Origami 2.0 coming soon, preview on the HTC Shift

Jenn from Pocketables.net got to preview Origami 2.0 while playing with her new HTC Shift. The Shift is the first UMPC to ship with Origami 2.0, which is otherwise not released to the public at this point. If you will recall, the first Origami was essentially an application launcher and media manager designed to be finger optimized for small first-gen UMPC screens. It was met with a mixed reaction, some people enjoyed the interface while others found it useless. Back in January, the Origami Project blog announced Origami 2.0, which aims to increase functionality and usability by adding additional applets and features. Most notable are the web browser, feed reader, Picture Password, and context sensitive information page (weather, traffic etc.) all designed to be finger friendly.

Just a few days ago, the Origami Project blog announced that they were working on a final download package, and Origami 2.0, or OX2 as they are calling it, will be released “very soon”. If you can’t wait, be sure to head over to Pocketables.net to check out Jenn’s experience with Origami 2.0. One thing that looks interesting about Origami 2.0 is that if will provide you with different information depending on the time of day, and your location. It would be great to wake up in the morning and have your UMPC know that you want to see the weather and traffic before you leave for work!