Information has recently been posted online about a website at [url=http://www.origamiproject.com/]http://www.origamiproject.com/[/url]

This is creating a lot of hype and has people wondering what the product is. Currently there is info on the web that makes it look like a PSP/Ipod competitor.

[img]http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/origamiproject1.jpg[/img]

So far all of the info about Microsoft’s Origami Project is based on info from a design firm called Digital Kitchen who released a video on their website with information about the design.

The video was taken down from their website shortly after people started linking to it from technology websites. However, Origami Portal was able to get the video and archive it [url=http://www.origamiportal.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=4&post_id=6&order=0&viewmode=thread&pid=0&forum=1#forumpost6]here[/url].

[url=http://www.origamiportal.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=4&post_id=6&order=0&viewmode=thread&pid=0&forum=1#forumpost6][img align=right]http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/images/origamihalo.jpg[/img][/url]
Microsoft has acknowledged that the video is in fact real, they released a statement saying, “While Origami is a concept we’ve been working on with partners, please know that the video seen on Digital Kitchen’s Web site is a year old and represents our initial exploration into this form factor, including possible uses and scenarios.”

The videos shows interesting uses including maps, pictures, note taking and game playing. In one scene it shows a guy playing Halo on the device which means it must have specs closer to handheld notebooks than a simple PDA.

There are more pictures and videos that keep coming in from different sites. As more images and info come, Origami Portal will make sure all of it is covered here.

Looks like MS is finally going to make the Origami project/platform official on the 3rd March. Origami will define a new breed of devices that are closely matching the CarryPad requirements.I’m happy about this. Not because we’re going to get some mini XP devices that we can use in cars, bed and on the sofa, but becuase it’s going to light-up this whole genre of PC’s and spur other developers into moving up a gear. Nokia for sure will be thinking about releasing info on its updated Intenet Tablet (770) […]

One of the reasons for the massively quick turnaround in mobile phone hardware was (and still is) due to the pay-as-you-go method of hardware purchase. Basically, you get a new bit of hardware every 1-2 years subsidised by the operator. Its worked very well at getting old hardware out of the market and getting new stuff in with more value-add (sales) built in. The Carrypad could also use this model too and i’m quite suprised that there’s been no succesful effort yet by a VOIP provider to team with someone […]

Conversing with some other mini-pc heads today I came up with this list of extra capabilities. Speech recognition.It takes a fair bit of CPU power to do speech recognition. I personally dont see this taking off though. Speech recognition has been around for a while on desk pc’s but I dont see a load of people really talking madly into microphones. And people certainly wont do it in social scenarios. Built in scanner.This could be a good one. I know of a Java aplet that allows cameraphone users to read […]

Previously I mentioned a number of devices I thought were looking good in the Carrypad space.Full reviews are all over the internet so I don’t need to do this again but it would be interesting to see if anyone has hit the right specification yet. OQO.Technicaly, this one is nearest the mark. Size-wise its perfect. Its got the keyboard and the screen right. Apart from GPS, the communications devices are perfect. These guys know there’s no competition and thats why its priced at 1600-1800 Euros!! One thing thats probably put […]

Software starts at the operating system. On offer we have the following: Symbian S60 and S90 MS Win CE and Tablet PC. Linux I have a feeling that S60 and S90 spec aren’t going to support the screen requiments and considering the processors we have at hand (Basically the Xscale, Epia, Transmeta bracket) we’re going to be mainly looking at WinCE and Linux. Even Nokia themselves used linux in their 770 – a carrypad type device. Apart from GPS navigation on Linux, they both look like having similar capabilities.Linux has […]

From what I posted earlier, lets summarise the carrypad: Its a device for these locations:Sofa, Bed, Coffee Shop, Car, Train, Plane etc. Its indentifying features are:Advanded-intermediate output – (5″-7″ screen, min 800×480, total size – DVD cover.)Advanced-intermediate input – (mini qwerty keyboard) It is the parent of the smartphone (although a potential user of the smartphone long-range data capabilities) It is the offspring of the pc. It performs video well (min 320×240, 24fps, 1000kbps, full screen – Approx 620mhz advanced processor (Xscale seems well suited at this stage) It needs […]

Bed, sofa, car, toilet, plane, train, and ship. This is where the carrypad comes in then. Its not a belt or pocket device. In fact, the pocket device has pretty much died. All the ground that it covered (apart from video) has gone to mobile phones. However, becuase of that, its opened up that middle ground for the carrypad. Of course, i’m not the first to think about this am i. Here’s a few examples of devices nearing the carrypad mark. OQO Nokia 770 Flybook Dualcor PC Sony Vaio U-Series […]