Former Apple engineers at OQO call it quits
OQO, a company formed by two members of Apple's Titanium PowerBook G4 team who left the company to deliver the micro-sized laptops that Steve Jobs refused to build at Apple, is shutting down after nearly a decade of trying.
Jory Bell and Nick Merz left Apple in 2000 to form OQO after a struggle within Apple to develop prototype designs for a new micro-sized laptop that resembled a miniaturized Titanium PowerBook. By 2004, OQO had produced a tiny Windows XP device using the Transmeta Crusoe processor.
Since then, the company has shipped machines based on Microsoft's UMPC reference designs, which have found a small but ecstatic fan base. The company's sales have been unable to keep the operation afloat however, underlining Jobs' instincts that the market wouldn't support a tiny mobile handheld laptop even if it were a cool bit of engineering.
"We are sad to report that due to financial constraints, OQO is not able to offer repair and service support at this time," the company has stated. "We are deeply sorry that despite our best intentions, we are unable to provide continued support for our faithful customers. Please accept our sincerest apologies." OQO is no longer answering phones.
A blogger for GottaBeMobile.com reported comments from Bob Rosin, OQO's SVP of sales and marketing, who expressed hope that the company's technology and engineering teams could stay together "if a deal they?re working on with another PC vendor pans out."
The company is currently out of stock of its devices, and plans to complete a final manufacturing run didn't work out as hoped. There's no word yet on the identity of the PC maker interested in acquiring the group.
Apple has expressed no interest in developing a conventional netbook or UMPC-like device, but has signaled intentions to both deliver lower cost, WWAN enabled MacBooks later this year and to deliver a wider array of iPhone and iPod touch models, including a new tablet device many observers expect to see next year. The company is also actively hiring engineers.
Jory Bell and Nick Merz left Apple in 2000 to form OQO after a struggle within Apple to develop prototype designs for a new micro-sized laptop that resembled a miniaturized Titanium PowerBook. By 2004, OQO had produced a tiny Windows XP device using the Transmeta Crusoe processor.
Since then, the company has shipped machines based on Microsoft's UMPC reference designs, which have found a small but ecstatic fan base. The company's sales have been unable to keep the operation afloat however, underlining Jobs' instincts that the market wouldn't support a tiny mobile handheld laptop even if it were a cool bit of engineering.
"We are sad to report that due to financial constraints, OQO is not able to offer repair and service support at this time," the company has stated. "We are deeply sorry that despite our best intentions, we are unable to provide continued support for our faithful customers. Please accept our sincerest apologies." OQO is no longer answering phones.
A blogger for GottaBeMobile.com reported comments from Bob Rosin, OQO's SVP of sales and marketing, who expressed hope that the company's technology and engineering teams could stay together "if a deal they?re working on with another PC vendor pans out."
The company is currently out of stock of its devices, and plans to complete a final manufacturing run didn't work out as hoped. There's no word yet on the identity of the PC maker interested in acquiring the group.
Apple has expressed no interest in developing a conventional netbook or UMPC-like device, but has signaled intentions to both deliver lower cost, WWAN enabled MacBooks later this year and to deliver a wider array of iPhone and iPod touch models, including a new tablet device many observers expect to see next year. The company is also actively hiring engineers.
Comments
OQO, a company formed by two members of Apple?s Titanium PowerBook G4 team who left the company to deliver the micro-sized laptops that Steve Jobs refused to build at Apple, is shutting down after nearly a decade of trying.
ROFLMAO!!!
...a "Reality Distortion Field" generator.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_distortion_field
There's a quote around somewhere from Jobs to the effect that he's just as proud of some of the things Apple has said "no" to as the things Apple has built.
Had they launched a product now they'd have had more options for design and better processors. Consumers now are moving away from thinking of portable computers as a "laptop" and towards thinking of Smartphones and other internet enabled devices are portable.
9 years ago this "mobility" ideology wasn't as pervasive.
The OQO is absolutely awesome to carry it in your pocket (just 450 g) and use it for PowerPoint presentations using the VGA-out port. Because even the MacBook Air is too heavy and too large.
There is no alternative to the OQO. Unless Apple makes something like a 300 g tablet with VGA video out and Mac OS X inside to run PowerPoint and Keynote NATIVE files.
Let's see if Apple re-hires these folks.
Probably about the time they welcome the Pre people back into the fold.
Next thing you know, IBM will sell their PC division to - oh, I dunno, a Chinese company, let say - and stop making PCs because it's a sound business decision.
So there's this alleged red-hot market for netbooks, and with today's price/performance technology, these guys are getting out when the getting is supposedly good?
Next thing you know, IBM will sell their PC division to - oh, I dunno, a Chinese company, let say - and stop making PCs because it's a sound business decision.
But they didn't make netbooks, they made a relatively powerful, expensive, but tiny PC.
The disadvantages of a sliding keyboard cellphone at the price of a higher end laptop.
LOL, it seems Apple really does know best.
Perhaps they knew best that a $3000 UMPC wouldn't sell. That itself should have been self evident, IMO. Plus, I never saw any in any stores, so how could a customer ever see one to know if they wanted one, even if the price WAS reasonable.
Nothing about this is in any way related to the rest of the netbook market. Different products, pricing, and distribution. Netbooks are in every Best Buy, Futureshop, etc. Macs are in every Best Buy, Futureshop, etc. Totally different economic conditions than what OQO was facing.
So there's this alleged red-hot market for netbooks, and with today's price/performance technology, these guys are getting out when the getting is supposedly good?
Next thing you know, IBM will sell their PC division to - oh, I dunno, a Chinese company, let say - and stop making PCs because it's a sound business decision.
Hehe, they coulda pulled a Psystar and made netbooks . . .
Leave Psystar to the courts now :P
Quadra, please don't mention
who? what?
You'd be amazed at the hundreds of former Apple colleagues who think they can be the next Steven P. Jobs.