Recent Machines

I don't have time to geek out over these very much at the moment, but here's a quick peek at what I've been playing with lately.

OQO Model 02 UMPC

(Spring 2007): No time to get into details here, but I liked the OQO 01+ so much that I upgraded to the Model 02. It addresses every shortcoming I mentioned about the 01+ below. It's faster, brighter, runs Vista, has better WiFi, has a backlit keyboard, and much more. It's also a bit larger and heavier, but its advantages make it worth the extra bulk. Search the web for Model 02 details. Oh, and I believe these machines are called UMPCs these days, Ultra Mobile Personal Computers; whatever acronym is in style, they are nice.

OQO Model 01+ uPC (ultra personal computer)

(May 2006) I was wrong. After picking up and actually using a OQO handheld computer, I have to say that it completely surpasses the Zaurus Linux PDA described later on this page in almost every way. The OQO is a full-blown Windows XP computer; being able to project, print, get on the Internet feely, run full MS Office programs, write complete Python programs, run iTunes, and use every sort of USB and firewire device imaginable, is a major win. I've been amazed at the level of quality in its design and construction.

The OQO does have some limitations. It runs more slowly than a 3-pound laptop; it gets warm after constant use; the screen is a bit dim; and the standard battery only lasts for 2 hours of continuous use. But given its intended roles, these limitations seem acceptable. The battery, for instance, lasts for up to a week in standby sleep mode, and the OQO resumes from standby mode in 5 seconds or less - not completely instant-on, but close enough for PDA style use. There's usually no reason to use the slower hibernation sleep mode.

The 01+ comes in a 4.9 x 3.4 x .9 inches and 0.88 pound (14 ounce) form factor (versus the Zaurus 3100's 4.9 x 3.4 x 1.0 and 0.65 pound (10.4 ounce) size). It has a 1GHz processor, 30G harddrive, 512M RAM, a 5" 800x480 screen (versus the Zaurus 3.7" 640 x 480), a slide-out thumb keyboard with trackstick, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, Tablet screen and pen, and all the normal PC ports - Ethernet, USB 2.0, FireWire, and VGA out. I also picked up the extended battery, which boosts run and standby times to 4-6 hours and 2 weeks, respectively. Other useful accessories: the optional hardshell metal case makes the exposed screen a non-issue, and a Bluetooth fold-up keyboard and Bluetooth mouse allows this to be used for heavy lifting - so much so that I can leave the laptop at home. The OQO can be used as both PDA and laptop, as long as speed isn't crucial.

After being a Zaurus fan for years, I hate to say it, but the Zaurus seems like just a PDA by comparison; I ran into limitations with almost everything I tried to do with it, both in software and hardware. By contrast, the OQO is truly a "real" handheld computer. Besides day-to-day use, it's a complete backup machine for me - I can use it by itself to teach classes if my laptop dies. That's not an option with a Zaurus. The OQO may be slightly heavier, but it provides much more functionality for a very modest form-factor increase. The fact that the company actually markets it in the US is a considerable advantage as well.

It will be interesting to see where this device evolves. Sony recently announced a similar model, the Vaio UX90, but it will be heavier (1.2 pounds), larger (5.91 x 3.74 x 1.27-1.50 inch), and have a smaller screen (4.5 inch) than the OQO.

Update Aug 06: I spotted a Sony UX180 (the US model) in a CompUSA recently, and took my OQO in to compare. It was about as expected--the Sony has a faster processor and brighter screen, but is larger and heavier, has a difficult to use keyboard, and a smaller screen with a higher resolution that seems too small to read. Compared to the OQO, it doesn't seem suitable for PDA-style use.

In more detail:

• The Sony is noticebaly larger (a full inch wider), thicker, and heavier. The OQO is already not small, but the Sony seems too big for its intended use.
• Its keyboard also has almost no tactile feedback at all. Unlike the OQO, it's hard to know when a key has been pressed, and the curves near the side posts make some keys hard to hit.
• The Sony's screen is substantially brighter, rivaling a full laptop. Despite that, the screen is harder to read--it's at least half an inch smaller than the OQO in both dimensions (4.5"). Worse, it also has a higher resolution (1024x600) in that smaller space. The net effect is to make the screen seem too small to use, in its native resolution. The taskbar at the bottom of the screen, for example, was basically a sliver, with illegible icons.
• The Sony also comes with not one, but two onboard cameras, which most people will probably never use--a fairly common theme for Sony machines.

Having said that, the brightness of the Sony screen is a big plus. I hope the next OQO will pump up the CPU power and screen brightness, or the next Sony will have a larger screen, smaller form factor, and better keyboard. Today, the OQO seems like the most usable compromise in the uPC ultra-portables category.

Sony Vaio T250 laptop

(May 2005) My new work machine. It's heavier than I'm used to (3.1 pounds), but it comes with an integrated DVD/CD RW drive--something I occasionally missed in my older laptops (here and here). 10.6" WXGA XBRITE widescreen (1280x768), 1.2GHz Pentium M 753, 512M DDR, 60G, WiFi, Bluetooth, about 1 inch thick (10.5" x 8" x 1.2"), mignight blue cover, and an amazing 9 hour battery (which in practice translates to 5-6 hours of realistic constant use with WiFi on and the screen at full brightness: 3 or 4 times better than my prior laptops). Upcoming models in this series will have built-in cellular chips so you can get online with Cingular's EDGE service when there is no WiFi available.

I considered the Toshiba Libretto U100, but decided it was too small for doing any substantial work (it was roughly the size of my Vaio U1). The U100 was also too big to be used the way I use my Zaurus PDA, and doesn't have the true instant-on that makes the Zaurus so useful. To me, it seems too small for laptop roles, and too big for PDA roles, and I usually need both. Your mileage may vary. [Update 9/05: I upgraded to a T350 a few months later, after I spilled Diet Coke all over my T250...]

Infocus LP70+ projector

(May 2005) An ultralight projector I picked up for public classes I teach. DLP, XGA (1024x768), 1500 lumens, 3000 hour lamp life, 1100:1 contrast ratio, and 2.4 pounds. It's roughly the size and weight of a hardcover book (2.58"H x 6.1"L x 7.8"W).

Zaurus C3100 PDA

(Summer 2005) The latest version of this Linux-based PDA, with a VGA (640x480) screen, great keyboard, CF and SD slots, and more. I've been using a C760 model on a daily basis for almost 2 years. The 3100 is 4 models ahead, and comes with a slightly faster processor, and a built-in 4G hard drive, which leaves the CF slot open for a WiFi card. I use the Zaurus for accounting, website maintenance, scheduling, notes, programming, and so on; in fact, I probably use it as much as my laptops, if not more. The size, instant-on, battery life, and keyboard seem to have hit a rare sweet-spot that makes this a very useful device. When I find time, I plan to flash my prior Zaurus C760 to install a full Linux with X-Windows support.

(Update: see the OQO note above.) I looked at the OQO ultraportable as an alternative to the Zaurus, but decided the OQO's Windows XP, lack of true instant-on, much weaker battery life, and 50% heavier weight made it less well-suited to what I use the Zaurus for. The design of the Zaurus also protects the screen when closed, and it does not run hot; because it's a full Windows machine, the OQO requires a fan, and still gets hot with continuous use.

But the biggest deciding factor to me is the OQO's lack of instant-on: the best you can get on the OQO today is Windows XP standby, which has a limited duration due to battery drain, and is not instantly started or restored (5 seconds or longer, supposedly). Windows hibernation mode avoids battery drain, but is far too slow to restore for PDA type usage (28+ seconds, reportedly). By contrast, the Zaurus provides instant information access: it turns off immediatley, can be left off seemingly forever, and returns to where it was instantly. Moreover, the OQO battery is rated at just 2 hours real usage; the Zaurus battery lasts much longer, and its standby lasts for so long that I have never had to think about it.

At least today, it seems that devices that try to satisfy both laptop and PDA usage goals wind up satisfying neither; I couldn't use the OQO for real work, and doubt I could use it for the PDA-type things I do with the Zaurus. It comes with a lot of paradoxes that make it less than practical. For instance, it can be used to give presentations (unlike a PDA), but its lack of a real keyboard may make it useless for me in this role (unlike a laptop). And its current price (around $2000, 2.2 times that of the Zaurus) makes it a bit much for something I'd probably only use to browse the web when my laptop isn't available.

All just in my opinion, of course; the OQO just doesn't apply to many of my own use cases today. The OQO is a very interesting machine, and I may buy a future model, especially when Linux becomes an option. The battery life, heat, and instant-on issues may in large part be due to the fact that Windows XP is not well suited to PDA style use.

Ipod Mini

(November 2004) It's changed the way I listen to music. Need I say more? I have about 425 songs on it today, which comes out to about 30 hours and 3.7G, all high-res MP3s. It really is a magic little box. [Update 10/05: there is an Ipod Nano in my not-too-distant future.]

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