Microsoft's Origami: Paper and Art

So Microsoft unveiled its new Origami on March 9th at the CeBit trade fair in Germany. Billed as the Ultra-Mobile PC, it runs the Tablet PC version of Windows XP. Prior to the release, there had been rumors it would be capable of playing Halo... kind of like a portable XBox.

Now that the official specs are out we have a better idea of what the Origami can do. It is capable of running Office, playing music and movies and the like. The interface is either a stylus or touch screen, one picture I saw showed little thumb arcs with keys although I did also see pictures of a keyboard attachment, I think that kind of ruins the effect they are going for. Currently, the battery life is around three hours, a far cry from the initial "all day" life envisioned for the product. Microsoft quoted the expected price to be between $500 and $1000, but the price on the soon to be released Samsung Origami is $1200.

The device is supposed to be the size of a paperback book and in essence is Microsoft's answer to the IPod. Personally, I was a bit disappointed; it strikes me as another attempt at a tablet PC. I saw their Flash website http://www.origamiproject.com/3/. Basically it was a clever little marketing scheme where they incrementally revealed more about the product as the date approached March 9th. When I first saw it I thought it was sleek but idiotic because it provided no content. Well after the release they have an official website which just looks plain dull http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/umpc/default.mspx. Granted none of this is indicative of product quality, but it sure as hell doesn't make me want to run out and buy one either especially at the estimated prices.

I've discussed the merits of the Origami with friends. One person said, it would fail because it doesn't fit in your pocket. Although, the counter to that is that the Origami is still more manageable than say a laptop, and it has the same functionality. You could use it more comfortably on a bus or a train. Another point bandied about is that the Origami does too much. Better to do a single thing well like the IPod, yes I know the IPod plays videos too, but that's been a relatively new feature. Plus, the video playback isn't nearly as handy because you can't drive and watch a video at the same time or if you do stay the hell away from me.

Well back on topic, I guess the real question is will the Origami catch on? Personally, I don't think so, but I didn't think the IPod would either so what the hell do I know. Let me know what you think.