The OQO looks like a cool idea from the beginning. Basically, its a full-featured PC the size of a PDA. You would want that, especially when it runs XP and is compatible with your desktop. However, it looks like poor design and even poorer performance make this a pretty bad buy in the opinion of this article by PC World writer Tom Mainelli.

"At the heart of the unit is Transmeta's 1-GHz Crusoe; this processor was unexceptional when it launched years ago, and it hasn't improved with age... The horizontally oriented display slides upward to expose the QWERTY-style keyboard--a design that seems clever until you realize it prevents you from tilting the top of the display downward to prevent glare. Instead, you have to angle the whole device... I like the idea of a handheld PC, and I'd certainly be willing to sacrifice some comfort and performance to have one. Unfortunately, OQO's first offering requires giving up dramatically more of each than I'm willing to surrender."

The writer also cites shorter than advertised battery life and warmth in the unit after short periods of use as other reasons why he thinks it belongs in the bin.