Origami Questions
So, tons of information out there, right?
Well, I still have some important questions.
- When does the first model go on sale? What is the preorder date? Is it going to be a pre-order nightmare like with the XBox 360? I plan on getting one as soon as possible and I’d hate to go without just because I didn’t know that preorders were open.
- Is there a model with a PCMCIA slot? I want to upgrade to EVDO, maybe not this year, but soon. This is not a deal-breaker.
- What does the power brick look like?
- When using a stylus, will mouseovers be detected, like on a traditional tablet pc?
- What are each models’ specific features and prices?
- How am I supposed to sleep tonight knowing that all of these questions may be answered far away at CEBit while I’m snoozing?
- What’s the deal with the instant-on media player software that doesn’t require XP to run? Is that built in to every device or just some?
- What kind of sturdiness tests have been performed?
- Does that two thumb keyboard app work well? Can you only have one thumb touching the screen at a time?
- When will the first review I really trust be written? (I trust the-gadgeteer.com, Walt Mossberg, TomsHardware, AnandTech)
9 responses to “Origami Questions”
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- - March 9, 2006
John Tokash 
I’d like to know your reasons for wanting one? I can’t see the point as it’s got poor battery life, is too big to replace a pda, and too small to replace a laptop. Not to mention the ones on display are all ugly…
Stuart, it’s the smallest affordable XP computer available.
I’ve owned 5 PalmOS PDAs and I’m really hitting a wall in terms of screen size and functionality. The most important wall, for me, has been the lack of a modern browser. Sure, this thing is going to run XP, but more importantly, it’s going to run FIREFOX!
Poor battery life is an issue, yes, but I can keep a charger in my car.
I guess the device will also need to run full wireless security software, i.e. firewall/antivirus/antispyware software too – bet your Palm PDA didn’t have to! 🙂 Also – do you have to boot it up and shut it down all the time or does it have some form of suspend or hibernate? It just seems like an awkward size to me…
Stuart – standby and resume from standby are really fast these days. I don’t know how long an origami device will last in standby mode, but my dell inspiron 6000 seems to last a LONG time in standby.
Regarding antispyware and antivirus – point well taken, to an extent. I’m generally pretty careful, so if push came to shove, I could go without memory resident scanners. I’m guessing that the device will be able to handle those services pretty well, though.
I can see why people think the size is awkward. I might think that too if it wasn’t for the fact that I’ve been getting more and more frustrated by the lack of portability of my laptop and the limited screen size and functionality of my phone and my PDA.
This thing may really kick the most butt in the office environment.
One thing you can count on is that after spending that much money on a device, I’ll definitely be blogging about it. You’ll hear about this thing’s triumphs and failures as they come up.
OK – you’ve convinced me! Not on the UMPC – you’ve convinced me to subscribe to your feed to read about what you experience with the device…
> I can see why people think the size is awkward. I might think that too if it wasn’t for the fact that I’ve been getting more and more frustrated by the lack of portability of my laptop and the limited screen size and functionality of my phone and my PDA.
You’re very right on this point. I think that Origami devices will be the conjunction ring between pda and notebooks.
They are portable but powerful.
Some people could also use them as the only device with usb keyboard, mouse and external monitor.
When this origami devices will sell around 700 euro I’ll buy one for sure.
I haven’t seen it written out, and can’t watch the videos currently. Does the device support portrait mode? I fully intend to use it as an e-reader far more often than a multimedia PC, so I’d really really like to see this confirmed.