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Microsoft Origami Unfolds
Posted by
Zonk
on Thu Mar 09, 2006 09:11 AM
from the still-wish-it-played-games dept.
from the still-wish-it-played-games dept.
College Student writes "Microsoft has officially unveiled 'Origami', a paperback-book sized portable hybrid (laptop & PDA). From article: 'The new machines will connect wirelessly to the Internet and carry full-sized hard drives, but they are not intended to replace current PCs....The new PCs are expected to sell for between $599 to $999, but Microsoft said it is possible to sell one for $500 if the manufacturer selects components carefully.'" More details at the official Microsoft site, and via Channel 9 a look at the system with the UMPC general manager.
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Games: Microsoft Origami To Play Halo 44 comments
Gamasutra reports on elements of the Microsoft project code-named Origami, which has been revealed through some snooping to be a tablet PC. The device is shown playing Halo indicating there is likely to be some gaming aspect to the product. From the article: "Previous to the appearance of the DigitalKitchen video, Bill Gates had discussed a mobile PC concept at a conference in Seattle last year, where a non-working device called the Ultra Mobile 2007 was shown. At the time, Gates indicated that the device should have an 'all-day' battery life, weigh less than a pound and cost between $500 and $800. Microsoft has indicated it will unveil more details of the Origami Project 'in the coming weeks'."
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Games: Origami Not A Gaming Machine 69 comments
Gamespot reports that despite earlier reports, Microsoft's Origami isn't intended as a portable Xbox. From the article: "As shown in the leaked video, Origami machines will feature a touch-sensitive screen a la Microsoft's tablet PC line, will run Windows XP, and will be priced lower than most full-size laptops, running from around $500 to $1,000. If that price tag seems too low for a mobile PC with a high-end graphics chip--which would be necessary to run the Halo footage shown in the leaked concept video--that's because it is. The AP article says flat-out that the Origami is 'not a portable version of Microsoft's Xbox videogame console,' nor is it 'a music player designed to take on Apple Computer Inc.'s mega-popular iPod.'"
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What is Microsoft's Origami Project? 243 comments
An anonymous reader writes "Rumors are running around the web about a new Microsoft gadget codenamed Origami that will be unveiled on March 2nd. Speculation can be found on Designtastesgood, Scobleizer, and Thatedeguy, and WindowsForDevices has a description and photos of a prototype Origami device built by National Semiconductor 2001. Anybody out there know more about this new device?"
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A few questions: (Score:4, Interesting)
Why no physical thumb board? Surely the screen could have slid up (a la Sidekick) to reveal a physical QWERTY keyboard...it's good that there's an option for the onscreen thumboard deal in the lower corners, but it's intrusive and unnecessarily difficult (I have to learn a new key layout now?). The alternative,of course, is the stylus...and although I recognize the versatility of a stylus, I was still more than happy to retire mine when I switched from Palm to Sidekick.
Is this thing supposed to be a phone as well? The teaser site touts Origami as the "go-everywhere, do-everything mobile device", but in the screen shots I couldn't find any phone software, and I can't imagine holding this thing up to my ear (until Sidekicks became popular, everyone looked at me funny when I answered a call, and the Sidekick is about a quarter of the Origami's size).
Does it run Linux?
No...seriously. Does it? Or will it in the future? The device looks great, but I'd be happier running Linux on it than Windows. Unfortunately, I don't think Bill will buy back your Windows CE license if you do decide to switch. ^_^
Re:A few questions: (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.nu.nl/news.jsp?n=689884&c=134 [www.nu.nl]
Apparently, it has a rotatable back, revealing a small size keyboard. This would make it interesting for me. And I'm also interested in the hardware issues, might be a nice thing to run linux on, I'd buy it instead of a laptop. What also would be nice is a USB port to connect a real keyboard to it.
Parent
Re:A few questions: (Score:5, Funny)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/umpc/howtobuy.
anyone notice how horrid Microsoft seems to be with photoshop? The screen isn't even on the device! Or maybe that's a new feature... able to move the screen around off of the device.
Someone's gonna get in trouble over that
Parent
Re:A few questions: (Score:4, Informative)
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Re:A few questions: (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:A few questions: (Score:5, Insightful)
I doubt he would too since this thing runs Windows XP [microsoft.com]
Parent
Re:A few questions: (Score:5, Insightful)
Personally, they indicated that it will slot in between cell-phones and notebooks, and be easier to pop into a purse or backpack. The real question is: Does that slot exist?
In additon to the obvious music and movie applicatons, I also wonder how many companies will port their games to it. Could this also be MS's entry into the "Game Boy" market?
Parent
Re:A few questions: (Score:5, Insightful)
-It's basically a big PDA at a time when the PDA market is on it's death bead [zdnet.com.au]: check
-It's not a phone at a time when the smartphone market is growing rapidly [instat.com]: check
Either Microsoft knows something nobody else does, they're just playing a niche for incrimental revenue, or, well, I don't know. I don't get it.
TW
Parent
Re:A few questions: (Score:4, Insightful)
Secondly an Origami device extends the functionality of the products that are hot (bluetooth cellphones with internet capability). Who the hell wants to surf the internet on a phone? Who the hell thinks it is ideal to show their friends their digital photo album on a tiny iPod screen? Who wants to lug around a big laptop bag with them everywhere they go?
This device is a perfect addition to somebody who doesn't need to do much more than surf the Internet and check email. But it is also perfect for anybody who already has a main computer but needs something that is the size of a small tablet and has full XP functionality that they can easily and comfortably take with them to a coffee shop, meetings or on an airplane.
I've been wanting a device in exactly this form factor for years. I can't wait till they hit the stores!!!
Parent
Re:A few questions: (Score:4, Interesting)
For example, I've heard this thing might run Halo. Great. How do you control it? Once you add a controller, how portable is it? Yes, you can probably think up some stuff that would be usefull, but along the way I'll bet you reject a whole lot of hardware and software that just don't seem to fit. By contrast, almost everything written for the Windows Mobile platform works great on a mobile device.
TW
Parent
Re:A few questions: (Score:4, Insightful)
Of course, for me the advantage of Linux-based devices is that I don't have to shell out $$$ for software, as I can port / adapt / write my own where necessary.
Parent
Re:A few questions: (Score:5, Informative)
As an owner of a Windows Mobile PDA (Dell Axim x50v) I can say authoratatively that Windows Mobile software sucks in so many ways it's hard to count. The OS is buggy, slow, an so severly crippled in areas that desktop users take for granted that it is physically painful to use. The software selection for add-on programs is so diminuative that when I switched from PalmOS, I honestly thought that I had to be missing some secret community of developers. I couldn't believe that 1) there were no Windows versions of so many of the Palm apps that I had found essential, and 2) there was no active community of programmers and hobbiests trading code and writing scripts to do all the little things that hadn't been included in the OS.
The Windows Mobile world is dominated by a very few developers who write commercial software for profit. The wonderful selection of little free/share-ware apps that exist in the desktop and Palm world is totally non-existent in the WinMobile world. In addition, MS makes it exremely difficult for the hobbiest to "play around" with the devices and this keeps many who might be interested from even bothering.
Some examples:
There is one, and only one, program that can be used to completely backup your Windows Mobile device, and it is not included with the OS. This program must be bought, from a third party, and the WM 5.0 version took 4 months to be released after WM 5.0 was released.
To "Active Sync" your WM 5.0 device you MUST have Outlook or Outlook Express, not only installed on your windows desktop, but it MUST be the default email client.
There are only two usable alternatives to the internal contact/calender management programs, both commercial software, and almost no external script abilitiy to customize these apps beyond the limited choices offered by the developers.
I left Palm because the hardware offereings have fallen so far behind state-of-the-art it is pathetic. My Dell has built-in Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, SD card slot, CF Card slot, and a true VGA screen. There is no comparable Palm offering, even the rediculously overpriced LifeDrive. I find myself using my Dell much less than I used to use my Palm, with the exception of GPS navigation, which the Palm couldn't do at all. I am using my laptop much more, but carrying that bulk around is tiresome, in more ways than one.
I will definately be keeping my eyes on these new devices. If I could get a $600-$800 device in a paperback size form factor, with a full OS, good battery life and a thumb keyboard, I would jump at the chance.
Parent
Re:A few questions: (Score:5, Informative)
Look, I know that WinMobile isn't perfect, but most of what you are writing is out of ignorance and not fact.
Parent
The nokia 770 runs linux though! (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:The nokia 770 runs linux though! (Score:4, Interesting)
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Nokia 770 (Score:4, Insightful)
Only more expensive...
Re:Nokia 770 (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Nokia 770 (Score:5, Informative)
That is barely relevant.
You can pretty much expect that you'll get different UI with a handheld than you would with a desktop. Doesn't seem to be a problem when people get a new cell phone with a million options.
The major difference is in the toolkits developers will be using to produce software for the thing.
Parent
Re:Nokia 770 (Score:5, Interesting)
You can almost say the same thing about it and the Newton. In many ways it's like a more expensive Newton with a very similar form-factor and even the built-in stand.
It has some plusses and minuses though.
On the plus side, it's color (the Newton is grayscale) with somewhat better resolution, and its wireless stuff is all built-in (the Newton has pretty much the same wireless capabilities but only via PCMCIA cards). It's probably got a faster processor (not clear at first blush from the specs) but I'm sure that difference will be absorbed by software.
On the minus side, the built-in stand doesn't double as a screen cover like it does on the Newton. It's heavier than the Newton. I'm guessing that with its color display its battery life will be nowhere near the battery life of the Newton. It's not clear from the specs, but unless they made some big changes its OS is unlikely to be as stylus-optimized as the Newton's, and since the stylus is its main form of input that's a big drawback.
Parent
Re:Nokia 770 (Score:5, Insightful)
* It runs a real operating system
* It has a processor that is faster by at least five times
* It has a real display
* It has a lot of software freely available
This, as a portable computer, is far more capable than a Newton. As a PDA, the Newton wins. By a hair.
Parent
Re:Nokia 770 (Score:5, Funny)
Only more expensive...
It's also uglier, on the flip side it probably can run all the viruses that are available for Windows.
Parent
comparable... (Score:4, Informative)
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Re:Nokia 770 (Score:4, Informative)
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Tablet PC (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Tablet PC (Score:5, Funny)
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It's a Newton! (Score:5, Insightful)
- Wireless, etc. (just like Newton 2100 these days)
- Does everything a PC does (Newton surfed web, did email, ran webserver, word processing, spreadsheets, databases)
The device looks almost like a Newton sitting in the lady's hands, if you take a step back. Folks, this is the 2006 version of the 1996 Newton 2100 that everyone makes fun of Apple for. Of course, it won't be as good, because part of what made the Newton amazing was Newton OS, which is still one of the best OSes I've ever had the pleasure of using.
Parent
MS Newton? (Score:4, Interesting)
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2006/
I love them, but they're neither fish nor fowl, they can't fit in a real pocket and aren't enough like a pad of paper. When it gets to 8.5 x 11 x
As long as they think they're breaking ground, when is someone with a "full" OS device going to give us if nothing else a piece of paper screen factor, because let's face it - we're still tied to pieces of paper for handling and output and the sad legacy of 24x80 CRT for display... seems easier to munge the screen than the paper or our brains.
Man, the press thought the Apple event was a non-starter, this looks like the headline of the day is "Yippee - Another Newton | Tablet | eBook"
Parent
Re:Tablet PC (Score:4, Insightful)
Why is it, after every product release, someone says "is this it? I thought it would be more considering the hype". What, do you actually fall for the corporate hype? No product lives up to the hype, hence the word HYPE.Why is it, after every product release, someone says "is this it? I thought it would be more considering the hype". What, do you actually fall for the corporate hype? No product lives up to the hype, hence the word HYPE.
You can be disappointed without being gullible. I saw the initial "commercial" for the Origami back a few weeks ago, and what THAT showed was actually pretty cool. This, however, is very different from what was shown there but also pretty uninteresting.
I like technology, so even though I have next to no respect for Microsoft I nonetheless was interested. I'm also disappointed that this thing has turned out to be so banal. It has nothing to do with gullibility.
Parent
Not this again (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Not this again (Score:4, Interesting)
MSFT's info says that this thing is the size of a paperback. Maybe a trade paperback. I'd like something in a clamshell design with a screen that is maybe the size of my HP17BII calculator, or just under 6" by about 3". A little keyboard below and a screen on top. Maybe use a Thinkpad nub for a pointing device. Allow PCMCIA and USB, and really that's all I want. I could add wifi via pcmcia if I really need it, or a Verizon wireless card that way.
I'd need maybe a couple of gigs on the drive, like 2 or 4. They can get that in an iPod, why not a small palmtop?
I wouldn't look for a really snappy processor, as battery life (and size/heat) would obviously be issues.
It would just be nice to have something small and thin to work with from time to time if I'm waiting in court or travelling or sitting at home with the kids. PLus, lugging around a laptop is a pain in the ass.
Parent
Agree 100% (Score:5, Insightful)
Sure, this may serve a neiche of people who want something smalelr and cheaper than a laptop but more powerful than a PDA, but how large is that neiche? PDAs and smartphones are getting better all the time, and like the parent said, if it is bigger than a PDA it might as well be a small laptop.
Parent
I feel the opposite (Score:5, Insightful)
Currently I use a pencil and paper, but I like to archive any documents related to customer service and change requests, so I end up either A) typing up my notes, or B) scanning in pencil drawings. Neither is much fun. I've toyed with OneNote, but it's an application looking for a home. I think this device will be it.
I could buy a tablet PC, but they're all large-ish, expensive, and get pretty hot. I need something smaller, with instant on, and decent battery life. I have a DC/AC inverter in my car that's always plugged in, so charging on the go isn't really a problem. I just need a device that fits these criteria.
Anyone else out there in my position?
PS - I'm also hoping that this has the option to run in portrait mode, as well as landscape. Any word on that?
Parent
What it should have been (Score:5, Interesting)
It would be light, disposable, rugged, protect against data loss, fast (if 'close' to your computer), have excellent batter life (10+ hours), etc.
Parent
Still the best note-taker (Score:5, Interesting)
If you don't mind keeping your drawings on paper and if all you want otherwise is to take notes, it's hard to beat a mid-1980s Tandy 102 [planetnz.com]. (Lots of good info and links on that page, btw.) I'm dead serious. Up until a few years ago, I regularly wrote for publication. The gig required extensive travel and *all* I needed was something with a good keyboard to record text. For that simple purpose, these things are still amazing. Instant-on, rugged, super-lightweight, 20 hours of battery life from 4 AA batteries, exactly the right size to actually throw on your lap and get *real* work done - these attributes are nothing to sneeze at.
Compare the typing experience on a 102 to that of a modern PDA with an accessory foldable keyboard. Compare it to one of those idiotic thumb-driven toys. There is no comparison. If you learned to type the old-fashioned way, via a manual typewriter or, at best, one of those brand-fangled new IBM Selectric things, then what passes for a "modern portable keyboard" is a joke. In my heyday, I could pour text into my 102 so fast that the sound of individual keystrokes begn to get lost in a sort of clackety hum.
Right now, I temporarily don't use it. In two years, when I retire from my day job and start writing on the road again, you better believe my 102 is coming out of storage and I'm putting it back to work.
Parent
Hype (Score:4, Insightful)
The Reactions To Oragami Around The Net (Score:4, Funny)
"One of Zaphod's heads looked away. The other one looked round to see what the first was looking at, but it wasn't looking at anything very much."
This is new? Remember QQO? (Score:5, Informative)
I remember seeing this thing on a CNet video a year ago, it was extremely impressive back then running a full version of XP with all the inputs and outputs you could want.
Re:This is new? Remember QQO? (Score:5, Insightful)
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more pics etc. (Score:5, Insightful)
another MS hardware failure, to be sure
Re:more pics etc. (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:more pics etc. (Score:4, Insightful)
This new Tablet PC device is uncomfortably sized between a small PDA and a small laptop, so it will be compared with both. If I want portable computing, I'll take a MacBook Pro. If I want ultramobile computing, I'll get a Blackberry. There's not much here to make Origami devices stand out from those two extremes.
Parent
Origami with (Score:5, Insightful)
no particular use
no particular target client
no particular chance of success
origami (ôr'-gä'm) pronunciation
n., pl. -mis.
2. A decorative object made by folding paper.
a decorative object...ohhh..i get it now..
UK:R had it right (Score:4, Funny)
My prediction re: Origami (Score:5, Funny)
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Watch me be a hypocrite (Score:5, Insightful)
Here goes: This thing is going to flop.
Here are the reasons why:
(1) It fits into the space between laptops and phones, the same place PDAs are struggling in. They will have to to steal market share from a declining market segment.
(2) Portable => form factor is critical && the form factor == Newton && Newton == marketing flop.
(3) The lowest conceivable selling price is equal to the highest conceivable buying price.
(4) Challenge the iPod? With something this big? Are they nuts?
I am a well known non-believer in convergence as a user concept, but as a marketing concept it's a winner. We'll probably end up with converged devices and laptops pincering any product category in between to death.
What this means is that if there are markets for intermediate form factors such as PDAs and small tablets, they will have to be cheap and as non-converged as can be -- they'll have to be built around a "killer app" for a some market segment. That probably means shirt pocket organizers in the sub $50 range, hand held gaming in the sub $100 range. These may accrete certain PDA like functions as a kind of "freebie", the way even rudimentary non-converged phones have calendars and alarms, but they aren't going to be the deal closers for the buyers.
MS license fee (Score:5, Funny)
The Microsoft spokesman added. Yeah you could definitely get a $500 dollar price point if you installed linu..... I mean less ram....
Replacing embedded systems USB will be the Key (Score:5, Interesting)
Secondly, it is about the size as the Day-Runner that I used to carry around with me in the early-90s. OK, so now imagine a leather book-style case (like the day runner) that will hold a fold-up USB keyboard and mouse. You basically have an ultra light laptop.
I think the real niche for this is to replace traditionally embedded one-application devices like inventory systems. You can now have a much more full feature general computer. So now you can put a shoulder strap on this, plug in a USB device (like a bar-code or RFID reader) do your inventory, look up items on the locally cached database, and run custom designed perl-scripts on the data right there in the field. You will also be able to get away from highly proprietary systems and instead have lots of competing software and USB devide vendors and much better integration into your networks (since it is just a pc).
The bottom line is that you can now squeeze a standard PC into a smaller form factor. This will displace some embedded devices in places that we haven't even thought of yet. At this point, I see very little need for XP-embedded or CE, if I can have the full featured version running standard software. And remember, this is generation one. Future generations will probably have even a smaller form-factor with more powerful hardware.
the real problem is battery life (Score:5, Insightful)
Until they can get all-day battery life it's just not interesting to me. By "all day" I mean 8-hours with moderate use as a BARE minimum, and I'd really want something more like 12-16. It should be as portable battery-wise as cell phones were when they took off or portable players are when they took off. Otherwise it's just not genuinely portable.
-stormin
Re:You want intelligent design here, not evolution (Score:5, Funny)
You've obviously never used OS 8.
Don't monkey around. Get a Mac. It is the intelligent choice.
No, thanks. Don't like the things myself. Ever since the first iMac and Apple's abomination called iPod, I just have no use for their products. I can get the same (actually, better) level of functionality with a lot less money by going elsewhere.
But kudos on a well-written propa...err...post
Parent
Re:Sell if for $100 and I'm in (Score:5, Insightful)
This is something I just can't wrap my head around. The more they sell, the cheaper they are to make. There are thousands of rural/poor school districts in the U.S. that would LOVE to get their hands on semi-rugged, simple, cheap laptops and give one to each student. I guess because we don't live in Africa the fact that we don't have the money to provide technology to our students doesn't matter.
They could sell tens of millions of those in the U.S. and make the units even more affordable in places like Sudan (mark them up to $150 here if you want, then it only costs $50 to put on in the hands of an African student).
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