March 7, 2006  

Origami Report: Monday Late Night, March 6th 2006

More Pics

Form Factor:

  • Allen on PalmAddict is right. Form Factor is important. He doesn’t like the shape of the Origami designs that have been roaming around the net and he doesn’t like the Nokia 770’s shape.
  • On the other hand, I’ve been using pdas since the days of the Pilot 1000. I’ve owned a Pilot 1000, a Palm III, a Palm V, a Palm Tungsten C and now I own a Palm TX. The TX is a wonderful device and it’s been in my pocket since I bought it, but the web browers available are crap. No offense to the authors, but it is no longer OK for me to have to look up mobile-ready versions of the sites I visit.
  • Since the primary functions for my PDA are all web based applications, I am definitely willing to move to a wider form factor for my ‘PDA’ where a modern browser will feel at home. And since I no longer want to be tied to browsers that do not have modern functionality, I’m happy to see that Origami will be running XP which means I can use FIREFOX.
  • So, while I agree that form factor is important, I also think bigger is better, to an extent.
  • As for the form factor making my pocket the wrong place to carry the device, I’m really going to have to figure that out. Maybe they’ll come out with a line of windbreakers, fleeces and tshirts with Origami pockets in the belly.

UMPC.com

Apps – Since this thing will be running XP, I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I’ll be installing. Some of these are the apps I install on every PC and some are apps that I’ve never really tried because I’ve never owned a Tablet PC. I know, I’m in for a treat.

  • 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 – all of a sudden I really want the Origami to include a camera!!!
  • BallDroppings – If you don’t know what this is, go there NOW! Bruce Sterling loves it and so will you.
  • Graphite – Uses Tablet PC Ink to create flowcharts, etc.
  • AraxisMerge – Don’t leave home without it.
  • SR32 – Don’t leave home without that, either.
  • FileZilla
  • Gaim
  • mIRC
  • Ink Art / Art Rage – I saw the first version in action and I can’t wait to see what’s new! Maybe I should watch the movie I just linked to….

tech.memeorandum

  • tech.memeorandum’s coverage today. Here and here.

More wishlists

  • Michael Parekh has a list up. I’m guessing he’ll be very happy. And if the thing has an EV-DO option, we’ll both be walking on air.
  • Nathan Weinberg suggests that the Origami form factor matches nicely with the new Office 2007 UI. Hmmmmm….
  • Hugo Ortega has his own wishlist. (contacts, video, onenote, msn with ink, synchronization, connectivity)

Tomorrow, the door officially opens over at umpc.com.

As always, you can find the rest of my thoughts about Origami here.

%d bloggers like this: