This week inaugurates the new health care advisory board for OQO. Behind this unassuming facade lies a company that's creating a new
product category - a pocketable Windows device. You can read the specs here. Their goal is to transform personal computing the way the cell phone revolutionized telecommunications. Given the big dogs that are trying to follow, OQO must be on to something!

I saw my first OQO a few years ago on Gizmodo. I actually laid my hands on an OQO last month at HIMSS (thanks Enoch!). That's when I met Baochi Nguyen who asked me to come speak at their first health care advisory board meeting. They have assembled almost a dozen wild eyed early innovator physicians from leading
institutions on both coasts. I was asked to talk about “Wireless in
Health Care” to help frame their discussions about health care adoption.

This device offers a number of advantages for health care. As a Windows XP platform, it should be a snap to port applications to this device - much easier than dealing with PDAs. The size is just right - small enough for a lab coat pocket and a display big enough for my age-challenged eyes. Integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth provide the connectivity. Finally, while they don't claim they have a “ruggedized” device, the OQO has a magnesium case and I think should survive most waist-level drops.

You can't find an industry with a more mobile workforce than health care, except maybe bike messengers. Consequently, health care is one of OQO's key vertical markets. I wish I could tell you about all the rocket-science stuff I saw and heard, but I can't. After my presentation, I had a chance to talk with Jory Bell - more on that conversation later.