Origami Experience 2.0 finally coming to a UMPC near you
By Paul Miller 
posted Jun 14th 2008 3:53PM
posted Jun 14th 2008 3:53PM
[Via jkOnTheRun]
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Together with Vista's handwriting recognition I guess that would make a near-perfect touchscreen UMPC :)
And no doubt both the people out there with UMPCs will be delighted with the download.
It's too bad these devices are just not practical. They're too large to carry around with you all the time (key to actually being useful), but, too small to be productive without keyboard add ons and all the rest.
The smart phone form factor is really the best middle ground. As manufacturers like Apple, Blackberry, Samsung, etc, continue to push the envelope for these devices it will become more and more impressive for what can be done. However, people will always have the larger screen, full featured computer for more serious productivity.
I agree. I think the three major areas are covered.
You have the "netbooks," the smartphones, and the standard laptops. Outside of that there's just no need for any others.
Why leave HTC off the list of smartphone makers?
When mini tablet laptops start spreading, I doubt anyone will ever need a umpc... But currently, I believe getting a high-end smartphone is the best investment possible.
i've been looking at the Xperia X1, and with it's high-res 800x480 touchscreen (same as Eee's, correct?), 528MHz processor (almost as fast as Eee) and Office Mobile, the thing is practically a UMPC.
Phoenix,
Exactly, HTC are the king of smartphones, the best of the best in the business.
I'm not sure Apple has any smart phones out..
Years ago Casio released the Cassiopeia with Windows CE. It was bashed for having a form factor that nobody would use, Slashdot had a front page article saying that the keyboard was so small it was useless. Now we have even smaller devices, such as you listed, with an even smaller keyboard - everybody thinks those devices are great. I had one of these, I remember when the power supply went out on my desktop, I plugged a PC Card modem into it, and was reading and sending e-mail.
Years ago there was a mini laptop that ran Windows CE, it was a Toshiba (can't remember the model number - I have one but could not find it). The screen folded down over top the keyboard, letting you use it as a tablet. It was about 8" diag, about 1/2 inch thick. People bashed it, saying that it was too small, underpowered, and could not replace a true laptop. Today we have the MacBook Air, Eeee, X300, and the recently announced Dell E. Like I said, I had one of these. I plugged a Cisco Wireless B card into it, and was reading mail wirelessly at business meetings.
A few years ago Microsoft announced the TabletPC, people bashed it. Who would want to write on their screen when they could easily type? For the past couple years there have been rumors of a Apple Tablet, and even though there has not been anything announced, nobody has been able to find any spy shots, and no credible evidence, it will be the best thing ever, with the on screen writing.
Now we have the UPMC. People bash it for being underpowered, and using a form factor that nobody will want. How long until history repeats its self?
WHY TEH IRWIN MENTION TEH APPLEZ!?11
oh wait, it's not pro-apple. carry on...
@Nohone
You're totally correct, I think we just need some time for the technology catch up with the concept in the next 5~10 years. (not to mention the battery technology)
UMPC might just become the next big thing, since tablet is too big and waste too much power for me. I can hold a UMPC with one hand and using the Muti touch which Windows 7 promised to provide.
While Microsoft still working hard on UMPC innovations, it showed they are commited to this concept same as tablet and surface.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/19/microsoft-adds-twist-to-handhelds-with-force-sensing-technology/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/22/microsoft-randd-shows-off-multi-touch-laptop/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/microsoft-randd-strikes-again-the-lucidtouch/
In order for a product to become successful we need the right hardware, software, market demand.
Hardware, we have VIA nano and Intel Atom which just came out recently
Software, Windows 7 will reduce its own footprint of and introduce mutitouch
Market Demand, I wanted it since day one. the problem is the battery life.
I bet if some OEM introduce a UMPC with Mutitouch screen + great battery (7~10) hours for my daily school work + TPM for data protection and a decent out look will do me. I will rush to the store to get one even it is going to be more expensive than Mac BK air or X300.
@Pochi: I believe that the netbooks will be a flash in the pan.. people were interested in these things when they cost $400, but now they are moving towards $700-$900. A "normal" 12" laptop is just a better deal for that price..
No, new ones has a lot better prices. That would be MSI Wind PC, Acer Aspire One and I think there are even more which start at 299$. This very affordable and most of the people are not going to buy those expensive "toys" for 600-700$.
Wow, that's...really ugly.
Wow, you're a vain prat.
Ah, yes, because I like devices to be slick and functional, rather than cluttered and confusing. My Nokia's setup looks a lot better than this piece of garbage, and I consider the Nokia to be barely useful. This is the best they could do with a UMPC?
He's right, it is ugly, but I'm sure you can skin it, theme it etc. The main prob is the wallpaper. It's so ugly its making the rest of the week rainy.
I downloaded it and I've been playing with it on my laptop. It's actually quite nice, I might keep it. I wish I had a touchscreen though.
Ya I decided to download on my HP Tablet. Looks great and Vista Tablet support is great already.
I downloaded on my PC from Microsoft website (you just need Vista).
Frankly I like it a lot. Now granted that many icons looks pixelated has it is design for a small screen and not 12080x1024 (my screen resolution). Its actually nicer than on the picture above.
It's like Media Center Lite Edition + some extra features if their was such a thing.
12080x1024?... wow, that's one wide screen...
Dude, he meant 1280x1024 (5:4 aspect ratio), NOT 12080x1024 (47:4 aspect ratio WTF!?!?)
Hello Sir, Where do I download this thing? I am going to put it on my x61 tablet (running Vista Ult) and see if its cool. Looks like a nice launchpad for stuff I would like to play with it.
oops the read link took me to it. sorry for being an idiot! ;)
i wish apple makes a 7inch itouch.
that puny 3.5 inch is nice but awful for web man
I AM WEBMAN, I SHALL DECIDE
Now all we need is for somebody to stuff a dual-core CPU and 2 gigs of RAM into a UMPC so that it can run Vista... Oh, and also a dedicated GPU if you want it to be pretty...
video of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5jN29jeSI4
That video was amazing, albeit a really long review.
But I loved the interface, it makes Vista VERY usable on a small form-factor umpc. The web layout was perfect, the calender "write your note" thing was extremely impressive.
Sweet.
This looks nice.
Putting it on my laptop for testing.
Did it, it's nice for a UMPC but weird on a laptop.
origami & vista: now even slower and with more bugs!
paul-engadget: now with more stupid commentary!
Everything Mac shrieks of being a sore loser. Cue shrieking:
Since I don't have a UMPC at the moment I'm going to see what it looks like on my 30" Dell monitor running 1080p.
Nice of Microsoft to offer this free of charge for the Vista user.
i don't know about you guys, but the headline "Plan to dig up Padre Pio is attacked" is wrong on several levels
I was wondering if the default install pulls the RSS feed from wine.woot.com as well :)
Why are people lying about this program? I am using it and I think its a good piece of useful software. If you have the right Hardwares trust me, you will like this. I have hp tx2000z and its pretty slick. You should watch the video posted above before you start spewing hate. Learn sometimes to congratulate people for work done, because believe me, it is not easy. If you don't like it, thats ok. But know someone spent hours working on that.
It's so disappointing the way people sound so immature on this site.
Only Vista though? Would love to have tried this on my OQO 01+.
Full of Awesome Sauce™ on my Latitude XT Tablet.
yea... I gave it a go on my tx2000
what's with the awful resolution? do you know how to fix that?
heh... nvm.. turns out I had installed v1
Installed v2.0 and... idk if I'll ever find myself using this, aside from when I get bored...
pretty slick program and concept though..
No love for Xp Tablet Edition?
Yes, because when it compair to Vista's built-in tablet technology XP is really nothing.
Yes, because when it compair to Vista's built-in tablet technology XP is really nothing.
Ah, again....
I forget the press the thing twice
the saddest of all of the sad parts in this story is that it still does not look as good as OS X Dashboard
sorry MS?!?!?!?!
prepare to be flamed
Of course, Dashboard cannot be beat, especially by the likes if The Borg.
Beautiful!
But it is a little bit Vista Like.
never been there...how is it?
I wish I could jam this on my HTC Athena!
I love browsing the internet on the Origami browser. It's basically a redone IE7, made for touch. The menus are super streamlined for touch capabilities.
Reading RSS feeds is super awesome. You can even take snapshots of webpages, and keep them in a library.
It also contains that new superbar thing that's in Firefox 3. You can type a word into the address bar, and it brings up site based on your history, or you can search the web, or actually type an address.
And I like how the search feature brings up popular/past searches, so I don't have to type any more extra letters.
This person made a pretty good review of mobile browsing in Origami : http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsexperience/archive/2008/04/30/origami-experience2-0-part-1-web-browsing.aspx
If only Microsoft could make that browser work for WinMo phones...
As expected from the "me to" company. Pilfering elements from OSX and iPhone graphical UI and widgets is typical MS-MO for their products. Typically boring, and non news to the world, as its gaining minimal traction in the technology news sectors.
1. Konfabulator existed before OS X Tiger had widgets and Dashboard. Apple isn't the creator of everything you know. Apple "pilfered" from Konfabulator. In fact, MS had this way earlier called Active Desktop, but it had some issues so they took it off.
2. Apple shouldn't be the only company to offer widgets. There's also Microsoft, Yahoo!, Google, and a bunch of other sources to get widgets.
3. Origami doesn't even look the least bit like the iPhone's UI. Apple doesn't own curved corners, bigger icons, or any of that nonsense. It's been here for a long time already.
Do some research, and stop posting BS. I like to laugh how you get it wrong every time, and your replies are usually attacks on the people who explain it, but not by the points brought up. Give it up already.
Eh, it's quite a stretch to say that Active Desktop was anything like Konfabulator or Dashboard. It replaced your desktop with a full-screen webpage rendered in IE. In that sense, it was powerful, but yeah... ahead of its time for MS and it got in the way more than it was useful.
Jubei... I'm a proud owner of a MacBook and iPhone, but I have to agree with Quikboy. As a Windows developer, I have a special hatred for Microsoft, but I think this is good for them... they might actually be putting all that monopoly money they get from you and me into something decent and refreshing. Time will tell whether or not this turns into an ultimate platform... and if it has that possibility, trust me, Apple will find a way to make it happen if Microsoft fails.
Seems to me that Quikboy need to do some research himself. When I say MS is a "me to" company, there is hard truth to that fact.
http://www.folklore.org
Huge disappointment. 2 years in development and this is all they come up with. The weakest, most latent aspect of OX is the music player. They didn't change a single thing about it.
@Sean O
But of course. This is MS isn't it? The "me to" company of the technology world.