OQO confirms Model 02 delays, EV-DO modem to blame

While OQO has certainly had its share of ups and downs over the past few years -- from us calling the Model 01 the "heavyweight champion of vaporware," to literally having a market segment spring up around the devices -- things looked to be headed decidedly up with the release of the 3G-capable Model 02 at the start of the year. But as always with the San Francisco company, the transition between announcing a product and actually shipping it is proving to be a little difficult. With shipping delays stretching to 16 weeks, an OQO rep recently confirmed the problem and pointed the finger of blame: "All orders with Sprint and Verizon customers are on hold while some issues are ironed out with the WWAN product line." Engadget pal Boy Genius says his experience bears that out -- his commercially-purchased Model 02 has no software support for the supposedly-present Sprint modem, and to make it worse, the unit he received is covered in nicks and scratches, more evidence of hiccups along the OQO production line. Although we enjoy talking to the guys over at OQO, it sounds like they really need to get their ducks in a row with the Model 02. Peep the full Boy Genius rant with photos of his nicked-up Model 02 at the read link.

[tnkgrl @ Apr 20th 2007 8:34PM]

Hmmm... I received mine - "best" (1 GB RAM & 60 GB HDD), Sprint EVDO, Windows XP Pro - yesterday! So it's shipping :)

Here are my unboxing pictures: http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2007/04/19/unboxing-the-oqo-model-02/

[Jesse S @ Apr 20th 2007 8:44PM]

Sadly, you can't get SERO unless you're a new customer. And if someone adds it over the phone, they weren't supposed to, and it will probably be removed.

[Kev50027 @ Apr 20th 2007 11:39PM]

Wow, from those pictures it looks like it has an incredibly low resolution, which makes it pretty much useless.

I still prefer my Sony Vaio U70. Sure, it's old, but it has the best screen ever made for a UMPC, and the specs are still decent even years later. Also, that screen looks so reflective that I don't know how you can expect to see it in any light other than pitch black. I use my U70 outside all the time, it has a transflective touch screen.

[Mark @ Apr 20th 2007 9:26PM]

My OQO 02 (best, XP Pro, no WWAN) is due to arrive the beginning of next week, and that puts it at an 8-week wait for me. OQO should not have made the WWAN model available until they had ironed out the bugs. All I have to say is that my OQO had better not arrive all scuffed up! I baby my gadgets and when I resell them, they are in the same condition I got them in when I bought them.

[marcus @ Apr 20th 2007 9:53PM]

good luck ordering one with vista. talking on the phone with sales, they say there is even more of a delay ordering one with vista. and to see the unit shipped with scuffs... not for me. i don't typically like dropping a couple grand and waiting a couple months to even see it.

[Mark @ Apr 20th 2007 10:05PM]

They do not charge your card until the unit ships, so it's not really like you are out the money without the unit.

[trent @ Apr 25th 2007 9:10PM]

Hey Mark,
Did you ever get it? Or even get the courtesy of an update? I'm still waiting...

[diligence @ Apr 20th 2007 10:45PM]

I got mine (xp pro, 1gb, 60hd) well over a week ago at rcs in nyc. I'd knock somebody out if mine had scuffs.

[tnkgrl @ Apr 20th 2007 11:46PM]

*Kev50027*, specs are on the OQO website!

Native internal display resolution is 800x480, with hardware zoom in/out (interpolation) up to 1200x720 - HDMI (built-in) and DVI/VGA (via adapter) support for external display resolution up to 1920x1200 with spanning or mirroring...

[fumanku @ Apr 21st 2007 1:08AM]

I have had my BEST, SPRINT, XP for almost 2 weeks, and everything works fine. I just installed Vista, and after some hic-ups, I've managed to get everything working.

Mine has a few scratches on the plastic on the right and left of the unit, but overall, I am quite pleased.

[uclatommy @ Apr 21st 2007 1:21AM]

Engadget should write an article to analyze the future of UMPCs. Is there really a market in the future for authoring word documents in a device that fits in your hand? Can a laptop or desktop really be replaced by something that fits in your pocket? What are the strategies of different companies for capturing/creating greater market space? Is there any real merit besides the cool factor and geek cred of such a device?

[Kev50027 @ Apr 21st 2007 4:10AM]

That would be nice, but Engadget doesn't really do that. That seems like something PC Mag or Cnet would do.

[ArtB @ Apr 21st 2007 8:56AM]

I got my Best, XP Pro, Sprint OQO 02 yesterday. It is working great, EVDO included. I switched my Sprint service over from my USB device to the OQO 02 without much of a problem. It did take me awhile to figure out that the OQO 02 Wireless Device Manager is used to turn the Sprint module on and off. My was turned off the first time I booted up the machine. Also, the Sprint module and Wireless G cannot both be on at the same time. My unit did not have any nicks or scraches. It is perfect and was running well all day. I am very pleased with the device. I got it straight from OQO. I ordered mine on Jan 8. Maybe if Boy Genius is that disapointed with the quality of the unit he got he should return it. Also, did he even order a unit with EVDO? Some of the configurations do not include EVDO.

[tnkgrl @ Apr 21st 2007 5:26PM]

*ArtB*, I tried to manually enable/disable the EVDO and WiFi in the "Network Connections" control panel wihout usng the OQO Wireless Dashboard and it didn't allow simultaneous EVDO and WiFi... Strange!

[ArtB @ Apr 21st 2007 8:25PM]

Yes, I thought the setup was strange.

[shoot-edit.com @ Apr 21st 2007 1:25PM]

i am writimg this on an xp,best, sprint unit that arrived yesterday. sprint will be turned on Monday. the machine is much better than the 01. while it plays vide great, still won't play itunes video well. bummer. could have been the perfect travel companion....still wouldn't sell it for even $1000 profit!

[L'Emmerdeur @ Apr 22nd 2007 4:07PM]

I've read elsewhere that they have delays with a) Model 02s ordered with Vista and b) Model 02s ordered with Verizon EVDO. I haven't heard about delays for Sprint EVDO models.

FWIW, mine went from "Order Received" to "Building to order" this weekend.

[tnkgrl @ Apr 22nd 2007 4:09PM]

Engadget, you may want to post an update to this article as Boy Genius has done.

[Mark @ Apr 25th 2007 9:24PM]

Oh, I got it. Yesterday morning. And it is, for lack of a better word, incredible. I am in the middle of writing a rather enormous review of it for The Gadgeteer. I have four pages of text written so far, and I am not even close to done. I absolutely love this thing. It is a worthy successor to my beloved HP 200LX that I have had since 1993. It is actually 1/2" shorter than the 200LX. It is a keeper.

[trent @ May 10th 2007 11:08PM]

Got mine about a week ago. Smaller than I thought and feels sturdier than I expected. And man, it is just incredible. When I switch between portrait/landscape the nipple-mouse can go a little wacky. Other than that- flawless. Sprint is another story "We'll have your account activated in 24 hours..." has turned into "We've escalated your request." after 3 days. Even 24 hours is rather stupid, my HSDPA took about 3 minutes to get running...

--trent