Marketing and OQO

[Guest]

[JCC]

SDK? for what? Turning down the fan? I'd like to see a HARDWARE SDK sell the dock cables as parts to those who want to play. Same with power plugs.

What people have previously mentioned would be an SDK which had a lightweight method of sampling the accelerometer quickly. (e.g., so that OQO can have its own Super Monkey Ball.) I'm not hopeful about this because the accelerometer on the OQO wasn't ever intended as an input device.

I'd love to see third parties make OQO specific hardware though. Given the size of the OQO market, I don't know if they'd be interested. However, it'd be great to connect a Tekkeon myPower to the OQO without going through a car adapter. It would also make it easier to experiment with solar, and other power solutions.

[Dave P]

Until the form factor for a UMPC is reduced even further than the OQO 02, I don't see it as a device that the general public will want to carry around. An form factor somewhere between the iPhone/iTouch and the Palm T5/TX seems to be the biggest thing that non-geeks are willing to carry. If the OQO 0x measures about 3x5x0.5 inches and it's under $1000 then you might have a device that could do for UMPCs what the iPod did for MP3 players or the iTouch did for MIDs.

The only problem is I would doubt that it would be as useable though. I think the size that it's at at the moment is perfect and is probably as small as OQO could afford to go (just my two cents). I've had many people admire my OQO but then tell me that they could never consider one because it's too small for them. I think if it were any smaller then it would put too many people off.

Let me be clear, Stu, I agree with you. While I wish it was thinner, I think the screen size is fine. I could have said 3.3x5.6 but with a dual digitizer you could eliminate the touch scrollers and shave the bezel to get to 3x5 without affecting the screen.

It's the thickness that's the problem with general acceptance. If you can put it in a shirt pocket (and if it's light enough so that it doesn't rip the pocket off) then you have a device that the general public would consider carrying. Even though it's the smallest of the UMPCs, the OQO 02 is just too thick and heavy to be generally accepted.

I suspect that the UMPC will become a niche product with OQO as a leader in the niche. The gorilla of small computing devices will be the MID, which will enable people to surf the net and check email. On the other end of the size range, I would see the netbook, which will enable people to do just about everything else, seriously eating into personal (as opposed to corporate) laptop sales. Eventually, the acceptance of Linux on the personal, portable level will move into the personal desktop level and then the corporate world.

Fear the penguin.

[Stuart]

SDK? for what?

Touch scrollers
Light sensor
Keyboard open/closed
Radio power

[zanesmurf]

[trUNCATED]
The gorilla of small computing devices will be the MID, which will enable people to surf the net and check email. On the other end of the size range, I would see the netbook, which will enable people to do just about everything else...

I know the definition of UMPC has been defined and debated and stretched, but I fail to see a differentiation between 
Mobile Internet Device and
"netbook " / cloud-book / nettop
both of which rely on the internet for productivity.

[Dave P]

[trUNCATED]
The gorilla of small computing devices will be the MID, which will enable people to surf the net and check email. On the other end of the size range, I would see the netbook, which will enable people to do just about everything else...

I know the definition of UMPC has been defined and debated and stretched, but I fail to see a differentiation between 
Mobile Internet Device and
"netbook " / cloud-book / nettop
both of which rely on the internet for productivity.

A quick definition, would be that MID doesn't open like a book.

My take is that MIDs are generally smaller than the OQO and do not have a touch type keyboard (and may not have any keyboard at all). While most of the new generation of MIDs aren't shipping yet, you could look at the Nokia Internet Tablets or the iPod Touch as examples.

Netbooks are notebooks with limited functionality and, generally, smaller screens but with real keyboards. The most famous are probably the Asus EEE PCs.

MIDs tend to run a small version of Linux and are not capable of running XP or Vista. Netbooks often run a more robust Linux and are capable of running XP or Vista and are classified by Microsoft as Ultra Low Cost PCs (ULCPCs) which means that they can have XP installed even though it's retired for other PC installations.

MIDs are not designed to run an Office suite like OpenOffice locally and running off of Google Docs would be possible but difficult. Many netbooks could run OpenOffice locally (it would depend on the size of their storage) and all could handle Google Docs as a client.

[Ronc]

Fear the penguin.

Perhaps you can help this guy:

I also run linux and in linux the FN button dont work 

[stuartguthrie]

It's the thickness that's the problem with general acceptance.

Agreed - my apologies for the misunderstanding.

Stu

[aacagp]

Maybe this should be a poll but through my lack of experience I don't know how to set it up.

The marketing question I would like to ask is that if OQO were to withdraw suddenly from the market a la Psion, would that lead to as large a fuss and brouhaha as occurred when Psion announced their withdrawal and which, to a lesser extent, still continues to this day? 

If the answer is Yes then OQO's marketing and sales results could be considered as achieving its aims.  If the answer is No, then all that can be expected are a few column inches devoted to the obituary and some discontent amongst proud owners that the company's self-promotion fell into the "failed" category.

What do other forum members think?

[Dave P]

The marketing question I would like to ask is that if OQO were to withdraw suddenly from the market a la Psion, would that lead to as large a fuss and brouhaha as occurred when Psion announced their withdrawal and which, to a lesser extent, still continues to this day? 

I suspect it will be exactly like Psion - people who never bought a Psion won't notice and people who did (and liked it) will mourn its passing or raise a brouhaha if they are the brouhaha sort. The fact of the matter is that people who like a particular niche product want it to continue. After all, there are still support sites for the TRS-80 Model 100 and it's been 25 years since its introduction.

I was (and am) a Palm user. I couldn't tell you when the Psion was introduced or when it went belly up. But if Palm goes belly up, a situation that has seemed immanent for years now, I will fuss.

For now OQO seems to be relatively solid. Their expected delivery times are down a bit but far enough out in the future that it would appear that there is a continuing demand. Let's not start with these negative waves.

[stuartguthrie]

I was (and am) a Palm user. I couldn't tell you when the Psion was introduced or when it went belly up. But if Palm goes belly up, a situation that has seemed immanent for years now, I will fuss.

I switched from Psion to Palm - I had a Tungsten T and then a LifeDrive which I love! I was a bit disappointed at Psion's withdrawal but now couldn't be happier with Palm.

Our university has recently purchased a few of Jeff Hawkin's (the dude from Palm) book 'On Intelligence' (a great read!!!) and I've been blessed to have a few conversations with him both on Palm and the book and it doesn't sound as if Palm will go belly up any time soon. While they have had a lot of financial difficulties (and losses) recently, I firmly believe that the new Palm OS Nova and the products in the pipeline will change this. I do disagree strongly with Palm's marketing strategies but I do firmly believe that they will get back on top of things within the near future. I guess I'm very critical because marketing and I/O psych. are two passions of mine.

Anyway, hopefully this brings a bit of comfort about Palm's future.

Stu

[Dave P]

Until the form factor for a UMPC is reduced even further than the OQO 02, I don't see it as a device that the general public will want to carry around. An form factor somewhere between the iPhone/iTouch and the Palm T5/TX seems to be the biggest thing that non-geeks are willing to carry. If the OQO 0x measures about 3x5x0.5 inches and it's under $1000 then you might have a device that could do for UMPCs what the iPod did for MP3 players or the iTouch did for MIDs.

The only problem is I would doubt that it would be as useable though. I think the size that it's at at the moment is perfect and is probably as small as OQO could afford to go (just my two cents). I've had many people admire my OQO but then tell me that they could never consider one because it's too small for them. I think if it were any smaller then it would put too many people off.

I would agree that the screen is about as small as you can get and still be usable. I'd concentrate, though, on thin and light. If only the OQO could be half the thickness and half the weight. With twice the memory and twice the processing power, of course. I can dream, can't I? 

[PlacidoDomenech]

I agree with you.
Also, i like a entry level model for compite with MIDs, and the same form factor but thiner and cooler, please.

And OQO is announce as a MID...the evidence
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/20/oqo-prototype-shown-with-intels-atom-inside/

See http://www.oqotalk.com/index.php/topic,2990.0.html

[jptherrien]

Anyway regardless is it gets an Atom or a Nano, I hope it keeps the same format...and accessories, since many of us have many batteries and/or the expensive docking station.

[stuartguthrie]

Anyway regardless is it gets an Atom or a Nano, I hope it keeps the same format...and accessories, since many of us have many batteries and/or the expensive docking station.

I don't know for sure but part of me thinks that this is probably what they will end up doing. I think they'll probably do what Apple has done with the iPod dock connectors to ensure backwards compatibility and to allow the 02/e2s to use future accessories. Of course, I'm only speculating.

Stu