"Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is showing the first device designed around Microsoft Corp.s Origami project at the Cebit electronics show in Germany. It is a handheld computer that falls somewhere between a tablet PC and a PDA and runs a special edition of Windows XP. The device measures about 15cm by 20 cm, or half the size of a sheet of copier paper, and is known officially as an ultramobile device. Samsungs product, called the Q1, runs on a 900MHz Intel Corp. Celeron microprocessor and has 500MB of RAM." http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/03/08/samsungorigami/index.php This thing is huge and hideous but the specs don't seem too bad for a device of it's size.
Looks good for travels on a plan/train but a little too big. Haven't I seen that like one year ago i guess not. Bless
i quite like it I'd want: -16x10 ratio -good enough processor to play SD H.264 -good battery Shame about the OS, the first thing id do is try run GNU/Linux on it
that looks really good - not. i love how they are saying it comes with 3 demo games including bejewled 2, like it is going to make it more exciting!
Unless there's a cell antenna on there that I'm not seeing, I don't think this will go anywhere. Hmmm. An extra-large PDA that won't fit in my pocket and doesn't replace my cell phone? I don't think so. I'd sooner get a treo.
I know! If you are gonna have to carry a bag for that why wouldn't you carry a laptop? And if someone mentions weight...we are talking about a 4 pound difference.
Thanks for posting that much more comprehensive article. The pics really show how bulky and awkward that thing is. Made me really appreciate Apple's design team more. Well, I guess I could see it selling to a very small select market. Best bet is that Apple will let MS test the waters with that POS before coming out with any type of "tablet," of their own.
Though it's ugly as hell MS and allies came out with something before Apple this time. Judging by their frantic patenting lately they might not be that far behind... but perhaps slightly stressed. Hopefully the origami devices will open up the market for whatever wonder-gadget it is Apple, hopefully, is brewing on... I wish... but looking at this thing I'm an optimist A
Any word on price? I didn't see it in the articles.. but should be at $500. Right? 800x480 screen, with a 900MHz celeron chip and 512ram. Understandable.
We don't actually hear much of anything until tomorrow regarding Origami. I'd wait around (not too much longer) for actual facts. I still like it, but if battery life is really only 3 hours...I don't know...Just 12 more hours, no biggy. I'd much rather own something that size than a full size laptop. Also, the laser keyboard is ****ing great! (it's already available, but saw it mentioned on another site).
The resolution sucks.. but I could see keeping one of these on the coffee table and running around with it in the car for my gf to navigate.
wow, a 900mhz Celeron CPU. I think my dog could trump faster. No. 4 years ago I bought a 1.3ghz Celeron laptop. It's just not worth it. Doesn't really do anything! I'm all for low-clock speeds (hugs P3) but the Celeron is just weak. Part of me was looking forward to Origami too. Thanks for crushing that Samsung. I'll get back to my PowerBook now.
lol...it's a low voltage, Celeron - M It's as good as a Pentium M, with a bit less cache. Anyways, these things have promise. I'm all for grabbing one up. More talk on the new devices going on another thread: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=184930&page=5
Up the hardware specs a little, give it longer battery life, and have it made by Apple . Then I'd buy it! I genuinely am interested in this new format as it fits my need-something-more-than-a-PDA-but-can't-really-justify-a-laptop niche. If Apple come out with an equivalent I'll buy. If not I'll wait until a Merom 13.3" MacBook Pro gets released...
This device is way more useful than you think. The "innovative" part by Microsoft is the addition of their weird little touchscreen keyboard that you have to use your thumbs to type with. The keyboard is set up at the bottom corners of the screen, so it's like using a MS Natural keyboard where the keys are split into 2 halves. I think THAT is a great idea for a device this size, and it wouldn't be easy for you to hold a full sized tablet and do that. Maybe this sort of device will replace laptops for some people who don't need to type up essays and such. Hold it in your hand, you don't need a mouse or keyboard. Nice. The design is ugly though, but it's not thick and bulky like some of you claim. An Apple designed device similar to this would probably have around the same dimensions (but be nicer looking), but anti-MS bias is revealed again here at MacRumours, I guess. The one thing Microsoft didn't get right is the battery life. It sucks. Balls.
Well, I saw the write-up for the Samsung UMPC (I think we can stop saying "Origami" now...) on MSNBC, and I went to the Samsung web site and looked at the presentation there. And you know I'm a HUGE gadget freak. But I think I'm gonna have to wait to play with one of these in person before I'll be sold on it. I like that the screen is 800 x 480 (16 by almost-10 aspect ratio), I like how much connectivity it has, I like the touchscreen, I like the sound of the on-screen keyboard, and I like how much capacity the thing has (Samsung's has a 40 GB HD). It just doesn't seem TOO compelling to me... it's almost like what was shown in the concept videos was better, and this is (by comparison) a letdown. Still, the real test will come once we can actually try one out. I ain't gonna order one until I've done so. BTW, I'm not super-impressed with the list of manufacturers... Samsung's good, but Asus and Founder? Bleah.
900Mhz Celeron? I'd rather take my chances using my pretend ultra mobile keyboard and mouse-less laptop made from a big block of cheese, thanks.
That's sort of what I was thinking too. Once you go past a certain point in size/weight (the pocketable range), I don't think it matters that much. I would probably rather have a full-featured 12" laptop over this. The laptop would be bigger, but it would also be able to do more.
Origami Revealed. http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/09/technology/microsoft_origami.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes So a laptop and a PSP had sex, and produced origami. Kinky.