[url=http://origamiproject.com/blogs/team_blog/archive/2006/03/30/2968.aspx]OrigamiProject[/url] had a link to a [url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002898672_origami30.html]Seattle Times[/url] interview with Otto Berkes at a Seattle Coffee shop.

Otto was using a Samsung Q1 and the Seattle Times took some videos of him using GPS and the media player.

[img]http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/images/seattletimes/Samsungq1small.jpg[/img]

In the video talking about GPS Otto talks about how valuable the UMPC was for him while he was in Germany. Apparently they weren’t sure how to get the convention center from their hotel so they just plugged in a GPS dongle to their USB port and found it that way.

[url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/collections/video/2002885596_origami24/2002885597_gps.html]Go to Origami as a Navigational device video page.[/url]

The second video talks about the media player and shows off the different on screen buttons that were created specifically for controlling Microsoft Media Player with the UMPC.

[url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/collections/video/2002885596_origami24/2002885690_media.html]Go to Multimedia on the Origami video page[/url]

[img]http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/images/seattletimes/mediaplayer.jpg[/img]

Lastly,
There is a video of the other stylus input and Dial Keys options.

[url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/collections/video/2002885596_origami24/2002885709_uses.html]Go to different ways to use Origami video page[/url]

[img]http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/images/seattletimes/dialkeys.jpg[/img]

Cool videos and pictures on the news article. hopefully more info keeps coming out.

All of the pictures were taken by Tom Reese at the Seattle Times

A link was just posted on [url=http://origamiproject.com/forums/thread/2901.aspx]OrigamiProject.com [/url] by Amjoe announcing that the C# source code for the UMPC Sudoku has just been released and is available [url=http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c0461e1a-bd6a-4b21-a199-d3d4f9d79cf7&DisplayLang=en]here.[/url]

The original source for the tablet PC iteration of Suduko was created by a Microsoft employee named Stephen Toub. He is apparently going to be releasing an article as well to the download page shortly which will detail the algorithmic aspects of implementing a Sudoku game, in addition to the specific details that help you implement other applications designed for Tablet PC and UMPC. (According to the little blurb on Microsoft.com so far about it.)

after I downloaded the code, I wanted to find out a little more about Stephen Toub so I looked him up on Google and I found his msdn blog
located at http://blogs.msdn.com/toub/.

On his site he actually has a cool story about why he decided to write Sodoku. According to Stephen:

“In July of 2005, I was visiting my brother and my college roommate John in London. While there, John got me hooked on Sudoku, a puzzle game that was then sweeping Europe and is now sweeping the US. On the way back to the states, instead of sleeping as I should have done, I opened Visual Studio and spent the entire flight madly coding away on a Tablet PC implementation of Sudoku. When I got back to work and showed the Tablet team the prototype I’d created, it was very quickly swept up into a larger project dubbed the “Origami Project.” ”

That’s cool. I’m also impressed that Microsoft let him release the code. They are obviously trying to get a bigger developer following behind Tablet PC applications.

We will have more to say about this application after I have a chance to go through the C# code and see how it’s all implemented and when the article is released.

Thanks to Papadac and [url=http://www.origamiportal.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=126]Ctitanic[/url] for giving us info on the FCC documents that had just been released for the Samsung Q1 [url=http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=570018&fcc_id=]here[/url]

The FCC documents included a bunch of info about the device and a users manual.

But most intersting was that it also included the device open to show off what was on the inside.

[img]http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/images/samsungq1fcc/samsungQ1inside.jpg[/img]

The fan, casing, cpu, and other fun stuff is shown in this pic that was from the Internal photos document [url=http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=641538&native_or_pdf=pdf]here[/url]

The user manual that was contained with the documents also had information on each button and component of the device. Here’s a quick rundown on each side of the device from the Official Samsung Q1 users manual

[b]Front View:[/b]

[img]http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/images/samsungq1fcc/frontview.jpg[/img]

The front view numbers correspond to the following
[b]1[/b] LCD The screen images from the computer are displayed here.
[b]2[/b] Speaker Used to generate sound.
[b]3[/b] Joystick Plays the same role as the direction keys on the keyboard.
Used as a joystick when playing games.
[b]4[/b] Auto Scaler Button (Automatic Resolution Adjustment Button)
Press this button to change the screen resolution.
Auto Scaler provides 3-step resolutions. Whenever you press this button, the screen resolution changes to 800×480 Default Resolution > 800×600 > 1024×600 sequentially.
[b]5[/b] Status Indicators Shows the operating status of the computer. The corresponding operating LED is lit when the corresponding function operates.
[b]6[/b] Microphone Used to record sound.
[b]7[/b] Menu Button Press this button to launch the Menu Program. The Menu Program provides shortcuts to frequently used functions on the computer. You can easily change the settings.
[b]8[/b] Enter Button Press this button to select an item. It is the same as the Enter key on the keyboard.
[b]9[/b] Quick Launch
Button
You can register a frequently used program to launch it just by pressing this button.

more below…

Following on from my report about Origami CPU’s and getting back to a factual and more informative post than my previous outburst of joy on the Origami market, I’m continuing the ‘power’ theme and looking at the issue of power consumption. Why does an Origami battery only last 2 hours? Why is the device so big and what can be done to improve the situation? One of the main hurdles of the Origami project was clearly to source the lowest-power components possible. Power useage is directly related to battery size, […]

It’s time for the UMPC Cast Episode #3.

Matt Wayment and Roy Terry talk about the new software that has been announced and delve into the TabletKiosk eo information.
They also walk around the streets of Salt Lake City and see what other people think about the UMPC.

The direct RSS feed is located [url=http://www.origamiportal.com/podcast.rss]here[/url]

The iTunes feed is [url=http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=130040126&s=143441]here[/url]

or download the MP3 directly [url=http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/podcasts/OrigamiPortal_-_UMPC_Cast_3.mp3]here[/url]

And you can check out our older UMPC Cast shows in our [url=http://www.origamiportal.com/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=1]Podcast Section[/url]

[url=http://ultramobilepc-tips.blogspot.com/2006/03/tabletkiosk-taking-pre-orders.html]UltraMobilePC-tips[/url] let us know today that Tablet Kiosk has just released an actual street date and price for their newest UMPC called the eo.

According to their press release [url=http://www.tabletkiosk.com/news/index.htm]here[/url] it will hit store shelves in the last week of April.

The press release also explains a little about why they chose to go with the name eo. eo comes from the latin word meaning to go or progress and TabletKiosk felt that thier UMPC was created to meet demands of highly mobile individuals with the UMPC’s power in an easy to carry design.

The eo UMPC v7110 512/40 is shown on the website as the current “top of the line” Origami from TabletKiosk. and according to the information [url=http://www.tabletkiosk.com/config/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=35&idproduct=146]here[/url] has a price of $999.00. not bad for a full featured small PC with a 40 gig hard drive.

The lower end model is called the eo UMPC v7110 256/30 and is being listed for $899.00 [url=http://www.tabletkiosk.com/config/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=35&idproduct=135]here[/url]

So I would put in that extra $100.00 for double ram and more hard drive space.

Each model is also available in Black and white

Also according to the site the following items are available as accessories:
[b]Included:[/b] Carrying Case
AC Adapter with Cord Set
Headphone/Microphone Combo
User’s Manual
Utility CDs (Restore & Utilities)
1 Year Limited Warranty

[b]Optional:[/b] External CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
USB Modem or GSRM Modem
Docking Cradle with additional I/O Ports
2 Year & 3 Year Extended Warranty

The full specs listed on the site are …

Akihabara News has posted about a new Origami to be release in Korea. As you can see from the following picture, this device and the one from Founder are the same.

So the system specs are most likely going to be
Intel Celeron M 900 MHz
256MB/ 512MB Ram
and a 20-60 GB hard drive

Its interesting to see different companies pick up the exact same model and release them to other markets with the same desgin. I think the PC market has just had so many customization options that people can create their own computer looks.

_{Sources: UMPC Buzz, TodoPocketPC.}

Over at [url=http://blog.carrypad.com]Carrypad.com[/url], Steve has produced a table of UMPC devices including the Origami specifications that we know about so far.

It makes a good starting point for research if you’re interested in buying a UMPC device and it will be updated with information as it becomes available.

read on to see an extract of the Mini Tablets and Origami devices section. For the full list go to the [url=http://products.carrypad.com]Carrypad.com product list.[/url]