Audio & Video
Business Center
Cameras
Cell Phones & PDAs
Desktop PCs
Gadgets
Gaming
HDTV
Laptops
Macs & iPods
Monitors
Printers
Software
Spyware & Security
Storage
Upgrading
Windows Vista & XP
Resource Centers
Asus Notebook Center
Intel Technology Center
CDW Solution Center
Lenovo Laptop Showcase
Try It Free
White Paper Library
Webcast Library
Most Popular Products
Most Popular Downloads
Monday, September 27, 2004 3:49 PM PT Posted by Yardena Arar
Ogo a Go-go
"You have been Ogo'd."Thus read the opening line of the letter accompanying a cheerful, multicolored, striped package the size of a shoe box for a small child's shoe. The letter was from my friendly AT&T Wireless press contact, and inside the package was an Ogo--AT&T's salvo in the text/instant/e-mail messaging wars.
Ogo is a $99 (after a $30 mail-in rebate) silvery clamshell device about the size of a typical PDA. Flip up the lid and you get a surprisingly usable QWERTY keyboard on the bottom half and a decent color screen slightly smaller than a credit card on top. There's even a tiny, tinny speaker that growls (I think it's saying "Ogo") as you boot up--but Ogo is not a phone. It only communicates via text, IM, or e-mail.
But it does so for relatively little money -- plans start at $17.99 a month for unlimited use with one AOL, MSN, or Yahoo IM/e-mail account. A second or third account each costs an additional $3 a month, and all accounts include unlimited domestic text messaging. If you happen to be an existing AT&T Wireless GSM customer, you may qualify for a $3 a month discount.
Now, I can already do what the Ogo does on a PDA phone--and make voice calls, too. But those are big ticket items, usually at least $500, and many of them don't let you talk and send text at the same time. On the other hand, you can buy a decent basic phone and an Ogo for half the price of the PDA phone. I suspect Ogo might appeal most to a harried parent trying to figure out a way to cut down on phone bills from an IM-happy teen.
One small complaint based on my first half-hour with Ogo: It's the first handheld AOL IM client I've encountered that doesn't download your buddy list. You have to either add names manually or, if someone IMs you while you're using your Ogo, you can add them by clicking on a menu item. Strange, but maybe not so bad if you want to limit the list of people who IM you when you're not at your desk.
Archives
View posts from:
PC World's Marketplace
PC World's Free Whitepapers
QUICK LINKS:
cheap laptops
cell phones
laser printers
HDTV reviews
LCD TV Plasmas
digital cameras
laptop reviews
security antivirus
windows vista reviews
digital camera reviews
inexpensive desktop
LCD wide screen monitors
tech news tech blogs community & forums laptop prices software reviews downloads
tech news tech blogs community & forums laptop prices software reviews downloads
I don't think Ogo will ever be a gogo.
Even if Ogo were $100 dollars after mail in rebate, the monthly price of $18 costs a user $216 dollars a year. Thats approx $300 dollars spent on being able to use just text/IM/email for a year.
That compared to cheap laptops at around $1000 and relatively cheap broadband.... well at least I know my choice.
whats that thing called? blackberry? blueberry? kicks that ass.
this is the most worthless thing i've ever seen.
why anyone would pay 17.99 / mo for text msgs is just beyond me. lol i'm sure there will be some retarded people whose priorities are not straight that will buy this.
Very stupid... AT&T totally missed the mark on this one, who's their target buyer? Kids? Kids dont have that kind of money to throw around on a worthless gadget. you can get broadband for just a few dollars more than that, and any cell phone nowadays can do one or two of those functions anyway. Way to suck, AT&T
I think it will catch on with the middle school -early high school aged kids. If their parents won't spring for a new phone line because they'll run up too many minutes, this would be a great alternative. It would be easy to keep in touch with your kid and you wouldn't need to have the huge bill. $17.99 a month is a small amount in comparison to what my neighbor's 9 year old daughter spends per month on her cell phone.
It's an economical, sensible device to keep track of your kids and I do think it will take off. If the parents understand text language...
O, go on.
-=S
Sounds like Ogo's a no-go.
Uh oh.
-=S
This will be great for my two grand kids. I will not have to worry about going over minutes on a cell phone. Most kids love IM Text msg, E-mail.
Plus the price is right.
Yeah, I don't think Ogo will be a Go-Go. I currently have the T-Mobile SideKick2. I pay 30.00$ a month to use, AIM, Yahoo Msger, Web Browser ( not a WAP ), I have Phone, Text. Now the 30$ does not include the phone, so I have to pay 10 cents a minute. But I still have uinlimited Web Browsers, Text Msger, and AIM. Now the SideKick2 is a little more pricy, 300$, But I would rather buy that then an Ogo, Ogo limits you, your gunna be carrying an Ogo and a Cell around.
I am posting this from my SideKick2 right now, so I am viewing this site. That is how good this browser is. Thanks :)
Yeah... I agree with Chris. The Sidekick II is a more complete device. I own one as well. In fact, I too am using it to write this reply. I went ahead and payed for a voice plan along with the unlimited data which brings my total monthly bill to $60. But... I scout locations for TV shows and being able to send an unlimited number of pictures from the Sidekick II's built in camera is worth a lot to me. So... While the Sidekick II kicks the Ogo six ways to Sunday, it is worth mentioning that my friend's teenage son is currently grounded for sending a couple hundred dollars worth of text messages to his friends. An Ogo might be a viable solution for his insatiable texting desires.
Your comparing services that have yearly contract. With Ogo you can pay monthly and when your tired sell it on ebay. I think its great. Way better than typing from your cell phone. I can type quicker with ogo than my keyboard.
Mainly I don't use my cell at all, just for text. This is good for me because of email/aim/text and the fact that it has no contract. I wish it had the net, but $10 more a $15 higher activation fee, lack of coverage in my area by t-mobile, and a 1 year contract doesn't make up for it. Ogo is the way to go.
Duh? Have you ever thought about people so less fortunate than we are, hearing impaired, people with vision problems, etc? I do agree that SK is wonderful but its font sucks. You really couldn't enlarge the font. Ogo has great benefits
this is good for the deaf communities.. they can use a low budjet pager then to spend a fortune for tmobile!
Martin this has been the best device to date to communicate with my hearing impaired father. He's not very computer literate and cannot use a phone so I guess he must be retarded and have messed up priorities.
The Ogo has allowed him to commmunicate with classmates and faculty while he finishes up his master's degree. This has been handsdown the best device he's tried in the 2way/email market.
I suggest Mr. Martin watch his comments or shove a quetip in his ears and become deaf and see if he would still call people retard!!! The one who is retarded is the one who made the comment!! it helps me communcated with my boyfriend and I am HofH!! I cannot afford to pay 200 bucks on a phone and try pay addictional fees to get voice.
ill have to agree with kevtiff. im sorry mr. martin im sure you didnt condsider the deaf, but that is the problem... you did not consider. you just let out what was on your mind without thinking of the possible reasons why the ogo could be so important. my advice to you is think before you speak instead of speaking before you think.
i could use the ogo to blow my slogo... blow me at&t
I bought one of these for my 17 year old daughter and it is great. I don't have a lot of extra money to throw around for extra phones for my kids and the minutes and service contracts with phone companies are crazy. You might as well stick a gun to my head. This Ogo is cheap and who cares if they lose it. My daughter can text message MY phone and let me know where she is or if she needs something. $18 a month is a small price to pay for that. Additionally she loves to IM and this keeps her off the home computer. This device is perfect for budget minded families.
They have something else that does this, but it's Motorola's IMFree, which is about $80, only has a forty foot range, and is tied to your computer, and only uses AOL. This beats the crap out of that as a portable IMer.
Maybe we'll see some IM clients on the new handhelds coming out (Playstation Portable, Nintendo DS) since they're both able to use Wi-fi. The DS actually will ship with Pictochat embedded, but I don't think that's PPP compatible; I think it only works in a small, local area to other DS's around.
I use Ogo pager for a month and am happy with it as it is most affordable communication with my friends as we all are deaf. I don't care what some hearies said that AT&T is stupid to sell Ogo. That is their problem, not ours.
I like ogo's design and it helps lot to deaf adult to communicate and I don't care what some complainant who say negative about ogo. This AT&T isn't stupid to let anyone to use, period. Thanks.