From Pocket PC to Ultra-Mobile PC
As a heavy Pocket PC user I have been evaluating UMPC's as my next portable device. Why? Here is a list of the main reasons:
- Full desktop OS (Vista or XP), thus desktop applications
- Decent resolution (800×480 minimum)
Decent screen size (physical dimensions)
- Decent storage on SSD, HDD
What will I lose by moving away from my Pocket PC? My built-in phone and some portability as UMPC's are obviously larger. Is this a big deal? Not as much as it used to be – read on…
I am using my PDA more and more and the small screen of my device is bugging me a lot – and hurting my eyes. Pocket PC's only seem to be getting smaller and smaller screens however, and any of the newer devices with larger screens have major drawbacks – the HTC Advantage with it's lack of phone support and it's stupid magnet (why have a portable device that cannot sit next to a wallet or another device with a HDD? duh), and the HP IPAQ 200 with it's nice 4inch screen but no phone. If a Pocket PC has no phone and a small screen then I am looking elsewhere – and the only elsewhere is towards the new generation of Ultra-Mobile PC's.
The concept of carrying around a full computer running the same applications as my everyday PC is very appealing. No more syncing of data, no more shelling over cash for Pocket PC software that is a cut-down imitation of the real thing. As I am a IT Manager/Developer it also means I will have access to tools that are required for my job at hand 24/7 – there will be no requirement for me to lug my laptop around when on the go. Sure I will have to carry a small phone plus a UMPC as opposed to a single device, but there are some advantages in that as well such as each device being optimised for its purpose.
To move away from a Pocket PC however there are a few requirements that a UMPC must meet to cover my everyday usage. It must be able to support at least 4 hours battery life. It must still be very portable in terms of overall dimensions. I also want to be able to use it in situations where it must be quiet and discreet. For example I use it a lot in places like my church to take notes and have study/reference material at hand – I don't want the device to be too obvious and distracting to others. 
For a UMPC to run desktop software it must also be reasonably fast and have decent storage capacity. A keyboard is not a huge requirement for me – I am very capable with a touchscreen combined with a Fitaly onscreen keyboard for data entry, but if a keyboard present and it does not add too much real-estate to the device then that is fine.
So that gives a bit of background on my usage and feature requirements.
There are two UMPC devices that interest me the most at this point. The RAON Digital Everun and the OQO 02. Until a few days ago the HTC Shift was also on the list, but definitely not now – the limited battery life and limited Windows Mobile took care of that.
To decide between the two devices I asked for feedback from the community. The feedback I received was mainly sweeping comments that the OQO was the better device in nearly all areas except battery life and was by far the more "productive" office machine. I kept feeling like there was more to the Everun than that – so I made the following chart to compare the two devices feature for feature. The end result? It's a tough call but I think in terms of value for money and overall usage the Everun is going to be hard to beat… especially when thinking in terms of moving away from a Pocket PC rather than as a desktop replacement.
RAON Digital Everun vs OQO 02
| Key:: |
|
| Spec. | Everun | OQO | Thoughts |
| CPU | 600MHz AMD Geode LX 900 | 1.6 Ghz VIA C7M ULV | - |
| RAM | 512Mb | 1Gb | If using Vista on OQO not sure 1Gb offers any real advantage |
| Operating System | XP Home or Pro | XP Pro or Vista Business/Ultimate | Either XP or Vista is fine for my requirements. Both have advantages/disadvantages – XP is perhaps more stable and in theory will run faster on lower spec hardware than Vista. |
| Standard Battery Life | 7 hours | 3 hours | - |
| Extended Battery Life | 12 hours | 6 hours | - |
| Dimensions | 83x170x25mm | 83x142x25.4mm | The OQO is shorter but slightly thicker. |
| Weight | 460g (with SSD) / 490g (with HDD) | 454g with standard battery | - |
| Design | Practical/Nerdy | Sleek/Professional | Shouldn't affect my decision, but worthy of note! |
| Screen | 4.8 inches | 5 inches | The OQO will be slightly more readable due to larger pixel size |
| Screen Type | Touch Screen | Active Digitizer | After using a Pocket PC for years either type offers advantages that balance each other out |
| Native Resolution | 800 x 480 | 800 x 480 | The OQO has interpolated zoom up to 1000 x 600 still readable |
| External Resolution | Up to 1920 x 1200 | Up to 1920 x 1200 | The OQO offers DVI support as well. |
| Zoom | Up to 1680 x 1050 | Up to 1200 x 720 | - |
| Docking Station | Coming | Yes | The OQO docking station is very slick – let's see what RAON bring to the table |
| Camera | Coming | No | The Everun will have the option of a 2.0 Megapixel camera |
| HDD/SSD | 30/60Gb HDD and/or 6Gb SSD | 60/80/120Gb HDD or 32Gb SSD | In my opinion the Everun wins because of the fact is allows both SSD and HDD or CF in the same device – so you can have a 6Gb SSD and a 60 Gb HDD or SSD and CF in the same device. CF cards now go up to 64Gb and can be swapped. Due to my emphasis on ruggedness and the device running queitly the extra Flash options are a bonus. |
| Compact Flash | Yes, hybrid with SSD only | No | |
| Noise | Silent | Noisy | Users are reporting that the Everun can only just be heard when holding it up to the ear. |
| Heat | Cool | Hot | Speaks for itself. |
| WWAN | HSDPA | None | I live in New Zealand, so the OQO's EVDO support is no good to me. The Everun however has the option of HSDPA which can optionally support voice. |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes | - |
| Wifi | b/g | a/b/g | - |
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes | - |
| USB HDD | Yes | No | This indicates if the device can be used as an external USB HDD or not. |
| Auto-Rotation | Yes | No | There is a 3rd party solution to enable this on the OQO |
| Auto-Brightness | Yes | Yes | - |
| Keyboard | Yes | Yes | Both have keyboards but it is obvious that the OQO's is very usable over the unusual thumbboard of the Everun. However for me this is a moot point – I will use the Fitaly onscreen keyboard anyway. |
| Integrated Pen | Yes | No | The OQO pen cannot be stored in the device |
| Base Model Price | USD 799 | USD 1,299 | The cheapest entry point – pricing from Dynamism. |
| Preferred Model Price | USD 899 (SSD, CF adapter) | USD 2,349 (Vista Business, SSD) | If I was purchasing this device, the model I would select |
September 16th, 2007 at 10:09 am
The Everun looks really nifty but the portability factor weighs in for me. I really adore the feel of the OQO, its something I have rarely found in other UMPC’s
If I were you I would find a store that has both and go and play with them and then decide. You can read spechs till the proverbial cows come home and be completely unhappy whjen the unit arrives and you start putting it to use.
that’s my two cents.
September 16th, 2007 at 10:10 am
I have actually had the chance to play with the RAON and when my OQO was not in for repairs, was able to try them side-by-side.
The price point for RAON is what I wish the OQO could be. The extended battery for the RAON is great and you can actually get 8hrs with radio on. The extended battery for the OQO does not help you much. I would be happy to get an OQO the size of the RAON if it that would give me the extra power that I need.
The combined 6gb SSD / Hard drive feature is great! You can put the entire OS on SSD and data on the HD — or use the SSD for your cache. Its a nice solution and works out really well.
The screen is nice on the RAON and I believe better than the OQO. Speed is better than the OQO and the sound is very much better than the OQO. It also did not have the heat or fan noise of the OQO.
The inclusion of the CF and SD slots are just marvelous especially if you are a photographer. At the price, it makes for a great way to store pics in the field. A feature I hope a future OQO will have.
Some of the coming features I did not get to try is WMAX, HSDPA, 2mp Camera and docking station. They are suppose to have an in-car docking station as well (OQO you reading this!)
All in all — very well done.
However, the deal breakers……
- 512Mb RAM does not cut it — they need to bump it to 1gig and I was told it will be coming in a future rev of the product. With XP, its fine with Vista it would be a problem. Video RAM is shared with system RAM — while it has a very fast southbridge chipset, its lack of dedicated RAM hurts it during some video playback.
- The keyboard, I found it very nice to touch and depress the keys, but I will take the OQO keyboard any day.
- Handling it in portrait and landscape mode was clumbersome because I kept hitting the keyboard, but the model I played with did do the screen twirl
If I continue to have problems with my OQO, I am going to consider the Everun. I can easily purchase two of these units for what I have paid for my OQO.
Right now, price, battery life, reliability issues and unknown future path for OQO is holding it back. We will see as time goes on. The price point of the Everun will attract a lot more people to UMPCs and that will be a very good thing.
September 16th, 2007 at 10:10 am
hi, own both oqo and raon, i have to say out of all 9 umpc’s that i own the raon everun is my favorite, eved though it *** lower ram than my oqo, it handles apps like photoshop, video playback and corell painter much better than the oqo.
the raon everrun is much much quieter, the battery life is a lot better, the fact my raon is touch screen not digitiser makes it much easier to use and of course the touchsceen dose not need a special pen .
i paid nearly half the price of my oqo for the raon everun, which is nothing short of outstanding.
one last thing, surprisingly i find the thumb board on the raon easier to use,, i like the fact that you need not slide out the keyboard also i can use it in both landcsape and potrait mode.
September 16th, 2007 at 3:30 am
WWAN for OQO should be ‘Hackable & Coming’
The new OQOs (serial numbers beginning with 0112723XXXX) have a quieter fan that keeps it slightly cooler.
September 16th, 2007 at 11:19 am
I found some great pictures of the Everun which you can view on a Korean website “PMPInside”:
Marketing Shots >>
Users Shots >>
September 16th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Anyone who says the everun is better than the oqo must be on drugs..
The screen on the everun is awful, looks like its got a layer of crap all over it is a touch screen. The keyboard is simply unusable and it is MUCH slower than the oqo on XP. I have both with me right now and the everun is a very big disappointment. Its big and bulky, very slow, the layout makes no sense at all.. the mouse click keys are on the bottom left, where as the pointer is on the top right….
If you cant afford anything else, just buy a nomal laptop, otherwise go the oqo 02.
September 17th, 2007 at 8:43 am
I have been on the sidelines for a long time waiting to move to umpcs (still using Zaurus 860 which in few important areas still seems better than both oqo or everun – clamshell, instant on, no heat, good battery life – but with drawbacks of no x86, built in wifi, bluetooth, broadband, etc).
But I think the next generation of each of the interesting umpc devices could take care of their most glaring issues (present in curren versions). For example:
OQO – next version will hopefully take care of the loud fan, overheating, and battery life
Everun – no doubt it will have at least 1GB RAM and somewhat faster processor
Flipstart – needs faster processor, more ram, and needs to slim down (all probably possible)
My guess is in 6-12 months we will have some really nice choices without making huge fundamental compromises in the key areas (processor, ram, heat, battery, storage).
I will also think that looking at what challenges each of the 3 fronrunners is facing Everun is actually the most likely to take care of it’s main drawback (slightly faster processor and more ram seem easier to fix than battery, heat, fan …
September 17th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
The biggest advantage with the Everun is the battery life.
Now, if we set the OQO CPU to run at 1/2 speed, how much does that improve battery life?
September 17th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
I have used both units and honestly I love the OQO. The small form factor is great. I carry it in my pocket and even on my belt on occassion. The screen is fantastic. Don’t forget the 1.6/120HD/32SSD coming…That’s even better. I like the Everrun too but I find myself always going back to the OQO. I have games, I have encyclopedias, I have photo programs, and Office 2007 and all run great. I use it daily and personally, the heat issue is way overblown. I have had ZERO problem with heat and it runs everyday like a laptop for me. Love em’ both….if I only can have one…I’ll take the OQO.
September 17th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Provided all the 2nd & 3rd Gen UMPCs have a price point of between $800 and $900 I can see people having multiple UMPCs optimized for a specific purpose. Some will be better book readers and email senders, others will server certain segments like photography and still others more general mobile computing devices. The Everun and OQO have their own strengths and weaknesses — IMHO, neither wins outright but are good at very specific tasks or styles that different people work.
I see UMPCs becoming companion PCs and digital entertainment accessories. More work needs to be done in both these areas. All the tech exists, just need an enterprising forward looking company to cram it all in one little box.
For example, in the area of a companion device, when I dock my OQO or other UMPC I want to sync it to my main PC or Laptop very similar to a Blackberry today. The absolute ridiculous prices for data plans from the telecom carries make its wide spread use as a communication device a barrier for general consumer use. However, if more devices would add GPS, UMPC could also compete in the fast growing dedicated GPS market. Imagine having GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi and WMAX built in an $800 device — throw out the Garmin and give me that.
On the entertainment front, I should be able to control my media center PC and media center components from my UMPC. Instead of an iPod, let me control my entertainment devices and read my email, listen to my music, download and read my local paper and setup my Tivo or DVR all from my UMPC.
The RAON more than any other device has the ability to get the buzz out about UMPCs — its already gathering a lot of blog press and is the new “show me” toy of tech confs and speakers.
September 17th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Hi Matthew.
Nice article. I think we’ll see more UMPCs hitting the high-end of the pocketpc market and many people will cross over to full-pc spec machines.
A couple of points about the Everun.
Compared to a PocketPC its much bigger and heavier. Of course, as a PC, its tiny and light but its at least twice the weight of any PocketPC and probably four times the volume of my old Ipaq 2210. This means, no pocketability. Its also not instant-on. Also remember that XP comes with no proper organiser software.
Battery is 4-5hours ‘real’ usage. I can get 6 if i’m just typing or listening to music.
Camera – I wouldn’t expect to see this in the near future.
HSDPA – Not available as a build-option. There are aftermarket possibilities for this though.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the Everun and it HAS replaced my PocketPC. But it comes with issues that need to be considered.
Regards
Steve.
September 17th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Wormdrum says: “The screen on the everun is awful, looks like its got a layer of crap all over it is a touch screen. The keyboard is simply unusable and it is MUCH slower than the oqo on XP. I have both with me right now and the everun is a very big disappointment. Its big and bulky, very slow, the layout makes no sense at all.. the mouse click keys are on the bottom left, where as the pointer is on the top right….”
Thats a bit extreme Wormdrum. I haven’t seen the OQO screen but its possible that its much better. However, the Everun is better that Q1P, Q1b. (brighter) Comparatively speaking its above average for a UMPC. The keyboard is certainly usable. I use it every day in landscape and portrait mode. Its not a great keyboard in terms of quality and I think they could have done better although considering the number of keys in there (its far more than a blackberry-style keyboard) there aren’t many options. Don’t expect to do more than one or two line emails though. Its great for passwords, URL search in history, file search. Windows key. (Windows-C for control panel for example) and many other functions. I’d rather have it there than not there!
The layout is something you need to get used to. Every UMPC is different and has the same issue. For example, there’s no touchscreen on an OQO and you have to get used to the scroll-strips.
The Everun CPU is extremely low powered. Its true. However, if you’re just using a few apps there are no issues. Its fast enough. Hugley faster for browsing, for example, than pocket pc’s, smartphones, N800 style devices. There’s no 3D graphics support but 2D is exceptional. It can even do Divx to an incredible 4Mbps. Memory isn’t an issue if you’re only using a few apps. DOn’t expect office productivity though. In summary, I think the Everun makes a superb device. Its mobile, small and good value. OQO is a great machine and, yes, if you can afford one, better. BUt you have to consider the price differential and touchscreen issues. OQO is a no-go for me because I use Everun in the car (BT audio, navigation with RoadRunner and PC Navigator s/w)
“The biggest advantage with the Everun is the battery life.
Now, if we set the OQO CPU to run at 1/2 speed, how much does that improve battery life?”
Actually if you talk about efficiency, the OQO is very good. They just chose to put a small battery on it.
September 17th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Hi – great review – I’ve been having pretty much the same dilemma.
What (presumably 3rd party) CF adaptor are you looking to get? – Are you sure it will fit in there?
I’ve been deliberating over buying the 6Gig SSD model without the HD, for noise reasons, but have been holding back due to the lack of storage this causes. Having a CF adaptor in place of the HD would be a great solution.
September 17th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Hi, Matthew
I’m also in the process of choosing an umpc, coming from pda world. I went through similar choices and came to similar conclusions. I’m glad to see that you nailed it so precisely.
I think that everun would be much finer machine with 1 or 2g of RAM. I don’t have time to wait while producers improve their offer though, since I drowned my ipaq 4700. I want to take everun and try memory upgrade with the guys that have done similar upgrades for pocket pcs (e.g. Re-soldering 128m instead of original 64m).
I also would take cf slot any day over hdd drive. I still have 8g cf card left from ipaq. However, I don’t see where you found the ssd + cf option. Not mentioned on raon digital website.
September 17th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
Hi Luis and Solnyshok – thanks for the feedback. The good news is that RAON will be including the CF adapter in all S6S models. Apparently they are even shipping the adapter free of charge to existing S6S customers. You can find out more by visiting Steve Paine’s entry on the UMPCPortal.com forums.
September 18th, 2007 at 1:51 am
Good comparison – remember cheapest OQO has no digitizer!
September 18th, 2007 at 9:55 am
For use in quiet environments, the Everun S6S will have no HD chatter and apparently only has a small fan for CPU cooling that is quiet. Add a high capacity Compact Flash card with the new adapter that Raon is shipping with the S6S, and you should enough room for everyday situations. I’m thinking of putting in a 8GB CF card for a total of 14 gigs. The only moving part on the Everun will be the little CPU fan.
September 18th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Great comparison.
I have been going through the same thought processes, but I am still trying to decide if I need power or battery life. As Ctitanic says, You can add battery, but you cannot add processing power.
The question is, how much power do I need?
One other difference between Everun and OQO – you can use an external battery or a 3rd party power brick to charge the Everun (standard(?) DC in jack). With OQO you can only use the proprietary power brick (No external batteries).
September 18th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
In Part III of Neil Balthaser’s review he talks about how he uses an external battery to give him a combined 8 hours of battery life. He doesn’t go into details, but it looks like he uses a cigarette lighter adapter for the external battery along with OQO’s car/airplane adapter.
The OQO doesn’t have great battery life with its standard battery. But that’s what happens when designers decide that size and weight take greater priority. (For the OQO, whose whole point is that it’s so small and light, I don’t think this is a bad move.) It does have an extended battery which, I suspect, gets 4-5 hours. Of course, it’s thicker and costs extra.
September 20th, 2007 at 9:36 am
Hi!
Thanks for great comparison!
Anybody here got OQO2 with extended battery?
How much uptime does it have when browsing with bluetooth and WiFi on?
September 22nd, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Does anyone own a SSD model? I am wondering the performance of the disk for running OS, especially with the Page file on there.
Since the disk is supposed to be very fast, page in / out should be fast and when the machine runs out of real memory the performance could possibly still be OK.
September 28th, 2007 at 10:17 am
RAON DIGITAL EVERUN buy or not? Good machine?
I listen to music, watch videos, read books, used as a browser, read mail.
September 30th, 2007 at 12:23 am
just ordered everun s6s (ssd + cf ) from european distributor mobilx.hu. Hopefully I will be able to share my experience with 6g ssd + 8g cf setup in 3-5 days.
September 30th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
I was having the same debate betwen the OQO 2 and the Raon (and I have a desktop that I use regularly at home, with a subnotebook, the Panasonic R4, and a Treo 650 … to get an idea of how this fits into my tech gadgets). After a lot of research and actually testing out the OQO at a local store, I decided to order the Raon from Dynamism. I’ve had it for 2 days now and I’m quite happy with it. The speed is actually better than I had thought … actually quite as fast as my desktop which is a Duo Core with 2GB RAM and Vista … the XP on the machine is just fine even with several windows open. I haven’t yet gotton used to the Raon keyboard and it is too bad it doesn’t have the raised numbs on the F & J keys, and the limited space bar, but I don’t expect to use it all that much anyway as it’s more of a media device for me, but nice to have in a pinch. I think screen is quite bright — better than expect (sure, not as good as the OQO, but good enough that I don’t really notice during regular usage). Also note that I have the 6GB SSD with 60GB hard drive. I put all the system and cache files, etc, in the SSD. All program and data files on the hard drive. It really works. I suspect when the WLAN and the camera features come out, I’ll want to upgrade, but this was a good decision for me. Thanks for the info and discussion on this site! – Mac
October 19th, 2007 at 11:48 am
I received my everun 2 weeks ago and added 16g cf card. It’s amazing. Fast. Light. Gives me 10+ hours of mobile work in outdoors.
October 22nd, 2007 at 1:46 am
i’m even not sure if I need to expand RAM. It seems sufficient at the moment.