CNBC has Origami

Microsoft really needs to allow non IE browsers to view their video site. Youtube and google videos both allow that beautifully. CNN does too! As a result, I simply don't use their service now.

Bobby, CNET is reporting 3 hrs battery life on the first generation?

Redmond--we have a problem.

No Firefox or Safari access. Lame. Does anyone have a link to this movie on Google Video or YouTube?

A non-defective link:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-638178...

"Brandon Clinger"> You can read their video site without IE. Everything works in Firefox:Windows, and you can use the WMV downloads in Linux.

I take that back, I was taking about channel9.

Retailing for under $1,000? The thing doesn't look much smaller than a 12inch iBook, which will set you back $999 and as a bonus has a keyboard already.

I'm still failing to see what the purpose of such a UMPC is, it is like a crippled laptop that has a touchscreen in place of a keyboard.

Why on earth when they have a much cooler version with a slide out keyboard in prototype are they releasing the ugly brick looking thing instead? Don't you think showcasing the much cooler product that isn't available kind of shoots yourself in the foot with the current product?

http://www.insearchofstupidity.com/Stupid_Marke...

Your FINALLY free!

Jack of all trades, is master of none. Too big, too general, all marketing. Thumbs down.

~ s/Your/You\'re/;

Losing interest again...

Nothing exciting so far...

Do you think this is a Tablet replacement Robert?

Watching the rest of that video, they show a Portable Media Center (and I own one of the first Creative ones).

It's funny to think I could watch over-the-air TV on my Sega Game Gear > 10 years ago - makes you wonder why it took that long to be able to have the same thing on demand.

#7, interesting point. If the iBook and the Origami devices share the same or nearly the same form factor and are the same price, the buy decision will be harder.

However, a touchscreen system is MUCH easier to use standing up than a laptop.

I can picture this taking off as a computing platform. Maybe not in v1.0, but eventually. This could be the Tablet PC iteration that hits.

It looks good in the video. The Intel device in the photos on CNET were made of cheap-looking, matte plastic. It could be a different product, my imagination, or just the picture quality, but the thing in the video has a sleeker and glossier appearance.

I saw that, but I didn't see the man purses. Where are they? http://thesatchelpages.com/frame-by-frame-analy...

This product has very confusing multiple messages, and people are simple minded.
Clear some room in the museum.
I'd also venture to write that Robert had something to do with the creation and marketing of this product.

foobar: I had nothing to do with it. Other than to write my blog and do a video which will appear Thursday.

>Do you think this is a Tablet replacement Robert?

No. I need a bigger screen than that for my day-to-day machines.

That said, on planes? Yes.
On coffeetable? Yes.
In the car with a GPS? Yes.

I'm probably going to get one for my son too just to see how he uses it at school. Because you can write on it it's better for taking notes and playing around than a full-bore laptop.

I'd prefer a thinner border around the display than what we're seeing in these prototypes, but it's not a deal-breaker for me.

I'll be buying one on day one if it has an upgrade path to EVDO and is under $900.

Robert, I started a list of software that I want to install when it arrives... can you help us tablet newbs out with some other recommendations from your experience with Tablets? (http://blog.tokash.org/2006/03/07/origami-repor...)

* Firefox (of course). I wonder if there is a small resolution skin out there.
* Outlook, Office
* OneNote 2007 (if I can get it), which means:
* - Napkin Math - Reminds me of the cool stuff you can do with the Fly pen from LeapFrog.
* - Drawings mingled with text
* - Linked Notes
* - All images are OCR’d
* - BallDroppings
* - Graphite - Uses Tablet PC Ink to create flowcharts, etc.
* AraxisMerge
* SR32
* FileZilla
* Gaim
* mIRC
* Ink Art / Art Rage

Ooops - mistake in comment #19. My ghetto bulleted list has BallDroppings and Graphite under OneNote 2007 when in fact they are seperate apps, not features of OneNote.

Thanks for the info on the time at last Robert!

"This product requires Microsoft© Internet Explorer 6, Microsoft© Media Player 10, and Macromedia Flash 7. To download these free software applications, click the links below and follow the on-screen instructions."

Man, fuck every site that gives me this message.

The CNBC video is so underwhelming that even the reporter had a hard time working up some real enthusiasm about it.

I have a bad hunch that Origami may be heading toward a destiny not unlike those of Newton, Handspring, and anything made by the poor old Palm. In other words, in the future, the term "Origami" might appear on Wikipedia as "one certain computing device that had a short-lived fame in 2006".

Looks ugly. Regardless of features I can say right now that my girlfriend will not buy it if she can't get it in red. I'm serious. They call it a "life style device". Why would anybody want an ugly life style?

Mr. Sun, how many reporters gush about anything? They are paid to be skeptical. Like I said, this isn't a device for everyone. Sometimes, like on my post yesterday, you just have to take what I write at face value.

This is a huge deal different than the Newton, though. What killed that? It didn't have a mainstream operating system. This does.

One other thing? This is a version 1.0. Does anything Microsoft do get popular before 2.0? :-)

#24: Well, I think Origami will have been a great success if it is remembered in ways similar to the products you mention.

Newton: The first PDA (that I know of).

Handspring: Created the first Treo - a name that will go down in history.

Palm: The first financially successful PDA (that I know of) and the creator of the Treo 600/650.

Mr. Sun, it should also be said that the devices that were shown off on the CNBC video are not the devices that are being shown off on Channel 9 on Thursday.

It's totally 80's.
They're trying to bring the amazement of a portable PC back from 20 years ago without realizing that we've had portable computers for 20 years now.

I must say that as far as devices with a stylus and a writable screen, the new slimmer nintendo DS impressed me more.

http://www.nintendo.com/systemsds
http://www.irishdev.com/NewsArticle.aspx?id=1954

I already have a PSP(which is ultimate), but I might grab that new DS lite to jott things down quickly and put them the much smaller device in a pant pocket.

I'm asking one favour. When you're getting all excited about a product and want the world to see it, and you refer to a site like CNBC, hosted on MSN, please let us know in advanced that Mac users need not apply - or can wait until it appears elsewhere. I need to download three pieces of software to access the site - the buggy IE6 (not for Mac); Media Player 10 (not for Mac) and Flash (Ok, for mac).

3 pieces of software to watch a video? Does MS actually want others to see this or keep it walled up? A new spin on preaching to the uncovertible.

#23,#28: You know what else sucks? That the QuickTimeSetup.exe is now called iTunesSetup.exe. Tricky, tricky....

>> Does anything Microsoft do get popular before 2.0?

Les, sorry. I didn't test it on a Mac and it came right up on my Windows box.

I'm excited. I don't particularly like how thick it is or how thick the borders are, but those things come with the territory for 1st-gen devices. Remember how big and ugly the original iPaqs were? The real excitement should be really be for what's ahead in the 2nd and 3rd generations. Hopefully, we'll have something as streamlined as the mock-up that Gates showed off a year ago. When it's roughly the size of a DVD case and is almost all screen (just a few thin border), it will have arrived and have become as cool as it can be.

Do any of the Origamis have a phone?

Carrying a smartphone (which themselves have many tablet-like functions these days) would seem to have more practical use than carrying the Origami mini-tablet plus a standard phone. I thought the idea was convergence?

After all, if you're carrying a 7" tablet to do calendaring, notetaking, email checking, etc, you can do pretty much all of that with a modern Symbian/Windows Mobile 5/Treo style smartphone AND you have the biggest killer app of all: making phonecalls.

But maybe Origamis do have a phone and I haven't noticed it yet.

>After all, if you’re carrying a 7″ tablet to do calendaring, notetaking, email checking, etc, you can do pretty much all of that with a modern Symbian/Windows Mobile 5/Treo style smartphone AND you have the biggest killer app of all: making phonecalls.

Um, I can't disclose any more features until Thursday, sorry.

But, if that's all you're gonna do then a SmartPhone is a better choice.

That's why I said yesterday it wasn't a Treo, Palm, or Smartphone killer. See ya Thursday.

Yep let's see what Thrusday has in store for us! :)

If it can run Visual Studio, has full internet capabilities and has a battery life of several hours I will get one so I can work on the beach. :-)

Robert,

In the computer business, no one makes money by underestimating Microsoft, and yes, those guys who work hard on Origami project deserve every opportunity to impress us with the upcoming versions.

My concern is the price point. Over at Dell today, for $449 (after $100 rebate) you can have a full-blown laptop ready to do everything Origami can do. The question for the MS marketing team is: Is the target buyer one who will buy Origami over a laptop? Or one who will buy Origami in addition to his/her laptop?

Weak! I can't see this because I use Firefox?!?

Bob: running VS on that small a screen sounds pretty tough.

Can you use a laptop while standing up? No.

I should have said it's "not a laptop killer" either. Thanks for pointing that out.

This thing is going to flop miserably.

The usage models for this product aren't compelling enough, particularly at the price-performance bechmark Microsoft is offering.

Dave: wait until Thursday. My video is a lot better. :-)

Mujibur: you always say everything Microsoft does is going to flop miserably. I'm sure at some point you'll be proven right.

Scoble is releasing the video at 3am, but I have to wake up at 7am in case "they" start taking orders. Ugh.

Two questions - does it take a sim card for phone, for use with bluetooth headset? Does it have a nice docking station/charger or is all going to be bluetooth/wifi?

Heh, I can't remember every saying a Microsoft product would flop.

When you launched the Xbox 360, I said it was a good product. I also said that your supply chain problems could be critical in a highly competitive market.

With Windows Live, I said it would flop miserably and it has so far.

Other than those two, I can't think of another product launch that I've commented on. While I don't often agree with Microsoft's strtategy, I'm hardly a naysayer when it comes to MS product launches.

Again, is computing while standing important enough for a new platform at the price-performance benchmark you are offering? Perhaps for some -- but I doubt it for the mass market.

will we see gps integrated or will it be an addon that you must purchase?

Oh and BTW, this has disaster written all over it. The hype that's been generated for this "jack of all trades-master of none" is going to implode on Microsoft.

It's interesting -- I had a friend who recently interviewed with a higher-up at Microsoft. This VP mentioned that Microsoft was looking for "billion dollar ideas". This product reeks of that kind of thinking. Most great products I've seen come from someone trying to solve a specific problem or fill a hole that exists in the market.

This product seems like some grand master strategy that doesn't really have a concrete market it's targeting. I look forward to playing with it but doubt it'll be succesful.

so the CNBC report says there will be products by "Microsoft, Intel, and other manufacturers". i'm still left wondering if MS will be manufacturing a device. i hope so for many reasons.

That site link isnt neven IE7 friendly.

Robert dont tell you are still using IE6.

Cheers

That's it? Where's the beef?

I have to say that this device looks increadibly retro, from the 90s even.

Portable devices won't come of age until we have:

1. cheap waffer thin OLED type screens that use little power, ultra high resolution and vibrant colour without a backlight.

2. solid state HDDs with very high throughput with ultra low power consumption.

3. compacted body so that almost all surface area is screen real estate. No more clunky chunky designs like what we've just witnessed at the IDF.

I think it is too early for the Origami concept to be realised properly. It certainly looks like Microsoft has overhyped this one. I guess we will see.

FrogSkin: on this computer, yes.

Diego: who promised you beef? We're talking portable gadgets. What were you expecting? An iPod killer? I thought we covered that yesterday.

Brian: Origami is something we worked on with partners. Not done alone.

Matrix: that question is answered in the video on Thursday.

Mujibur: just "disaster?" Oh, come now, can't you find a better flame word than that? If I were not working at Microsoft and I was trying to be a snarky commenter I would at least modify it to something like "total f-ing disaster." I far prefer "abortion" though. That's a word that gets everyone's fur flying and tries to tag the product with a "won't even be born" tag.

Or, why don't you pull out all the guns and say "Steve Jobs has killed better projects than Origami." That way you'll get all the Apple acolytes on your side cheering your flames on.

I really expected more from you Mujibur.

Oh, one more thing, I knew this sentiment would come up so I asked Otto in the video "who will hate Origami?" I guess we already have our answer.

Toast: we cover your gripe in the video. In some ways you're absolutely right. Otto tells you about his vision and where he wants to go and the tradeoffs he had to make to get this done for a decent price today.

That's why I say it's not a perfect device. There's a limit to what you can do while keeping a device affordable.

But there are more devices (the one in my video you haven't seen yet).

My posts have hardly been flames. In fact, let me quote my previous posts again:

"This product seems like some grand master strategy that doesn’t really have a concrete market it’s targeting. I look forward to playing with it but doubt it’ll be succesful."

"Again, is computing while standing important enough for a new platform at the price-performance benchmark you are offering? Perhaps for some — but I doubt it for the mass market."

"The usage models for this product aren’t compelling enough, particularly at the price-performance bechmark Microsoft is offering."

Instead of trying to incite a flamefest (which is what you're doing here), why don't you address any of the pertinent points I make in my posts? Instead, you go bonkers trying to paint me as snarky.

"I have to say that this device looks increadibly retro, from the 90s even."

You know who's made incredible strides in portable devices?

Apple with the ipod, sony with the PSP, and Nintendo with the DS and the stylus and writing apps.

http://www.apple.com/ipod/
http://www.us.playstation.com/psp.aspx
http://www.nintendo.com/systemsds

What better way to get people to carry a small PC device that wouldn't ordinarily then by hiding it in stuff they'd already be carrying like a walkman or a gameboy. The pocket size was a key to the success as well.

http://www.nokia.com/770

A really nice linux powered device that's 3 times cheaper and functions appx the same way. It was featured in Linux journal magazine last month. It still won't match the ipod, psp, or ds though, because it doesn't have broad appeal or primary purpose.

toast,

why do people who promote OLED never mention that OLED screens degrade and have a short lifetime, which is something that probably can't be remedied ? i really don't care how little battery power it takes or how bright it is if it dies out little more than a month

Mujibur:

>“This product seems like some grand master strategy that doesn’t really have a concrete market it’s targeting.

We'll talk about this on Thursday. To talk about it now would mean giving away stuff that I was asked to keep quiet about until Thursday.

>Instead of trying to incite a flamefest (which is what you’re doing here), why don’t you address any of the pertinent points I make in my posts?

Because I can't until Thursday. You haven't seen all the devices. You don't have all the facts. And already you're saying it's a failure. So, go ahead and say it's a failure, but if you're gonna do that, do it right. Play it up so that all the Microsoft haters will slap you on the back and cheer you on.

I'll answer any serious points you have after the video is posted on Thursday. Calling this a "failure" at this stage before anyone other than a CNBC journalist has had his hands on it is just lunacy. Even if you turn out to be ultimately right.

>A really nice linux powered device that’s 3 times cheaper and functions appx the same way

Chris: how do you know the Nokia is 3 times cheaper? Our partners haven't yet announced the pricing on the Origami.

Not all facts have equal weight, Scoble. But I will play your game and wait till Thursday to make further comment.

Mujibur: cool. At least then when you say Origami is a failure you will have all the facts upon which to base it on.

"Retailing for under $1,000"

The nokia 770 is $359 USD.

http://www.nokia.com/770

Tick purchase, and click through until you see the price on the 770.

Cover
http://www.linuxjournal.com/issue/142

article
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8671

It's a smaller device, and obviously only first gen, but future handheld devices based on this with built in gps ect.. in that $350 price range will be very attractive.

Chris: under $1,000 means a lot of things. The Nokia is under $1,000 too.

In marketing terms under x amount means the x amount minus $1 99% of the time.

If your product was $399, you would never say it was under $1000, you would say it's under $400.

That's pretty much a rule of thumb. Generally, one would never market the product like the Nokia 770 that retails for $359 and say it's "under $1000" to advertise it.

Making that unclear and giving people hope that it's cheaper is a nice counter though. Cheers, bye.

BTW,

IBM just fired you as their desktop supplier and won't be upgrading to Vista. That must be a very huge contract to have lost. I'm sorry. Really. It's slightly irrelevant, but it explains a need to shift to new markets as you are currently doing with this laptop device.

http://www.neoseeker.com/news/story/5436/

"Andreas Pleschek also told that IBM has cancelled their contract with Microsoft as of October this year. That means that IBM will not use Windows Vista for their desktops. Beginning from July, IBM employees will begin using IBM Workplace on their new, Red Hat-based platform. Not all at once - some will keep using their present Windows versions for a while. But none will upgrade to Vista."

Chris: yeah, I'm sad to see them go, but this was pretty expected. Now it's up to us to win them back.

As to price, we'll see ya on Thursday. As I've noted, there are a variety of devices. Not just one.

Robert, you recently wrote in a post that has strangley now disappeared that there will be MANY origami pseudo laptop models and that you're sorry IBM gave Microsoft the boot and hope to "win them back"

So how many models of this device are there?

I don't think that a choice of models will be a motivating factor, but the info would shine some light on it.
I'm tentatively assuming it's the same sort of deal as with the 2 different xbox2 versions with and without the hard drive.

it was the cache. Oh well, I guess it will all be revealed on thursday. Wierd error.

Chris: WordPress is load balancing between many servers, not all of which are in total sync with each other. Sometimes you get to see the cracks in the seams here!

There will be different models from different manufacturers. More on Thursday!

I guess that makes sense about the load balancing.

http://throwawayyourtv.com/2006/03/marc-emery-p...

On a very side note, your govt in Washington State is trying to lock this guy from BC up for life, for doing next to nothing. Please let people know, so they stop harassing him.

Go origami.

Scobleizer writes: "This is a huge deal different than the Newton, though. What killed that? It didn’t have a mainstream operating system. This does."

Silly boy. It wasn't the lack of a mainstream operating system that killed Newton. Did you ever actually use a Newton?

You're trumpeting a device that is built upon the shoulders of giants. Sure, Origami will have it's own share of fanatical adherents and drag us inexorably towards Star Trek. It does look very retro as others have said. Hint: turn this to your advantage. I could have sworn that I've seen this design before in "AppleDesign". But then we expect your hardware partners will inspire us.

>Did you ever actually use a Newton?

Yes. I also interviewed John Sculley before it came out. Remember, I was an Apple freak back in the early 1990s.

Yeah, it didn't have good enough handwriting recognition. Yeah, it was too big. Yeah, it was too expensive. Yeah, it had too many expectations on top of it (unlike Origami, we heard about Newton for a year before it came out).

Scoble: "Diego: who promised you beef? We’re talking portable gadgets. What were you expecting? An iPod killer? I thought we covered that yesterday."

I guess I'm very underwhelmed by it. All the hype without the bite. Maybe I'll hold off until I see some more.

Diego: >Maybe I’ll hold off until I see some more.

Like I said, it won't be the device for everyone. But, we're less than 24 hours away from giving you more.

Scoble said: "Does anything Microsoft do get popular before 2.0?"

Incorrect, we always wait until service pack 4, not as much to do with popularity but rather stability :P

The Big Scoble Dude wrote: "Yes. I also interviewed John Sculley before it came out. Remember, I was an Apple freak back in the early 1990s."

Sculley was history by the time Newton got good.

Scoble, the Man, the Legend also wrote "Yeah, it didn’t have good enough handwriting recognition. Yeah, it was too big. Yeah, it was too expensive. Yeah, it had too many expectations on top of it (unlike Origami, we heard about Newton for a year before it came out)."

But you said the problem was that it didn't run a mainstream operating system?
Well, it's 0.15 centuries since the Newton first came out and the MP2100 was a very very good machine.
By your logic, Origami is too big as it's bigger than Newton.
And sure, we have no expectations about Origami. :) We remember Mira.

"This product requires Microsoft© Internet Explorer 6, Microsoft© Media Player 10, and Macromedia Flash 7. To download these free software applications, click the links below and follow the on-screen instructions.

Step 1: Download Microsoft© Internet Explorer 6
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 is free to download"


Step 1 eh?

How about NO--learn how to build a site MS.

Michiel > Incorrect, we always wait until service pack 4, not as much to do with popularity but rather stability

Welcome to the world of windows 2000. I hope you are finding it comfortable. Don't wait up for XP cause you are not going to have SP4 unfortunately. And god forbid don't even think about Vista.

From what I've seen, the success of this device all boils down to the price at which it will be sold. The reason is this - as a fully-featured PC device, from what I've seen so far, it has failure written all over it. On the other hand, as a largely "read-only" device, it could fill a useful niche. In that case, I would assert it will need to be low-priced compared with a laptop.

For anyone interested, there's more detail on my blog - Microsoft / Intel Origami – Dead On Arrival? - @

http://www.psynixis.com/blog/?p=130

For some more exciting videos from Intel.com that haven't been mentioned anywhere else that I've seen, see the link below. It picks up where the Digital-Kitchen Origami video left off and includes a previously unrevealed feature of the devices. Hint: it involves gaming and it's not the feature that you've already seen.

http://ultramobilize.com/blogs/main_news/archiv...

The main factor I wish to see here is boot time. That has been the "mobile computer" killer for years.

If it is running WinXP, then when you start it up, I'm assuming that you need to boot it. Now scrape out alot of features that don't apply to a tablet factor device and I'm sure you can reduce that. But it always happens that the more you use it, the longer your boot time becomes.

People have become accustomed to the instant-on appeal of PDA's and smartphones. Toshiba had a mini laptop that ran windows back in 2000, failed. A third party company came out with something very similar to this (but it was literally the size and wieght of a brick) a few years ago, and it failed.

It is a great idea, but if it isn't an instant-on device, I'm going to have to side with the naysayers and pass on this release.

But a good idea won't die easy with enough money behind it. Look at PalmPC/WinCE/PocketPC/WindowsMobile devices. I guess more will be known on Thursday.

The most informative video yet: http://www.zdnetasia.com/itlibrary/webcasts/0,3...

Talks about camera, ports, etc...

The videos show people playing games. I like that. I want to see what it is tomorrow.

Thanks, John, for that webcast video. That really is the most informative I've seen. I also really like the design of that particular device. It's much sleeker than any other working prototypes that I've seen images of. If I were to buy one, I'd seriously consider that one.

There's also a new image and short article on an Origami device from Samsung at http://cebitnews.turnpages.com/
It looks like a stylish device (not as sleek at the silver on in that video), though with rather thick borders. The article says that it "carries support for GPS and Digital TV." It suggests that this support is built-in for US models. If that means the way it sounds that it can be used with GPS out of the box (no separate card purchased), then that's very impressive.

Will the name of the origami device change?
Say somebody is going to get an origami and smash it to pieces as a promo, potentially they would need to know if origami is a code name or the actual name of the device. Can you at least tell us that?

hypothetically speaking of course