Microsoft's miniature 'Origami' PC unveiled

The first wave of miniature computers from Microsoft Corp.'s Origami project will be available starting next month at prices from $600 to $1,000 -- offering advanced features but initially falling short of some long-term goals that Bill Gates has established for such devices.

The portable devices were unveiled by the company early today at the CeBIT technology trade show in Germany, capping weeks of speculation that had been fueled by a cryptic Microsoft marketing campaign designed to generate online buzz.


		AP
	The Samsung Ultra Mobile PC, one of the first miniature computers developed under Microsoft's Origami project, is expected to go on sale in April.

Microsoft says the devices will come from three manufacturers: Samsung, Asus and Chinese manufacturer Founder. They're expected to offer battery life of at least 2.5 hours, and weigh less than 2.5 pounds.

That's well short of the all-day battery life that the Microsoft chairman said he was hoping for when he outlined his vision for the devices at a conference last year. At the same time, Gates said he hoped to see the tiny PCs weigh "as close to 1 pound" as possible.

Although the first devices don't meet those targets, the goals he laid out last year "are certainly where we'd like to head," said Mika Krammer, a Windows marketing director involved in mobile computing.

And in some respects, the initial Origami devices do reflect Gates' stated vision. The company says the touch screens on the small PCs will be about 7 inches across, and the devices will run standard Windows programs.

That includes software for playing digital music. But despite widespread speculation about its plans in portable music, Microsoft says the devices aren't designed to take on Apple's iPod.

"We are not looking at this as a direct competitor to iPod," Krammer said. "We're looking at this as a full PC experience."

Despite the surprisingly effective "Origami" campaign that Microsoft used to build buzz, the devices won't be marketed as "Origamis." The company says it will refer to the category of device as "Ultra Mobile PCs," or "UMPCs."

Microsoft and its hardware partners aren't the first to come out with small, full-featured personal computers. OQO Inc. and others offer similar devices, and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's Vulcan Inc. has been working on a small PC called FlipStart that has yet to be released. Last year, Motion Computing started offering a small Tablet PC called the LS800, which is about the size of a paperback.

"We're quite happy with the sales volume that we've seen of the LS800 product," said Motion Computing's Chief Executive Scott Eckert. "Even more importantly for us, we have a number of large corporate deals that are in an earlier stage of pilot or evaluation that will turn into larger deployments over time."

The base price for the LS800 is $1,699. Speaking Wednesday, Eckert said he wanted to wait to comment on the potential effect of Microsoft's new device until all the details were clear.

The initial devices from the Origami project run on Microsoft's Windows XP Tablet PC edition, but they also come with software from Microsoft called "Touch Pack" that makes the on-screen icons larger and offers other features that adapt the operating system for the small device. It also includes a feature called DialKeys, from a company called Fortune Fountain, that creates an overlay of keys for typing, using the screen's touch sensitivity.

Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg, who has been testing one of the devices, said that adaptation for the small screen appears to differentiate them from other miniature PCs. And he said he expects them to improve.

"The first devices are clearly going out there as part of a learning experience for Microsoft," Gartenberg said. "What we're seeing now isn't the last word."

The unveiling capped weeks of speculation that began when bloggers noticed an "Origami Project" Web site, registered to Microsoft, that was cryptically touting an upcoming product that promised to "change your life."

Much of the suspense ended a week ago, when Microsoft acknowledged that the Origami project involved small mobile computers.

But today's announcement answered many of the remaining questions -- making it clear, for example, that Microsoft will stick with its traditional business model of providing software and general design guidelines to hardware makers, which then make and sell the devices under their own brands.

There has been speculation that Microsoft might be aiming to design a portable media device of its own, and sell it under its own brand, to try to more effectively take on the dominant iPod. Whether that might yet happen remains unclear.

The cryptic Origami campaign was an unusual technique for Microsoft, which often details its product plans months or years in advance of the initial release. Now the question is whether the reality -- and the sales -- will match the anticipation created by the buzz-building campaign.

Krammer said the goal was to generate interest among technology enthusiasts, the initial target market for the device.

Later on, the company hopes to see the software and capabilities of the devices evolve to appeal to a broader consumer market.

"To be honest, we were quite surprised at the level of interest and buzz that was created from this," Krammer said. "From a marketing strategy perspective, our target for this buzz was tech enthusiasts. We ended up essentially reaching the mass market."

ORIGAMI REVEALED

Microsoft says the first wave of Ultra Mobile PCs, from three hardware makers, will follow these basic specifications:

Prices: $600 to $1,000
Screen: 7 inches or smaller
Weight: Less than 2.5 pounds
Input: Touch screen, stylus, thumb typing with "dialkeys," and optional attachable keyboards.
Battery life: 2.5 hours or more
Hard Drive: 30 to 60 gigabytes.
Connectivity: Built-in WiFi, Bluetooth, Ethernet port
Software: Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, with "Touch Pack" program that adapts the icons and other elements for access on a small screen.

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