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VIA UMPC OQO can really play games
Author: Richard SwinburnePublished: 12th June 2007
You may need little fingers to game like this, but it's certainly addictive. Who needs a trendy Macbook in Starbucks when we're happy fragging, thanks.
The OQO UMPC is incredibly painful with the tiny buttons and the fire keys being on the same side as your WASD, but hey, it works. It works so well, in fact, that you should be no less well-equipped than anyone else at your LAN party. That is, as long as they don’t suggest a round of BattleField 2.
We would probably recommend avoiding FPS titles like Quake 3 due to the tiny confines of the keyboard and lack of a mouse. Ideally the mini computer is suited to RTS games like Command and Conquer or Starcraft, or just browsing the net and checking email. For these types of tasks, it's better than anything else that's out on the market right now. It's way more comfortable than a mobile, but nowhere near the bulk of a laptop.
We were genuinely well impressed with the device, but until the inclusion and mass roll out of WiMAX in them, we can’t see them replacing either mobile phones or notebooks any time soon. A mobile phone is smaller and can still surf the web (albeit for a significant cost and discomfort), whereas a notebook has the distinct advantage of a full size keyboard: typing with thumbs is extremely slow process in comparison. It's really hard to fathom when exactly you are going to want one of these with such alternatives already available.
And at around £1200, it’s still a luxury product that’s hard to work on and “only” plays classic games. It does sport HDMI out, which is a fantastic addition for a slideshow or video output to a big screen, but that appeal is still only for a niche market even if it’s one that will inevitably grow. VIA may not see this as such a downside, but a business needs to earn enough money justify the cost of future R&D.
It's not that the OQO UMPC is a bad product, in fact it's quite the opposite. It is way more than we would have expected, but at the end of the day it is just too far ahead of the curve. In a market where everyone needs a cell phone, laptop or both, this fits into neither.
Of course, we can only begin to dream up some of the modding-related benefits...
Ever thought of owning an UMPC? Let us know in the forums.
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Comments (19)Stats: 0.110 seconds
Wonder if it could handle Sim City 4... on low low settings?
I've requested one from VIA for review, for a month, so we'll see.
Oh well.
Reminds me of my old Psion 5mx. Ah, good days. :D
Anything on when they'll be avalible?
Also there must be a wider range of games that can be played on the OQO model 02.
I still have the problem with the EVDO/WWAN conection only comming from Sprint and Verizon right now. I'm in Canada and I use TELUS so I would have to work out some kind of activation with them :( At least the WiFi will work in most cities
I guess there are benefits to being in the US after all ;)
it plays Sim City 4 quite nicely, and even manages supcom (low settings)
I'm in fact writing on here and can say that its a nice beast, but not meant for FPS action on the go. As far as the mobile broadband goes, I didn't bother with it, too expensive :( but the availablility of Wi-fi (and the fact that almost no one remembers to secure theirs) over here makes it easy to connect.
for those looking for ways to get the games going on the go with laptops without using the CD drive (and massive battery loss) use daemon tools, copy the disc and mount it from the HDD.
I have a question though :? what is the WiFi range like with the OQO's antenna :?
This thing looks damn nice, if a little pointless for most folk. I'd buy one, but only if I had vast amounts of cash to spare.