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Project Origami Update: A New Category of PC has Arrived
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posted by: Chris Martin
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date posted: 08:01 PM Sun Mar 12th, 2006
last revision: 08:01 PM Sun Mar 12th, 2006



Click to read.Microsoft has finally revealed their \"Project Origami\" in their most recent Flash video on their OrigamiProject.com website which you can get to by clicking that link and then \"Week 3.\" Or if you\'re lazy-and who isn\'t?-you can just click here. But this isn\'t the Xboy we were thinking it was, no. It\'s a new type of computer, called \"Ultra-Mobile PC\" or UMPC for brevity\'s sake. It\'s meant to work alongside your computers, and alone, and, most importantly, anywhere you want it to.

The Flash animation is short, about the length of a commercial, reusing images we\'ve seen before, but with new text: \"remember me?\" \"I keep you connected...\" \"...effective...\" \"and entertained\" \"I go wherever life takes you\" \"I\'m your go everywhere, do everything mobile device\" \"Ultra-Mobile PC.\" And that\'s it. It gives us a few pictures and some links.

So here\'s what we know:

The device is small, not PSP small, but small enough, with a 7\" screen, some sparsely placed face buttons and d-pad around the touch screen. The system looks very clean cut, high tech is the phrase, and chic, but still practical. And on the units in the flash animation we can clearly make out the names \"Samsung\" and \"ASUS.\" Yes, it\'s not just Microsoft\'s portable, but one that many companies will make (read: not exclusive). Even Intel has stake in UMPC as a \"partner company\" to Microsoft.

So what does it do? Well, like it said in the animation, it goes everywhere with you. It is a PC first and foremost, running Windows XP Tablet Edition and featuring WiFi integration and Bluetooth. Anything you could do with a normal PC you can likely do on the UMPC, with the addition of the touch screen (which is quite cool).

Here are the general specs from Microsoft\'s official UMPC website:


It\'s nice and light, and with a respectable minimum resolution. The \"or smaller\" seems to denote the ability for the UMPC to be smaller, or at least for the screen to come at a more budget price. What is really cool is that the UMPC is able to use a Bluetooth enabled cell phone to access the internet. Now if they didn\'t charge an arm and a leg for surfing on your phone we\'d be in business. Still, the option is there should someone need it.

The UMPC seems very interesting and versatile enough to become the next big thing. Because it runs a complete version of XP it should be able to run many games, though there has been no word whether games will be developed directly for it, though I doubt it. A video did show a gamer playing Halo on the portable device, so anything is possible.

We\'ll have more info on the Origami...sorry, the UMPC later in the year, and I expect to maybe even give it a try at E3 06. Here\'s hoping.

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