OQO Model 2+ gets video unboxing, SSD benchmarks

There are now two of OQO's Model 2+ UMPCs out in the wild, and the second – which has the SSD option – paused long enough to get unboxed by MID Moves' Steve Paine.  The solid-state drive seems to make a big difference, with its maximum 53MB read and 35MB write rates keeping Vista moving along smoothly, despite the Intel Atom processor.Unboxing video of the OQO Model 2+ after the cut

After the disappointing benchmark results for the first Model 2+ we saw yesterday, specifically its hard-drive score, it's good to hear that the SSD version whips along more smoothly.  Where the HDD version managed 3944 in CrystalMark 2004R3, the SSD Model 2+ more than doubles that to 7923. 

Battery life could be an issue, though, with preliminary figures looking like 2hrs with WiFi switched on and no manual CPU throttling.  Steve expects to be able to extend that to 2.5hrs by slowing the processor down to 800MHz, but it's not an ideal solution and what affect 3G has remains to be seen.  Speaking of WWAN, switching from EVDO Rev.A to HSPA was more of a headache than it should be.  Still, both OQO users seem impressed with the UMPC, and we'll be tracking their experiences over the next couple of weeks.