Microsoft finally put an end to feverish speculation sweeping the technology world by unveiling the small portable PC it hopes will take the computing world by storm.
Microsoft Corp. has unveiled its “Origami” project, a paperback-book sized portable computer, which is a hybrid between a laptop PC and a host of mobile devices that the world’s biggest software maker hopes will create an entirely new market.
Microsoft sparked frenzy by creating a Web site to tout "Origami" with cryptic messages like "do you know me?" and "do you know what I can do?"
This fuelled industry speculation that "Origami" would challenge Apple Computer Inc.’s iPod digital music player or Sony Corp. PlayStation Portable.
Lighter than two pounds (0.972 kilograms) with a seven-inch (17.78-centimetre) touch-screen, the new "ultra-mobile" PCs (UMPCs) use microprocessors from Intel Corp. and run a modified version of Microsoft’s Windows XP Tablet PC edition.
The product, which before its launch had been only known by the cryptic code name “Project Origami,” has been the subject of endless rumour on the web.
Beginning of New Product Range:
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates first told the world about plans for the device, which they hoped would give them a product to rival sales of the Apple iPod, in April 2005.
Microsoft claim the product does everything a laptop can do with extra features but at the size of a paperback book.
We believe that (ultra-mobile PCs) will eventually become as indispensable and ubiquitous as the mobile phone today, Microsoft vice president Bill Mitchell said at CeBIT.
"The Origami project is really our first step toward achieving a big vision," he added.
The new machines will connect wirelessly to the Internet and carry full-sized hard drives, but they are not intended to replace current PCs.
This is a single ultra-mobile computer that combines the functionality of many different products, David Steel, Vice President for Marketing at Samsung’s digital media group, said at the CeBIT technology trade show in Hanover, Germany.
We really believe the difference is now the connectivity. The tablet PC had a certain form factor, but it did not really offer the mobility the new product can do. And along with mobility there is now connectivity, Steel said.
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Taiwan’s Asustek Computer Inc. and China’s second largest PC-maker, the Founder Group, are expected to release the first three ultra-mobile PCs, which Microsoft had code-named “Origami” in an elaborate marketing campaign.
South Korea’s Samsung’s product goes on sale in April.
Samsung positions the UMPC as a handheld organizer, an MP3 portable music player, a mobile television receiver, a games device and a notebook PC and believes it will be more successful than the full-sized tablet notebook PC with touch screen, launched four years ago.
Microsoft’s track record in promoting an alternative PC has produced mixed results. The tablet PC has not yet gained broad appeal despite strong backing from founder Bill Gates.
Microsoft, who has developed the device with partner companies, believes they have found a niche in the market.
Bill Mitchell, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s mobile platforms division, said the device is aimed at consumers who want to have the full power of a PC while on the go but do not want to lug around a heavy laptop or desktop PC.
"It really opens up new possibilities for PC use," he said. "It ideally brings the best of what a Windows PC is and marries it to what the best of a very capable consumer electronic device is.
Critics have blasted it as a gimmick for gadget freaks, citing the lack of a key board as a major drawback. The sleek black device runs Windows XP, the same operating system used by larger laptops and PCs.
We think that for most people, this is more of a replacement for the classic consumer electronic devices that they are buying with disposable income, said Mitchell.
Microsoft said it has already held discussions with a number of additional PC and consumer electronics companies to broaden the number of manufacturers.
Intel’s European marketing chief Christian Morales said at CeBIT his company and Microsoft were creating a new "category".
No U.S. name brand PC makers have signed on to make the new devices, which will have battery life of about three hours, but Microsoft predicted a bright future for the devices.
Car Navigation:
While the product does not compete directly with those popular devices, Microsoft aims to lure gadget fans with ultra-mobile PC models that include features such as global positioning systems for car navigation, digital TV tuners or Web cameras.
People expect an increasing amount of functionality when they are on the go, said Otto Berkes, general manager at Microsoft’s Mobile Platforms Division.
Tablet PCs, which allows people to use a stylus or digital pen to jot down information instead of typing on a keyboard, have been largely geared toward business users since its introduction in 2002, but the new "ultra-mobile" PC category appears to move the tablet technology into the consumer realm.
This is the start of a category and there are a number of areas that will require additional investment–both hardware and software–to realize the full potential of the category, said Berkes.
This segment of the PC market is not altogether new. Japan’s Fujitsu Ltd. and San Francisco-based OQO Inc. already offer a small, portable tablet PC designed for business users.
Microsoft said future models will run on Windows Vista, the next-generation of its flagship operating system due out in the second-half of 2006.
The device, a Samsung Q1, unveiled at a trade show in Germany, has a power supply that lasts just three hours and is expected to cost around £700 when it hits the shops in April.
The company acknowledged that battery life is one hurdle for the ultra-mobile PC. Microsoft said it aims to eventually have "all-day" battery life.
However with a three-hour battery life and a £700 price tag, observers were wondering whether consumers will lap up a product which sits somewhere between a laptop and a palmtop computer.
But while some ogled over the gadget at CeBIT, the annual technology trade show in Hanover, others were less impressed.
Jo Best, of leading IT website www.silicon.com said she did not expect the device to have large sales. Most people would agree it is an interesting one to watch for the future but it is not going to become a mass-market product.
It is one for the geeks. With its battery life and no keyboard it is seriously limited. It is not going to be the next Xbox. It would not last if they fail to get the big manufacturers to take it on.
Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Jupiter Research, said he believed the device, while not pocket-sized, had potential.
"The fact that it runs Windows means that it can do a variety of tasks, from productivity to games to media consumption," he said.
The new PCs are expected to sell for between: $599 to $999, but Microsoft said it is possible to sell one for $500 if the manufacturer selects components carefully.