.

[AnnoyingPoster @ Jul 15th 2009 8:39AM]

@ Proud Japanese

Ditto. +1

[ProfessorDex @ Jul 15th 2009 9:13AM]

I don't understand the need for people to always resort to bashing either Apple or Microsoft.

[shinratdr @ Jul 15th 2009 9:35AM]

> I don't understand the need for people to always resort to bashing either Apple or Microsoft.

Because they are uncreative, trolling hacks who only exist to make Engadget stay firmly in the "Youtube" quality level of comments.

[Jean P. @ Jul 15th 2009 9:39AM]

@ Proud Japanese

You are just straight-up ignorant. My iMac is worth every penny.

[OneLove @ Jul 15th 2009 11:08AM]

We love to bash the rich, famous or anyone doing well. We want them to fail and watch it on TV. Sadly it somehow makes us feel better about our lack of success, its the american way. :)

[10minutehobo @ Jul 15th 2009 11:13AM]

Jean P.:
Proof that there are some people with more money than brains.

[Peace-whatever @ Jul 15th 2009 2:40PM]

Okay Proud Japanese, let's not say that. I think there's a reason for Apple's prices. That's all I can say.

[swanlee @ Jul 15th 2009 8:50AM]

Wow that is sweet, I wanted to replace my portable audio device with a fully functioning handheld PC and this would have fit the bill. All the portable PC devices I have seen either skip on the hard drive space, skip on memory or just don't seem worthwhile.

This thing would be faster than most netbooks but be a pocket pc which could double as a high capacity audio player with the 120Gb hard drive.

I wish someone else would come out with something like this, Pocket pc with FULL pc spec's

[tmarks11 @ Jul 15th 2009 2:30PM]

You want a pocketable PC? ie, a UMPC (or the larger Intel-inspired MID)?

Try checking out umpcportal.com, jkkmobile.com.

Unfortunately, full power (ie. core duo) models seem to have become extinct. All the current models have adopted Atom processors to help make them lighter, have longer batteries, and/or run cooler. You can still score a used Sony UX280/280/490 on ebay.

[Jose @ Jul 15th 2009 8:53AM]

I rather pay rent or pay off my car with that cash

[ProfessorDex @ Jul 15th 2009 9:14AM]

More people need this mentality!

[Ineed911 @ Jul 15th 2009 8:57AM]

I always loved the concept of this device too. I almost bought one. Problem was that they all seemed to break, and then the manufacturer would take months to get the device back to its' rightful owner. I just hope that this was intended as a museum piece and not a functional device...

[es @ Jul 19th 2009 7:55AM]

You aren't kidding and OQO charges almost $400 for the owner damage warranty. It is worth it since one drop from waist height will cause more than $400 of repairs in ruined LCD and cracked antenna housings. And that's assuming the drop feature works as advertised, more owners are complaining the screeching drop guard doesn't work as advertised and their drives are chunking out at impact.

[GRAMMAR POLICE @ Jul 15th 2009 9:13AM]

I doubt it will seem like a good investment when this thing inevitably goes completely and totally dead like all the other OQOs.

[yokel @ Jul 15th 2009 9:23AM]

haha r**r is not the real buyers username

[ProfessorDex @ Jul 15th 2009 9:24AM]

Clearly

[yokel @ Jul 15th 2009 10:33AM]

Thank you sir.

[AoMoe @ Jul 15th 2009 9:38AM]

It is easy to suspect that one person placed large a bid in attempts to frustrate other bidders. Then a second bidder decided to do the same thing.

[Magallanes @ Jul 15th 2009 10:29AM]

i though the same.

[Cheng @ Jul 15th 2009 10:55AM]

The listed price was at $4000, so the first bidder didn't push up the price that much. He only pushed it up by $500..

[rsm @ Jul 15th 2009 10:06AM]

$4500.00 for a OQO where the motherboard is eventually going to do a 0-0-0-destruct-0! No way, there are other good uses for my money!

[asslon @ Jul 16th 2009 5:13PM]

Maybe someone bought it to reverse-engineer/copy/steal the design and build their own version.

[AR @ Jul 16th 2009 10:04PM]

It is not even the OLED screen....bah. This seems to be an early prototype with the same LCD screen as the 2. I hope this guy did not buy it a as a work-horse computer. If he did, I hope the thermals are better than the 2. After going through 3 MB's, I finally downgraded to a 1.5 processor from 1.6 because I kept burning up the device. I think it will end up on eBay after my 2 year broadband contract is up.

Nice piece of tech history. Not worth the price.

[ESPI @ Aug 8th 2009 5:10PM]

I own an OQO 02 and it is absolutely incredible. It is easily one of the best purchases I have made. @ES there was no RAM upgrade available, so I didn't read the rest of your rant and would encourage others to skip it as well. The machine is very capable, and I was looking forward to future products from OQO. My hope is a company like HP picks up the talent, and perhaps launches a sub-compact "OQO" line.

To the buyer and/or seller: PLEASE POST impressions! We OQO fans would LOVE to see a youtube vid, and read about the 02+!