I normally dont bother about breaking news in this journal but this one is worth putting out as a simul-post with Origamiportal.com where I post news and participate in the forums. For comments, discussion and further information as it is uncovered, I…

We’ve got a ’simulpost’ with Chippy’s [url=http://blog.carrypad.com]Carrypad blog[/url] for you this morning with news about the Mobits Bebos device.

As we reported on Saturday, Mobits appeared to have a few Origami-like deivces in development. Today we’ve had an email response direct from Mobits confirming that the Bobos device is an ‘Origami product’ and that there is a 7″ and interestingly a 5.6″ variant (pictured top).

Don’t get too excited just yet as these are products waiting for a customer to take them into tooling and production. Mobits, however, are saying that they expect ‘MP’ (Mass Production) in August which shows a certain level of confidence that this device is going to make it through to customers.

The MoBits company has (or is part of) another company called [url=http://www.mobitia.com/index.htm]Mobitia[/url] that has a website with more information on their prodcuts, a few other interesting devices and details about a common device chasis which has been developed.

Details on more MoBits devices below…

I’ll be honest, I haven’t had much experience with tablet PC development. So after getting hyped up about this whole Origami UMPC thing I decided I should probably download the Tablet PC SDK and look at how programming for it is different than development using a regular mouse interface.

So I started going through the sample code (For my purposes I focused on C# at first) and have learned a couple things about Tablet programming that I hadn’t known before.

[b]1: There is a Power Management SDK. [/b] Now call me naive, but for some reason this hadn’t even occurred to me in a mobile Windows device. I have programmed code on mobile gaming devices and obviously there are things you can do to make sure your game doesn’t continually suck battery life by not having it constantly load things and managing certain types of memory and that all seemed like a no brainier. However in all of my programming for Windows systems I didn’t once think about creating applications that wouldn’t eat up memory on a Notebook computer.
I constantly use intensive applications on my notebook with it unplugged and I have thought before, “Man I wish my battery didn’t go so fast.” So, this only makes sense.

Read more below…

I can’t believe i havent written about this device yet. It was because of this device that I started analysing my mobile computing needs, making notes, lists and eventualy turning them into the Carrypad journal. Me and some of my…

[img]http://origamiportal.com/origami/images/new_umpcs/BoBos-5.6.jpg[/img]

MoBits were mentioned by VIA in a press release relating to their C7-M a few weeks ago and a sunday morning browse at their web-site today revealed some UMPC devices.

Take a look at the [url=http://www.mo-bits.com/english%20index/product/english%20product1.htm]English product pages[/url] and you’ll see the Bobos, the Adam, the Acorn and an unlabeled picture of a mini-laptop.

read on…

Its looks like a re-badged Smart Caddie or or Tablet Kiosk V700 to us so there’s nothing really that new to see apart from the obligatory picture.

Also linked on the page is a user manual. This would be interesting to read but it doesn’t seem to link anywhere at the moment.

Go to the [url=http://www.amtek.com.tw/english/Products_itablet_T700=06.htm]web site[/url] for more info and let us know if you find that manual!

PBJ has [url=http://www.smartcaddie.jp/index_content.html]updated their site[/url] with a new flash video about the PaceBlade Japan Smart Caddie UMPC/Origami device.

It’s really short and doesn’t reveal anything new except that more info will be released on March 24th (and this is the [url=http://www.origamiportal.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=30]2nd time they’ve led us on in the past few days[/url]). But hey, the flash video has some kickin’ background music so we recommend you take a few seconds and check it out.

“The future arrives first to those who carry Smart Caddie.”

The UMPC Cast #2 is now live!

In this podcast Roy and Matt continue their discussion about Ultra Mobile PCs and delve into the potential pitfalls of the first generation devices. They have a conversation about the new accessories and partnerships then talk about the growing Origami Portal community and the UMPC Contest.

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_2.mp3]here[/url]

And as always the Archives of all of the shows can be found in our [url=http://www.origamiportal.com/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=1]Podcast Section[/url]

There has been a lot of talk lately about how the Ultra Mobile PC devices that have been shown are too big. Some have been asking, “Why can’t it be small like an iPod so I can carry it around in my pocket?”. Or, “This device is so big it could bludgeon people to death.”

Well, these are good points so I started thinking, “has the ultra mobile PC lost its ultra mobileness?” After a while I came to the conclusion that if it was much smaller then it is then it would be too hard to use and in the end everyone would hate it.

Now stay with me here while I explain this. I know that the OQO is 4.9 inches across and the Nokia 770 is like 5.5 inches and the Samsung is almost a whopping 9 inches! The UMPC devices are almost double the size. And believe me I want to put the thing in my pocket as much as the next guy. And this pic from [url=http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1493&page=5&pp=10]internettablettalk.coms forum[/url] shows exactly how much bigger this thing really is.

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

Pics like this may make me change my mind and realize small is good. But, Otto posted over on [url=http://origamiproject.com/blogs/team_blog/archive/2006/03/15/1934.aspx]OrigamiProject.com[/url] that the reason they went with a 7 inch display is because that was the size of portable DVD players and I realized that Microsoft had a plan.

And so that brings me to the first point about the screen size. Obviously this device is being marketed as a media playing device. Microsoft has partnered with MovieLink to bring downloadable movies to the device.

Take a look at the picture at the top of this article. That is an almost to scale picture showing the difference between Apple’s video iPod and the Samsung Q1.

Now the thing I hate about the video iPod is that it is so small. and not only is it small but the videos downloaded for it have to be to a certain scale so you have to convert your video streams if you rip them. You have to go through all of the effort of not only getting it the right size but also all of the effort of actually watching it on such a small screen. And I know people who can actually watch whole movies this way.

I go through this same problem with my PSP. the screen is definitely bigger than a video iPod but the converting is still a pain.

Story continued below …

They’re saying a lot of whats already been said but it carries a fair bit of weight when Gartner says it.

[url=http://www.gottabemobile.com/GartnerPublishesTheirAnalysisOnTheUMPC.aspx]gottabemobile[/url] highlighted the Gartner report today where they talk about sub $400 pricing and 8 hour battery life.

Take a look at the report which should still be available [url=http://www.gartner.com/resources/138500/138574/umpc_has_promise_but_is_far__138574.pdf]at the gartner website.[/url]

[quote]Today, we believe it isn’t possible to produce compelling UMPC products — just “proofs of concept.” The low battery life, high price and non-Vista operating system will likely hurt the UMPC’s market acceptance in this first go-round, and the negative backlash could damage its future chances. For these reasons, we question the timing of this launch: Why rush this to market
before it is ready to succeed? Despite the promise of this device category, the UMPC as currently conceived will fail to achieve mainstream success — defined as unit sales in the millions rather than the thousands — by 2009 (0.8 probability).[/quote]

It may be a bit too early to market but its good that someones had the courage to do it on a bigger scale. Its stirred every manufacturer up in the UMPC space and we’re going to see better devices sooner because of it.

Let us know what you think in the [url=http://www.origamiportal.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?viewmode=flat&topic_id=68&forum=1]forum thread.[/url]

Dustin Hubbard, Microsoft Mobile PC manager, has returned from CeBIT and answered a lot of Origami/UMPC related questions on the OrigamiProject.com blog. Check out the whole article [url=http://origamiproject.com/blogs/team_blog/archive/2006/03/14/1908.aspx]here[/url].

Here is a sampling of some key points from the question and answer session:

[b]Does the origami have instant on?[/b]

* The resume from standby is quite good and fast
* The Samsung Q1 has 2 boot modes on a 3 way power switch (On, Off, AVS Multimedia)
* AVS Multimedia allows near instant on

[b]Release dates[/b]

* Realistically, Samsung will be the first available in the US, most likely in April

[b]Voice Recognition[/b]

* XP Tablet PC Edition has built-in speech recognition
* Should work well with the Samsung array microphone

[b]Apple has better design[/b]

* Microsoft is working on taking a more active role with OEMs on their hardware

[b]Is there any kind of sleep mode[/b]

* Not yet, but SlideShow in Vista could take advantage of this

[b]Will Vista run well on the UMPC?[/b]

* Dustin’s group will be doing testing to see how Vista runs in the upcoming months

Thanks again to Dustin for taking the time to answer some questions. I think it bodes well for the Origami devices to have such a dedicated team that interacts with the fans. They are like the [url=http://www.blogmaverick.com]Mark Cuban[/url] of Microsoft (and look how well the Mavericks are doing lately).

Steve Paine, our friendly moderator known as chippy, has written an excellent report comparing the Intel and VIA chipsets that are vying for Ultra-Mobile PC supremecy. Intel checks in with the Pentium-M and Celeron-M low-voltage CPU’s while VIA steps up with the C7-M ultra-low-voltage (ulv) CPUs.

[b]The 1st-Gen UMPC/Origami devices have already chosen sides:[/b]
In Intel’s corner: Asus R2H, Founder Mininote, Samsung Q1, ECS H70
In VIA’s corner: PaceBlade SmartCaddie, TabletKiosk V-700

Please check out the [url=http://blog.carrypad.com/2006/03/origami-cpu-overview.html]whole article on Steve’s ‘Time for the Carrypad?’ blog[/url].

[b]Here are some interesting excerpts:[/b]

…The Celeron-M devices are Pentium-M devices with a reduced L2 cache and importantly, speed-stepping removed. They are offered as a lower cost alternative to the Pentiums saving something in the region of $80 in component costs to the manufacturers…

…Via’s offering is the VN800 and VT8237 combination as its solution. It has a 400/533 or 800mhz FSB, supports 4GB of RAM and graphics is provided by the Unicrome pro graphics processor. Via also include the Via vinyl hi-def audio solution a TV encoder, hardware-assisted MPEG2 decoding and de-interlacing…

…On the face of it, VIA looks to have a strong offering for UMPC devices. With their lower power, faster speed-stepping and integrated MPEG and TV outputs theres some significant advantages. On the other hand, the Intel Pentium CPU is going to be the more powerful choice. The Celeron is going to be cheap but with its lack of speed-stepping, is going to be probably the most power-hungry of the CPU’s…

Now, we can all sit back and see who comes out on top in this battle of the chips.

[img]http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/images/ecs_h70.jpg[/img]

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) introduced their Ultra-Mobile Tablet PC, the H70, at CeBIT recently. I’m not sure if the device just looks identical to the [url=http://www.origamiportal.com/modules/xcgal/thumbnails.php?album=5]Founder Mininote[/url] or the actual display H70 was replaced with the Founder at some point ([url=http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/001629.html]as PC World is reporting[/url]).

Interestingly enough, in the same article ECS specialist David Chang says the H70 is not an Origami device. I’m not sure what baseline Origami specifications the H70 didn’t meet, but perhaps its not including all the Touch Pack improvements?

More details on the specs below:

Both VIA and Intel have developed ranges of ultra low-power CPU’s and some of these CPU’s are now being used in devices coming out of the Origami project. Here’s my technical overview of the CPU’s and chipsets.

Intel are offering the…

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

Paceblade Japan or PBJ for short (As I like to call them) just opened a new website for it’s SmartCaddie device at http://www.smartcaddie.jp/

And like all good things UMPC the site tells us nothing except that it is To Be Continued… I thought we already knew everything about the SmartCaddie, but apparently there’s enough we don’t know to warrant a ‘to be continued’ message. (Either that, or they forgot to finish the site.)

There was also a nice little picture of the Smart Caddie included.
[img]http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/images/smartcaddie2.gif[/img]

The only other bit of info they have released is a pdf news release in Japanese. Available [url=http://www.pbj-inc.co.jp/news/pdf-file/SC_NR01_K3.pdf]here[/url]. That is where the picture of the woman above came from, which clearly shows her having a better time with a SmartCaddie then she would have had otherwise.

So I can not read anything on any of these websites, so I am assuming this device is only being released in Japan as it is hard to market to Americans in Japanese and without english and anime characters.

[b]Edit 03-14-2005 11:20 AM:[/b]

[img]http://www.origamiportal.com/origami/images/smartcaddiebox.gif[/img]

While I was defending the fact that we really do go to the manufacturers site to find info and don’t steal stuff from other sites I went over to smartcaddie.jp and noticed they put up a new image of what I assume is the Smart Caddie box opening. wow that thing must be bright.