Microsoft Origami / Intel UPMC

by ezs | Mar 9, 2006 | evilzenscientist, fun stuff, Technology, Uncategorized

There has been a lot of hype in the last week or so about the Origami device – or Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC)

Intel have a way cool video here – this looks like a technology teaser more than anything.

Details are starting to trickle out of CeBIT in Hanover – as well as on MSDN Channel 9.

From what I can see and read:

– this is clearly a first generation product.
– three hours battery life. Urg. My Thinkpad gets double that! My iPod Nano gets over 14 hours!
– the form factor leaked on the web earlier this month looks cool; the products shown so far look less cool.
– 1GHz Intel x86, 512 MB RAM, Wireless, Windows XP Tablet Edition.. that’s just enough to run an RDP client and iTunes 😉

Clearly there is a cool factor here; the challenge will be in running to second edition – I’d certainly look at needing more battery life.

As Scoble said:

It’s not an iPod killer.
It’s not a portable Xbox.
It’s not an OQO killer.
It’s not a PSP killer.
Update: it’s not a Nokia N90 killer either (thanks to Marc Canter for asking about that).
Update 2: it’s not a Treo 700w killer either (thanks to Dave for pointing that out).
Update 3: hey, PalmAddicts, it’s not a Palm killer either. 🙂

So, what is Origami?

The UPMC doesn’t look like any of these; the closest I can describe right now is a ‘home laptop replacement’.

Written at: Edinburgh, Scotland