by , 12:00 PM EDT, June 4th, 2002
Business 2.0 has published a very interesting article about a company called OQO. OQO is working on what it calls an Ultrapersonal computer, a fully functional computer the size of a deck of cards. Note that's about the same size as an iPod, too. The device plugs into a docking station which includes support for an external monitor, as well as FireWire and USB ports. The product, including the docking station, will retail for under US$1500.
What makes this particularly interesting to Mac Observers is that the company's founder is a former Apple engineer who approached Apple CEO Steve Jobs with the idea. According to Business 2.0, Mr. Jobs rejected it, which led to Mr. Bell leaving Apple and forming OQO. From Business 2.0:
Within weeks of leaving his job at Apple Computer (AAPL) in 1999 -- as a lead developer for Apple's PowerBooks -- Jory Bell pitched his former boss, Steve Jobs, his killer idea: a portable PC slightly bigger than a deck of cards that would pack all the punch of a high-end laptop, cost less than $1,500, and give Apple a chance to license its operating system to a product that could render traditional handhelds like the Palm Pilot obsolete.
Jobs didn't go for it, so Bell, 34, went to find some investors who would. By this holiday season, his San Francisco-based startup, OQO, will begin selling his dream machine, called the Ultrapersonal computer. If it takes off, Bell will have trumped not just Apple, but IBM (IBM) too. Here's why: Just 4 inches tall and weighing in at a scant 9 ounces, the Ultrapersonal is the first product to market in the emerging category of modular computing. IBM has been working on a similar micro PC, the Meta Pad, for four years, but still won't say when it will be released.
There is more information in the article about IBM's competing technology, and other related information; it's a good read. Apple spokespersons were not immediately available to respond to our requests for confirmation on these issues.
You can find more information about OQO at that company's Web site.
Still, one has to look at the demand in the Mac user base for an Apple branded PDA or palm-sized unit, and wonder why Apple hasn't moved to fulfill that demand. Such a product as described above, if running Mac OS X, would definitely have sold in quantity. We can hope it's because Apple has something better planned for the future...