Wednesday, November 21, 2007

An Ultra Mobile PC to get excited about

I'm not a real gadget junkie. In fact, I'm somewhat of a stick-in-the-mud when it comes to implementing new hi-tech devices like iPods or iPhones into my network. I see them as an intrusion on my security.

But I saw a new device today that just blows my socks off. And what's better is that I saw an immediate application for our flight crews. It's a palm-sized mobile PC from OQO. The display is amazingly clear for a 5" screen running 800 x 480.

I know, we've seen palm-sized computers already that have not flown but this one seems to have what it takes. It's a full Windows compatible computer - XP Pro or Vista Business. It fits into what's called the UMPC category - Ultra Mobile PC.

We have several flight crews who carry a tablet PC and use it to replace their Flight Engineer's bag of maps and charts and books. It's called Jeppview and even though it is a big step up from the cumbersome charts and maps, a tablet PC is still too big.

The beauty of the OQO is that it runs just about any software that runs on a regular Windows PC because, well, it is a regular Windows PC, just a whole lot smaller and lighter - one pound with the standard three hour battery.

The OQO 02 is slightly larger than a 3-inch by 5-inch index card and is 1 inch deep, meaning it fits comfortably into a jeans back pocket or the inside jacket pocket of a sports coat. It has a 5-inch screen that slides up to reveal a full thumb-keyboard.

It comes with a 1.6GHz CPU, 1GB memory and 120GB of storage. It has built-in broadband wireless using the EV-DO network as well as standard 802.11g and bluetooth. An optional docking station allows quick and easy connection to a full size display, keyboard, mouse, and wired Ethernet.

Maybe I'm a little behind the times. Have you seen this baby before and if so, what do you think?

1 comment:

dbmoore said...

Tim -

We have at least one other customer (Ismael Chang Ghalimi) who used an OQO this way. If you are going to higher altitudes without pressurization, be sure to get our solid state drive version, which has higher altitude operating range than does a hard disk. For more info, check with our user community at OQOtalk.com.

Thanks for thinking of us, and let us know if we can be of assistance.

-- Dennis Moore, OQO