I’ll be honest, I haven’t had much experience with tablet PC development. So after getting hyped up about this whole Origami ultra mobile PC 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… Read the full story

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 colleagues sat having our mid-morning cuppa and I was boring them with my quest for a mobile device (again) and how i’d found this JVC XP741 device. I knew I needed a keyboard and from the possible choices (OQO, Libretto etc.) it had stuck out from the rest simply becuase of its price. 999 Euro – a good 500 cheaper than the nearest competitor. I showed them the printout and a whole new level of interest in my quest was born. We decided we needed to see it in the flesh.
Off we went to ‘MediaMarkt’ where we found the sister device. The 841. It looked great and had a DVD drive in addition to the 741 specs. However, what we thought would be a tiny device, turned out only to be ‘small.’ We left without a purchase. Back at work, I did a further comparison of the two devices and found out that the 741 was in fact a lot smaller than the 841 simply because it did’nt have a DVD drive.
If the 741 had been in the shop, I would have bought it there and then and never have ponderd over the Carrypad. But it wasnt! After that I was concentrating on the Carrypad and never looked back at the XP741. I was far too interested in the Nokia 770, the OQO and the rumblings of an ‘Origami’ project by Microsoft.

XP741 is a UMPC.
Today, I was scanning Geizhals again (mental note – don’t spend Sundays browsing price comparison sites!) and, I re-visited the device specs. Somehow, having seen the Origami’s, this device appeals again. It really is an Origami with a keyboard and putting the specs side-by-side shows an extremely close match.

Processor: Pentium-M ULV 1.1Ghz (same as origami spec)
Chipset: Intel 855 GME (same as Origami spec)
8.9″ screen (outside Origami spec – but see overall dimensions below!!!)
40GB Hard drive – Check!
256MB memory (expandable to 768) – Check!
Wifi 802.11b/g – Check!
Weight – 900g (1000g with battery) – check!
1024×600 resolution – better than origami
Price: Euro1000 – check!

What it lacks – Touch screen, touch pack and bluetooth. It also only has XP and obviously not tablet edition.

But wait – look at the dimensions of this thing.

Samsung Q1 ‘Origami’ 228 x 25 x 140 mm 7″ screen
JVC XP741: 225 x 29,5 x 152 mm 8.9″ screen

Its got an 8.9″ screen and the overall dimensions are the same as the Samsung Q1!! It also has a pc-card slot and flexible battery options. For an extra 200grams or so you can clip on the supplied extra battery and get a confirmed 5 hours life. 5 hours! Linux is known to run on it and in my opinion it even looks cooler than any Origami to date. If I was in the market for an Origami-like device, i’d buy this with a bluetooth dongle and be very happy!

James Kendrick did a great review of the device back in May 2005. He loved it.

“The JVC Interlink XP741 is awe inspiring, jaw dropping gorgeous”

“The JVC Interlink XP741 is a beautiful, capable computer that can be easily carried virtually anywhere.”

Hold on a minute. Did I say May 2005. Thats an Origami-a-like nearly one year ahead of Microsoft for the same price. What have they been doing for the last year. Did it really take that long to develop the touch software.

Take a look here for specs and google images for some nice pictures.
Just a re-run of the dimensions then:
Samsung 228 x 25 x 140 mm 7″ screen, 800×480
XP741:225 x 29,5 x 152 mm 8.9″ screen, 1024×600

Its not a carrypad so its not really for me but if you’re in the market for an Origami-like device, this could be your dream. The price seems to be a special at the moment as the list price is over Euro2000! and it is only available online in Germany at Mediaonline. Actually, having checked it out on a number of US comparison sites, I can’t find it. JK, in his review, said it was an import. Mmm. Maybe i’ve just given a little German secret away.

[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 ultra mobile PC 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… Read the full story

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=https://www.umpcportal.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.” Read the full story

The ultra mobile PC 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 ultra mobile PC Contest.

The direct RSS feed is located [url=https://www.umpcportal.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=https://www.umpcportal.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=https://www.umpcportal.com/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=1]Podcast Section[/url] Read the full story

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 ultra mobile PC 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]https://www.umpcportal.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 … Read the full story

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. :-o

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 ultra mobile PC 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 ultra mobile PC 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 ultra mobile PC space and we’re going to see better devices sooner because of it.

Read the full story

Dustin Hubbard, Microsoft Mobile PC manager, has returned from CeBIT and answered a lot of Origami/ultra mobile PC 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). Read the full story