Microsoft Origami Unfolds 469
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.
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.
Re:A few questions: (Score:2)
I think they all have has 2 USB ports but I know for sure that at least one model does.
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
Re:A few questions: (Score:3, Funny)
http://www.microsoft.com/products/expression/en/g
Re:A few questions: (Score:4, Informative)
Re:A few questions: (Score:5, Funny)
Re:A few questions: (Score:5, Insightful)
I doubt he would too since this thing runs Windows XP [microsoft.com]
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?
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
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!!!
Why Microsoft is doing this (Score:3, Insightful)
Okay now, it should be pretty obvious to everybody that this is fundamentally a defensive move by Microsoft.
- They've got the anticipatory buzz from the $100 laptop project hemming them in on one side, with early adopters (including me) saying "I've got to get me one of those and I'll gladly pay twice or three times the hundred dollar price".
- On the other hand they've got existing smart phones and increasingly funtional "super"mp3players like the newest iP
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
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.
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.
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.
The nokia 770 runs linux though! (Score:5, Informative)
Re:The nokia 770 runs linux though! (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:The nokia 770 runs linux though! (Score:3, Informative)
RS-MMC goes up to 2gb now... (Score:3, Interesting)
The only real limitation is the RAM; it would indeed by nice if they doubled or quadrupled this as it tends to run
Sell if for $100 and I'm in (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Sell if for $100 and I'm in (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Sell if for $100 and I'm in (Score:3, Insightful)
Unless you live in Sudan or somewhere else fun like that, for you the answer is "never."
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).
Re:Sell if for $100 and I'm in (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Sell if for $100 and I'm in (Score:3, Informative)
Actually, I'd heard they were going to do just that [com.com] - sell them to anyone for $200, using the proceeds presumably to help fund the program.
Re:Sell if for $100 and I'm in (Score:3, Insightful)
To an extent, since volume does drive down price but there is a hard wall at which prices are not going to go below on things like display, battery, CPU and RAM. I imagine the touchscreen costs quite a bit more than a simple LCD and keyboard.
What you are looking for is really Negorponte's $100 laptop. If it survives and gets rolling, which is still a big if, I'm sure they can sell it to low income American's not just Africans and Asians. They aren't targ
Re:Sell if for $100 and I'm in (Score:4, Insightful)
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).
When I was in Kenya in the summer of 1990 building a medical clinic in the town of Shiru (2-3 hrs East on the Kinshaha Hwy from Kisumu) I had the opportunity to meet many of the people in the area naturally.
They were all smart, and as well educated as you might expect people in that area to be, in fact, I was quite impressed with their level of education. However, in the area where I was, power was not common. There was a grand total of 3 light fixtures in the two medical clinic buildings. Everything else was done with dirty kerosene home made lamps (made out of garbage, very impressive improvisation).
The children there generally owned one set of clothes (often their Scouting uniform - which had no badges or any other "bling" of any kind). They had no pens, no pencils, and certanly no paper. In fact, I understand that being able to give most third world children pens or pencils is often a wonderful gift.
Nobody owned shoes, although running is a popular pastime. The kids played soccer, and since they could not even afford a soccer ball (I really wish we had brought some, if you go to Kenya, bring some balls *AND* a pump for the children, they will love you for it) they made their soccer balls out of woven strands of some kind of grass or reeds. Very well done, I know I could not do it.
There was no source of clean water, in fact, we did not have filtration for ourselves and had to boil everything, even then we did get some contaminated water, and nearly every North American in the group fell sick for over a week. These people drink water that is contaminated with human waste and many parasites because they have no other options.
The nearest phone was in Kisumu. (That may have changed now...)
And this tea plantation/village was right on the Kinsasha highway.
If these children got laptops/pdas/newtons for "education" they would sell them (or more likely have them stolen) and buy their families things - like better food, medicine for diseases, clothes, improvements on their houses, or even pens pencils and paper for schoolwork.
People have been getting along without laptops in school for a very long time, they are not required for education. In fact, they are not really required for any NEED that I know of. People in third world countries have needs that need to be met before they can begin to rely on "Toys" like laptops.
They could use more pens and paper first, and clean water, better homes, clothes and medical care first IMO.
Nokia 770 (Score:4, Insightful)
Only more expensive...
Re:Nokia 770 (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Nokia 770 (Score:3, Insightful)
There's at least one MAJOR difference Origami is running some Windows version and Nokia 770 is running (Debian based) Maemo! Open source
Yup.
In other words, the average chap wouldn't have to learn a new UI with Origami.
Also more existing software would work on it.
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.
Re:Nokia 770 (Score:3, Funny)
THIS will have a battery life of about 2 hours, maybe 3 on the outside.
comparable... (Score:4, Informative)
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.
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.
Re:Nokia 770 (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Nokia 770 (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Nokia 770 (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Nokia 770 (Score:4, Informative)
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.
Re:Nokia 770 (Score:3, Interesting)
From all the specs I can find on the Origami, it's just a small-form-factor TabletPC.
Uses Intel Pentium/Centrino M processor, up to 60GB HD, minimum 256MB ram, minimum 800x480 touchscreen.
And of course, full WinXP TabletPC edition.
- this means it does everything a desktop WinXP box will do and more, except high-end graphics hungry apps (no WoW, I presume).
I assume Microsoft is aiming at the potential consumers out there who like the idea of TabletPC but don't want to spend the typical $1400-2500 it
Tablet PC (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Tablet PC (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Tablet PC (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't think that word means what you think it means.
Sure, they didn't take over the laptop world, but the product is still out there and a lot of people are still buying them and using them. That's a far cry from failure.
Re:Tablet PC (Score:3, 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.
I'm not sure exactly what product you are waiting for but I have bad news - it's never coming. Except for the beer fetch
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.
Re:Tablet PC (Score:3, Interesting)
Pretty much another let down.
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.
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"
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.
Re:Not this again (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.mobileplanet.com/product.asp?code=1289
(not pimping the site, just found it)
Anyone with OQO experiences, please feel free to share.
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.
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?
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.
this is not the device you are looking for (Score:3, Insightful)
from the article: the new devices, which will have battery life of about three hours
This is not your father's Palm Pilot (or Newton). It won't have "instant on", because it has a 3 hour battery life, and when you turn it on, you will have to wait for it to boot Windows.
In other news, "New" is not necessarily the same as "Improved".
Doug Moen
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.
Re:Still the best note-taker (Score:3, Informative)
There are several [club100.org] alternative [club100.org] methods. [club100.org]
Re:Not this again (Score:3, Interesting)
I think the new size could be perfect for many applications. I haven't heard media center mentioned but if this has XP media edition I think it could be a hit. Use this for a front-end on a box with a tuner and you can have a portable TV anywhere in your house. Not bad. Sony has been selling these for a while and ridiculous prices. The price points listed are cheaper then the Sony TVs
I applaud new products, but... (Score:2)
Nothing to see here (Score:2)
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)
more pics etc. (Score:5, Insightful)
another MS hardware failure, to be sure
Re:more pics etc. (Score:5, Insightful)
Yep--hardware is the one thing they get right (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Yep--hardware is the one thing they get right (Score:3, Informative)
> I really haven't found anything as good as the MS keyboards.
Get thee to eBay and buy yourself an IBM Model M or a Northgate Omnikey. They are both still available if you are patient. There is even a company that has bought the rights to the Model M's design and making new ones, can't recall the name right now. A couple of years ago I lucked up on a pair of Model M keyboards with a
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.
not Microsoft hardware? (Score:2, Insightful)
Like a Libretto? (Score:2)
If this thing is like a Libretto, or like that ultra-small Vaio than Sony built for a while, then I'd buy one. I'd buy one because I have a lot of word documents, excel spreadsheets, half-finished novels, C# code and so on to work with wherever I am. Can't do it on a PDA, can't yank out a full-sized laptop all the time either.
Why anyone would buy this kind of thing for the same niche as a PDA or mobile phone, though, I can't begin to imagine. I can foresee a future in which I am the only one with an Orig
My version of this story was passed up for this? (Score:2, Informative)
I feel cheated =/
Operating system : Windows XP.... (Score:3, Funny)
Ironic: Will they sell a version "empty" (without OS)?
Maybe you can install linux to it and then sell the windows OS and then have it for 100$ "less"?
cya
Re:Operating system : Windows XP.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Operating system : Windows XP.... (Score:2)
Well, since you probably won't be able to buy the OS without the hardware, $0
Ironic: Will they sell a version "empty" (without OS)?
I should think it's possible, but I seriously doubt it. Won't be long before someone gets Linux on it, though.
Maybe you can install linux to it and then sell the windows OS and then have it for 100$ "less"?
OEM licenses aren't transferable, so no.
Video? (Score:2)
BTW, can anybody recommend a PMP?
Re:Video? (Score:2, Informative)
plus its a pda with wifi as well....
ofcourse its hardly cool, but still.
or you could try creative zen vision, though im not a big fan of the build quality of theur mp3 players.
So how is this different from the Pepper Pad? (Score:2)
Re:So how is this different from the Pepper Pad? (Score:2)
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..
Don't Panic (Score:2)
Doesn't seem so bad then!
still too big... ugh. (Score:2)
all i want is something the size of my former Newton MP2x00. It is the sweet spot between huge tablet PCs (I will not carry around an 7 lb tablet just like a notebook- sorry) and too small PDAs (3-4" screens don't cut it for a lot of things). I want something that will fit in a pair of my pants with deep pockets, or in a jacket pocket- something the Newton MP2x00 did, as well as various handheld PCs (Jornada 720, Sigmarion 3, HP200lx) I've had or tried.
*sig
You want intelligent design here, not evolution (Score:2, Insightful)
"Microsoft hopes the computer makers will make great UMPCs for the market." - B. Gates
"Let the market drive the design of these devices" - B. Gates
Do you see the evolution here? Let the market drive the improvements. Hands off the suppliers of these devices. Let them follow whatever pattern works. (Maybe they wi
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
Re:You want intelligent design here, not evolution (Score:3, Insightful)
The apple powerbook was the second. Apple came out wiht multimedia systems yeras before pc's did and its laptops came up with innovative things like touchpads and trackballs first.
Apple computers are designed for people and not high end users. T
Just put a Pentium 4 in it (Score:2)
Over hyped (Score:2)
Some problems I can see:
It doesn't really offer more or better functionality than a Nokia 770 or a tablet PC. In fact, I think I rather have a small tablet PC so I would have access to a keyboard. With a codename of Origami, you would think this wo
UK:R had it right (Score:4, Funny)
My prediction re: Origami (Score:5, Funny)
--
This sig left intentionally blank
What will Apple do? (Score:3, Interesting)
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.
This is great for aviation (Score:3, Interesting)
These Origami class devices look like the perfect size to be useful in the small environs of a single-engine airplane cockpit.
Two friggin' pounds? (Score:3, Insightful)
This thing weighs two pounds, is absolutely huge, and apparently doesn't have the day-long battery life people were hyping (nor, obviously, the ONE pound weight).
I bet this could make a dent in the retail sector, replacing tablet PCs (Woo woo! Cheaper devices, less profit!); but there's no way anyone but a few dedicated MS fans will be lugging these around. MS is totally targeting the wrong sector.
Another thought (Score:3, Interesting)
Microsoft find it difficult to think beyond the PC platform, and as the PC platform increasingly means the office they find it hard to think beyond office apps. Maybe we should leave them to their devices (heh), and grit our teeth at work (or persuade our bosses that Linux/OpenOffice is cheaper and more stable), while enjoying convergence in the comfort of our living rooms, and maybe expecting to see UMPCs for cheap in surplus stores in a couple of years time.
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
full versions of software? (Score:3, Funny)
and
Oh, its gonna be fun using full versions of Word on that 7", 480px high screen! thats probably almost enough to see all the toolbars