CES: OQO launches second, much improved ultra mobile PC that runs Vista

It was a little more than two years when OQO practically created the ultra mobile PC (UMPC) computing segment went it launched its Model 01. Back then, in 2004, I did a webcast interview of OQO's CTO Jonathan Betts LaCroix and here at CES in Las Vegas, I got the chance to catch up with the company's Founder and CEO Jory Bell who updated me on the Model 01's successor; the Model 02. The new OQO unit which can run Windows Vista just as easily as it runs Windows XP was the UMPC discussed by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates during his keynote speech on Sunday night before the show. In a great many ways, the model 02 represents a quantum leap over the its predecessor. According to Bell, its 1.5 Ghz processor and 1 GB of RAM (thanks to the ever shrinking footprint of memory) means that the sub-$2000 system runs up to four times faster than the previous model. 

The new OQO is not ruggedized in the same fashion that Black Diamond's Switchback UMPC is, but then again, the SwitchBack is a lot bigger, a lot more money, and designed for a completely different class of applications. Connectivity is one of the highlights of the OQO. While they don't guarantee that you'll always have connectivity, the OQO Model 02 has nine different radios in, some of which will maximize the chances that you'll be able to connect from anywhere and others support cable replacement technologies like Bluetooth. The new model also has a 5-inch 800x480 display that Bell says is six times brighter than the company's first offering. Here's the video of Bell talking in detail about the new UMPC from OQO: