Re: OmniGo 110
Omar Downie (odownie@uwimona.edu.jm)
Fri, 12 Jul 1996 22:37:23 +0500
>-- [ From: Man F Wong * EMC.Ver #2.3 ] --
>
>Omar Downie wrote:
>> I'm about to purchase an OGO 100 (in fact by the weekend) and was
>wondering if
>> the 110(?) was worth waiting on. Any indication on how much it will cost,
>RAM,
>> IR port, bigger screen ? Anyone has any suggestions ? Would it be
>feasible to
>> upgrade an OGO 100 about a year from now when update ROMs are available,
>even
>> though there are not sockets on the OGO (I'm pretty handy with a solder
>iron).
>
>HP keeps a tight lid on their product development/rollouts. The only info,
>thus far, seems to be that the new OmniGo will have improved support for
>communications. What exactly does that entail remains unclear. At best,
>it might use GEOS 3.0 which has built-in universal mail-box support, full
>internet support, etc., and provide easy modem support. Let's hope GEOS
>3.0 will indeed be used for the new Ogo. That would definitely give me
>significant incentive to trade-up to a new Ogo.
>
>IMO, pricing will probably be similar to the current Ogo (at original price)
>since the market seems capable of supporting a $350 Ogo-type PDA/Organizer.
>Any big price hike would end up moving the Ogo close to the Newton-type
>level which may not be well received since the Ogo is not a real competitor
>to the Newton unless HP gives its guts a total makeover and can rally
>significant 3rd-party support.
>
>>
>> Also, is any terminal emulation available for the OGO. I'll love to be
>able to
>> read my mail from my ISP.
>
>There is only dumb terminal support via freeware currently. The new Ogo
>will probably address this while there are some current developments in the
>GEOS and OmniGo community that might also provide reasonably good
>solutions.
>
>>
>> I'd like to keep the OmniGo as compact as possible and I was wondering if
>I
>> used a low power consumption PCMCIA modem, how long will an OGO last (I
>plan
>> to use rechargable batteries).
>
>I'd like to keep it compact, too, but using the lowest-power pc-card modem
>currently available (Megahertz 14.4k, I believe) will still kill Ogo
>battery life almost instantaneously. Some users reported roughly 10+
>minutes of online time on fresh alkalines before the power drain
>overwhelmed the current capacity of the batteries. Lithiums should provide
>a lot better power supply. One user (Michael Halleen?) said that he used a
>28.8k pc-card modem frequently for 2 days on fresh lithiums w/ 66% power
>left, but because of the enormous drain of 28.8k pc-cards (roughly 1.5-2x
>14.4k's) his battery indicator reads 25%(!!) while online.
>
>Note, however, that lithiums have a much steeper current-to-life ratio
>towards the end of their battery life than alkalines which have a fairly
>steady straight-line current-to-life ratio, so 66% power left on lithiums
>do not equate 66% battery life remaining. It's probably more like 50% or
>so, and apparently, when his lithiums reading dip to ~45%, they will
>probably not be able to sustain the modem connection.
>
>Furthermore, I doubt you'll get useful connect time (if any) w/
>rechargeables since they are weaker than alkalines. I'd suggest
>considering the use of a pocket modem via the serial port if you can accept
>a compromise on the compactness of your Ogo configuration. That is what I
>plan to do.
>
>_Man_
>
>PS: I'm sending this directly to you because my mailserver cannot send mail
>to the OGO mailing-list. Feel free to forward this to the list if you see
>fit.
>
>
>