As you are probably aware, the cat is now formally out of the bag. Origami has been announced and it's the same as UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC.) We've had small tablet PCs before and the market was expecting some new ones anyway, so what's new?
Let's take a look at what Microsoft's Origami team has to say... "Today at CeBIT, Microsoft, Intel and Samsung announced their commitment to developing a product category called Ultra-Mobile PC, UMPC for short. In truth, this category has existed for some time but not with any real focus by Microsoft or Intel. So, what exactly was announced you may ask? First of all, Samsung announced their entry into this market with a new device that weighs about 2 pounds, has a touch screen, and runs the full Windows XP operating system, Tablet PC Edition to be exact. Of course XP has been out for quite some time, so did Microsoft actually announce something new? Why yes, we did. We announced the Microsoft Touch Pack which is a new set of software built exclusively for UMPCs. That means only OEMs who ship UMPCs can preinstall the Touch Pack."
So if the real news is Touch Pack, then what did Microsoft give us that's new? Here's the rundown:
*) A program launcher
*) Touch Improvements - "a little utility that a user can run that makes Windows more useable on a small, touch enabled computer. It makes about 10 setting changes to Windows such as widening the scroll bars, enlarging the minimize and maximize buttons, shows folders in thumbnail view, etc. These are all things Windows already supports but makes it easy for a user to just magically apply them all without having to go all over the OS to set them."
*) Brilliant Black - a new Windows Media Player skin
*) DialKeys - Now we're talking innovation!!! It's basically a thumb board that comes out onto the screen translucently from the bottom two corners. Very nice looking.
*) Sudoku - Yeah, this numbers game finally gives Microsoft a follow-up for it's famous Solitaire game that's worthy of being included with every OS rolled out for UMPC. It does look very pretty. And it "is of course optimized for touch and the pen."
You can find all kinds of good news about UMPC at these sites...
Microsoft Unveils Ultracompact Computer
Reality check for the much-hyped Origami PC
Microsoft's site
Intel's site
Intels Developer Forum
IDF: Ultra-mobile PCs Need Yonah Processor, Intel Executive Says