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[UMPC] The Origami Cat Is Out Of The Bag!

Recently, some of us down here in Southern California were entertained by a cold blast of hype-infected wind from the North (Redmond, WA).  The hype had to do with a viral marketing campaign that was somewhat accelerated by an (at least theoretically) accidental "leak" of a marketing video about Microsoft's then-secret Origami Project.  Apparently, a lot of us - not only in Southern California, but all over the planet - got hot on the tail of an apparent snow job. 
 
Who knows?  You may have been out of town or under the ocean, in which case you might not have heard about Origami.  Well, the actual formal announcements were really made today at CeBIT, in Hannover, Germany.  Microsoft, Intel, Samsung, ASUS, and perhaps an unknown vendor or two have announced a new class of device called the Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC).  Microsoft has adjusted XP and added some features and specifications for UMPCs, including Microsoft Touch Pack.  The vendors were showing pre-production prototypes of book-sized tablet PCs that may well foreshadow a new and useful mobile platform (send me a couple to experiment with, please!).  Here are the essential links:
You can get to most of the other related Origami and UMPC sites from those.
 
Many, including me, were excited when we saw our first Apple Newton.  It wasn't quite fully up to the task at hand and was too expensive, so I didn't buy one, but I have been closely watching the mobile device and Tablet PC market evolve ever since.  Until now, I have not seen a device that seemed like it would really solve my mobile computing needs.  I still don't but I have a strange feeling it is almost within reach.
  1. UMPC vendors must achieve the $500 price point.  This device class cannot really succeed without that.  The $500 should cover a fully functional device including everything promised in the Origami videos.  Please do not sell a stripped down model for $500 and then gouge a total of $1,500 to $2,000 out of the consumer for "optionals."  I have already seen vendor literature that talks about optional GPS, optional TV, optional DMB, and ... optional everything.  No!  No!  No!  Deliver on the promise, please!
  2. Battery life has to be better!  The devices currently being shown have very limited battery life. "Go everywhere" does not mean everywhere within three hours of a battery charger.  Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!  Game over!
  3. Please don't short us on internal storage.  Personally, I can't even think about buying one of these for personal use unless it has at least 512 MB RAM and a 40 GB hard drive (or equivalent).
  4. Aren't we going to need at least a DVD/CD-RW?  If it's an external drive, it had better be small and cheap.
  5. The successful UMPC package should be about the size of a Monarch or Executive Franklin planner.  It can't get too much bigger than that; this needs to be one of those things you just want to carry with you everywhere.  I would sure like to have one of those padded binder cover cases with the keyboard, like the one shown with the Samsung model in the eWeek photos and as shown in the original leaked Origami video.  That's a great idea:  protect the UMPC and serve simultaneously as a extension base.  I'm a touch typist, so I'm not quite ready to completely abandon a keyboard.  I like to have my cake and eat it too.
  6. Please don't forget to include an Ethernet connector.  I currently work at a location where wireless will most likely not be permitted within this century.  I'm sure almost every professional will need to plug into a wired network somewhere.
  7. These things better be tough!
  8. Vendors, I would love to help write the software for your devices.  How do we partner with you?
The Origami UMPCs hint at something that will click for me in the near future.  They are very close, close enough that I want to start developing for them *immediately*.  Keep your eye on this and snap one up when they get it right.
 
Personally, this is one of the most exciting developments I have seen in years.  I have great hope for the UMPC.  Please, Microsoft and vendors, please, please, please!  Deliver on the promise!
 

2 Comments

  • We have to be realistic. 40GB HDD & A lot of running time on bateries & <500$ price tag just doesn't fit together.



    512 MB of RAM... for what? Any optimized OS should run happy with 64 or 128 MB. 256 seem more than enought. You surely don't expect to run Vista on one of this things, do you?

  • > You surely don't expect to run Vista on

    > one of these things, do you?



    Uh, yes, in fact I do. At least in the second generation of hardware offerings. Why the heck not? We do not live in the 1980's. Hardware needs to evolve to satisfy the use case. It pretty much always has in the past; in fact it tends to exceed our most imaginative use case rather quickly. Those hardware engineers are some extremely smart people! You'd be surprised at what they will do once somebody gives them a vision to pursue!



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