Here's my list of what would make the Origami or UMPC a major killer app for me:

1. 100GB-300GB Drive (4200-7200 RPM).
2. 1-2GB DDR Memory.
3. 2-4GHz processor.
4. 128MB nVidia GeForce4 or equivalent. (Gotta have halo)
5. Ports and slots (2 USB, SD/MMC/SM/MS, VGA/DVI, Mic, Headphones, DV, IEEE 1394, S-Video, Ethernet).
6. Wireless, Bluetooth, GPS/Sat. (perhaps the latter will also allow DirecTv reception?)
7. Digital camera for both stills and video conferencing. (pricey models will have an integrated video-camera?)
8. Prop-stand. I think this is essential because it will make so many laptop-hostile environments suddenly UMPC-friendly, for example: on a plane, places where there is no table, or no chair, small booths at a restaurant, cramped kitchen counters, narrow hall table, bathroom counter, nightstand, top of your piano, need I go on?

Yet even more reasons Origami could change our lives:

8. My brother is a musician. Origami would be perfect for him because he could cart it everywhere to hook into the sound system and record everything. Origami essentially would act like a very advanced mobile storage device with a screen and almost everything else. Origami combines so much functionality into one device.

NOTE: We will have to wait for a nice sized hard drive in an Origami until generation 3 or 4. I want a 160GB - 300GB drive in an Origami device which would prove its usefulness as a media device.

9. My sister is a nurse and she goes to a patient's home to provide hospice care every day. Origami would be perfect for her because she needs to take readings of blood-pressures and cholesterol levels. She could bring all her games, home-work, music, e-books, pictures and other content with her everywhere. With a built-in digital camera and video-conferencing, she could collaborate with colleagues from her company in real-time to help diagnose problems with patients or with documenting cases for later research.

As you can tell, the list just keeps going on and on with the potential uses for Origami, or the UMPC as some are fond of calling it. Whatever you call it, with some careful engineering, and the right mixture of functionality, hardware, and software, I really think Origami will be a hit with high school and college kids, consumers and gadgeteers. Maybe one day soon Origami will even wow the critics or even those who right now think a UMPC is a big joke.

Continued....more ways Origami could change our lives.

3. Ergonomics. Laptops are not in the least ergonomic. You put them on a table, which is always too high or too low to type without hurting your wrists. The screen is never close enough to you, and especially on the plane you have to do some acrobatics to even use the dumb thing. Origami will be a big enough screen to do much of what you do now, except with a much more ergonomic friendly form factor. I love the Samsung which includes the prop stand. This will tremendously improve mobile computing.

4. I can imagine only one place where you can't take Origami, which is a real bummer for me, because like many people, I do my best thinking in there, the shower. Other than that, you can take it anywhere. I wonder how Microsoft and partners will handle the elements, as people will have these devices out with them everywhere. Will we have waterproof Origami? Will we have rugged torture-proof ones for that dangerous African safari you've always wanted to take? Who knows, right now, everything is just starting. Give it a year, and we'll see what happens.

The fact that Microsoft has produced the UMPC emulator shows an attempt at helping developers get on top of the new form factor and see how Windows will run on it. You can download it here. My first spin on the UMPC emulator didn't seem to really do much for me, because I tried to change my display resolution while running it. Other than that, it looks pretty decent. I am actually writing this post while using the emulator.

It looks like most applications will run fine on the UMPC, but a few may not right out of the box, the biggest issues being screen size and resolution. The good news is we're looking at a Windows XP-based machine, not a more proprietary system such as Blackberry or even Palm OS. Windows Mobile 5.0 in all its glory would not be able to take full advantage of this new medium's greatness.

More reasons why Origami has good potential:

5. Devices such as the OQO are so far very popular, but have mostly lacked the marketing power to get the word out. Many mobile professionals I know personally hate how big and heavy their laptops are, and can't very well watch DVD's or do any work on the plane. Origami could offer a solution to this for those who travel often.

6. Getting through college. Those who can't afford a laptop, or don't want to lug one around, will love Origami as well.

7. If Origami has satellite or GPS of any kind, Microsoft is instantly in the TomTom market for GPS navigation.

8. Developing Nations. Everyone is talking about the elusive $100 PC for emerging markets and educational opportunities in remote locations. Origami may be a good solution to that as well, provided the price is knocked down and runs a tabletized version of Vista starter edition. Satellite capability would also lend itself very well to this. It would simplify the use of a PC for those who have never used one before.

Why buy a portable DVD player, a Sony PSP for gaming, an iPod for music and pictures, a PDA for mobile apps and internet, when you can have it all in one device that will allow you to it all and then some?

My deal-breakers for Origami are:

1. No keyboard or other shall we say "high-speed" input method.
2. No way to dock it or hook up at home to use a bigger display, mouse, so in short, extensibility.
3. Not enough muscle to be the kind of laptop/PDA/portable DVD killer it claims to be.

So to the point, is Origami worth it? You decide. Let me know below. Also a huge shout-out to Engadget, the podcast and site totally rock. Happy 2nd birthday!

I just finished listening to the latest Engadget podcast, and the discussion on Origami, including why or why not Origami is even a viable device. Meaning no disrespect to the guys, here are the reasons I think Origami has at least the potential to be a big player in the portable computing market. Please note that this (like everything thus far) is also speculation, but provided Origami turns out to be what it looks like in the prototype videos, these are the reasons:

1. Origami has a big novelty factor. I agree with Engadget that this isn't the best device for the mobile professional, but I think if Microsoft does this right, the Origami device will appeal more to the iPod/ Sidekick and mobile entertainment crowd. Many people tell me they have a hard time with video on an iPod because it is too small.

2. Free VoIP calling courtesy of Microsoft. As wireless LANs proliferate across metro areas and further than that, FREE VoIP will also pick up steam as well (especially if it's free). FREE VoIP and wired college campuses is a match made in heaven.

3. Mobile gaming. Origami could evolve into Microsoft's answer to rival Sony's PSP in gaming. Some reports indicate that origami will not play games, or be powerful enough to hack it, so that would be a major bummer, but once again, all speculation.

4. DVD capability. Instead of having to buy the overpriced PSP versions of DVD's, I think Origami may offer a way to take media with you in a managed-copy scenario (as mentioned in Bill Gates' keynote at CES 2006) so everyone can take their DVD's content with them without having to buy PSP versions, effectively cutting down some (or a lot) of Sony's business.

continued in my next post...

Check out OrigamiProject.com. It has just been updated with more cryptic information. There are a few images that make me wonder if satellite is the hot ticket for Origami. You'll see what I mean. Can you say geosynchronous orbit? Origami looks like it will have at least wi-fi, but may even have a GPS/satellite connection as well. Perhaps Microsoft is trying to get people in the Origami mood (which took me all of 3 seconds) by releasing this new gorgeous device in mid-March to whet our collective appetite for a Vista based one later. The next (and final) update on the Origami site will be March 9th. The year 2006 will be a big year to see if Microsoft can bring it to the show like a marshmallow at a chocolate party.

OK, first off, I am liking the idea of the Microsoft Origami device, enigma, mystery, um, thing! In fact I like the idea so much, I'd even be willing to label it "dead-sexy." Think about it, it's a tablet-like device that can play games, it can be a remote display for your desktop, a media player that (in my personal opinion) has the potential to be a iPod killer, and could have GPS, most definitely has wi-fi and a touchscreen.

The funny thing is TECHSPOT reports that the video on DigitalKitchen.com is over a year old according to a Microsoft spokeswoman. If this is true, where along the line is the Origami now? Does it look like a sleek killer Lexus, or perhaps something worthy of Engadget's frontpage? Everyone in the geekosphere is trying to get any kind of glimpse or extra information on this thing, but Microsoft is once again using buzz to their advantage. On March 2nd, which happens in a few hours, Microsoft will reveal more on the OrigamiProject.com website. By the way, if you are ever in the Geekosphere, look me up, I live in a nice little IT neighborhood called Geekopolis.

[Via TechSpot.com]