Origami? Make that 'UMPC'

[slaughterbeck]

Microsoft's teaser campaign notwithstanding, the company is confirming that the devices that everyone is calling "Origami" actually won't be branded with that name. Instead, Microsoft and hardware makers are calling the category the Ultra-Mobile PC, or UMPC. In an interview yesterday, Mika Krammer, a Microsoft marketing director involved in the project, explained that Origami was merely meant to be the code name. She said the volume and breadth of buzz created by the cryptic Origami campaign caught the company by surprise.

The first of the devices -- from Samsung, Asus and Chinese manufacturer Founder -- were announced early today at the CeBIT trade show in Germany. Microsoft expects them to be priced from $600 to $1,000. See this story for more details. And the OrigamiProject.com site that attracted all that attention has been updated with the promised third message, to reflect the unveiling.

Source: nwsource

Posted by Todd Bishop at March 9, 2006 5:29 a.m.
Category: Mobile Devices



Take a look at OrigamiProject.com


It appears to be official that the term will be Ultra-Mobile PC or UMPC for the techies.

 

[conradseeds]

Backing up her Claim!!!



Elizabeth Millard, newsfactor.com
20 minutes ago



After weeks of industry buzz, Microsoft has revealed the details of its Origami project. Announced at the CeBIT technology expo being held in Hanover, Germany, the paperback-sized portable computer actually will not be called Origami, but rather the Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC).





Speculation about the UMPC centered on whether Microsoft would be challenging either Apple's iPod media player or Sony's PlayStation Portable gaming device, but the company is targeting neither, preferring instead to fill the gap between handhelds and laptop computers.

Although Microsoft has put a great deal of engineering muscle behind the PC, the company admitted that it had hoped to be introducing a device that is smaller and less expensive than what was built, but is optimistic that future iterations will be closer to the company's original vision.

Paper Anniversary

The Origami project first started about a year ago, when Microsoft chairman Bill Gates outlined a vision of an mobile computer with a long battery life, low price tag, and a form factor that would allow it to slip into a pocket.

Reality does not quite match that vision yet, but the UMPC does create a new category for computing, and Microsoft asserts it will be part of a larger, long-term goal for the industry.

"We believe that UMPCs will eventually become as indispensable and ubiquitous as mobile phones are today," said Bill Mitchell, vice president of Microsoft's Windows Mobile Platforms Division, in a statement.

UMPCs combine the Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition operating system with several new technologies. For example, the computer comes with Microsoft Touch Pack, a software module designed to enhance user controls for working through a touch-screen interface.

Stay Tuned

Initially, it is likely that the UMPC will appeal only to hardcore techies and early adopters as Microsoft develops new, smaller versions of the computer.

"The idea of an ultramobile PC is an important one," said Yankee Group analyst Nitin Gupta. "However, at their current price points and form factors, they will garner limited appeal from the consumer market."

UMPCs will be competing with smartphones and laptops to meet portable-computing needs, Gupta added. For media and entertainment demands, the PCs will have a difficult time competing with devices that were built for those specific applications.

"Today, UMPCs will not be able to compete with the PSP or Nintendo DS in gaming," said Gupta. "I do not see them having an impact on the digital audio player market in the near future either."