- Related Stories
-
Bruised Intel focuses forward
March 7, 2006 -
Gadgets on parade at CeBit
March 6, 2006 -
Microsoft whispers Origami details
March 2, 2006
In a preview of Tuesday afternoon's demonstration, Intel Marketing Director Brad Graff showed CNET News.com several of the ultramobile PC devices, including an example of the kind of hardware that will ship in the next few weeks as part of the Microsoft effort.
As earlier reported, the first devices have a 7-inch touch screen, standard x86 processors, and can run full versions of desktop operating systems including the Windows XP variant being used for Origami.
In later generations, probably next year or later, the devices could have the pocket size, all-day battery life, and $500 price that Microsoft and Intel are aiming for, Graff said in an interview.
The first generation of devices are likely to get about three hours of battery life, he said.
In addition to the 7-inch model, Graff showed several other prototype devices of what the chipmaker hopes will be possible in future versions, including models with smaller screens and a swivel-out keyboard. Although the prototypes are working, because they use today's standard components, they get only about 15 minutes of battery life.
Video:
Sneak peak of small things to come
Ultramobile PCs come fully equipped.
Intel's hardware, which uses its ultralow-voltage chips, can run standard x86 operating systems, including Windows and Linux. Microsoft plans on Thursday to finally detail its Origami effort, which runs only on Windows XP.
Both Microsoft and Intel have been targeting the affordable, ultraportable laptops market for some time. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates showed off a prototype of such a device at last year's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seattle. Intel has been touting the ultramobile PC idea as well.
Intel and Microsoft's latest efforts are not the first stab at shrinking the PC. There has long been a class of ultraportable laptops, mostly with around 10-inch screens. There have been a few prior attempts to take the PC even smaller, most notably from OQO and a minitablet introduced this year by Dualcor Technologies. Most of these devices, though, have been priced at about $1,500, which is above the budgets of the average consumer.
The key feature of the new devices, Graff said, is the ability to get the full Internet, with plug-ins and other advanced Web features. Entertainment--including music, movies and TV--is probably the second biggest selling point, he said.
Although Intel has consumers in mind for the ultramobile PCs, Graff said he expects technology enthusiasts, as well as some niche business and education customers, to be the most likely buyers of the first generation of devices, which will sell for under $1,000.
"We expect this to be a real consumer product and to do that, you have to be able to hit real consumer price points," he said.
Intel also found in its testing that the devices appeal to active mothers, who, the chipmaker learned, have schedules similar to corporate road warriors.
"It was something we didn't expect," Graff said.
See more CNET content tagged:
Microsoft Origami, minitablet PC, ultramobile PC, ultraportable laptop, chip company
Its probably inevitable that M$ will shoehorn some version of Media Center onto the device, if only so it can be used to remotely program home-based MC PCs and stream recorded material from them.
No doubt, it will also be full of time management, personal finance and 'lifestyle' software too.
Its probably inevitable that M$ will shoehorn some version of Media Center onto the device, if only so it can be used to remotely program home-based MC PCs and stream recorded material from them.
No doubt, it will also be full of time management, personal finance and 'lifestyle' software too.
but with more buttons
but with more buttons
This device would also be big enough to incorporate GPS, and the bigger screen is more usable than that of a PDA.
Let's see... easier to carry, easier to run in a confined environment, more capacity than a PDA... it's a no-brainer for me. Where do I sign up?
(PS, Yes, the OQO will do this, too, but it's pretty darn pricey...)
This device would also be big enough to incorporate GPS, and the bigger screen is more usable than that of a PDA.
Let's see... easier to carry, easier to run in a confined environment, more capacity than a PDA... it's a no-brainer for me. Where do I sign up?
(PS, Yes, the OQO will do this, too, but it's pretty darn pricey...)
I do agree that speech recognition is a must have for such a device, however, so this leaves two possibilities that I can think of. First is that headsets need to become so small that they can be incorporated into jewelery or worn invisibly. Second, the speech software needs to be able to be able to pick its owner's speech out of a noisy background environment without requiring special equipment.
While I have no doubt that both technologies will be with us one day, I still think that it will be about 2010 before they are ready for prime time. That will be about the time that Version 3.0 of Origami will be hitting the market, so I'm saving my pennies till then.
http://www.intel.com/design/mobile/platform/umpc.htm
Check out the video of possible usage. It has potential.
http://www.intel.com/design/mobile/platform/umpc.htm
Check out the video of possible usage. It has potential.
Version 2 will iron out many of the bugs, add necessary features that should have been in Version 1, but will still be crash-happy and about as useable for serious work as a PSP.
Version 3 will conquer the world and make us all wonder how we ever got along without one. It will have an effective voice interface, a fast and energy efficient processor, a fuel cell power supply that will go for days between 'charges' and seamless 'always on' networking. It will probably also cost near the $500 price point.
Version 3 will probably hit the shops in 2010, so until then, I'll stick with my VAIO TX650 (10.5' x 7.5', 2.5 lbs with a 6 hour battery life).
I applaud Wintel for setting out on the road to truly mobile computing for the masses, but it will be a long time before Origami or its decendents delivers on the promise.
Version 2 will iron out many of the bugs, add necessary features that should have been in Version 1, but will still be crash-happy and about as useable for serious work as a PSP.
Version 3 will conquer the world and make us all wonder how we ever got along without one. It will have an effective voice interface, a fast and energy efficient processor, a fuel cell power supply that will go for days between 'charges' and seamless 'always on' networking. It will probably also cost near the $500 price point.
Version 3 will probably hit the shops in 2010, so until then, I'll stick with my VAIO TX650 (10.5' x 7.5', 2.5 lbs with a 6 hour battery life).
I applaud Wintel for setting out on the road to truly mobile computing for the masses, but it will be a long time before Origami or its decendents delivers on the promise.
- Not for Resale!
- by EmbSysPro March 7, 2006 1:08 PM PST
- It's more likely that what has been displayed is not intended for actual consumer uses.
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
Showing 1 of 2 pages (70 Comments)These devices are meant more as a catalyst to spur product developers and entrepreneurs into working on finding the consumer?s ?Sweet Spot? for devices like this. Nobody really knows yet.
But, if you rule out the first adopters and vertical market applications, a truly ubiquitous pen based mobile computing platform for the consumer market will not appear until the cost of implementing speech and handwriting recognition comes down. Not just the software cost, but also in hardware cost.
Another $0.02 opinion.