So today Microsoft officially flipped the switch on the buzz machine for their Origami Project -- an atypical viral marketing manuveur for a company whose products are usually known about years ahead of time. Scoble says its a device, the Internet's lighting up with rumors -- is it the Xbox portable? Well, we dunno, but as usual got our hands on some pictures. And as usual we can't guarantee they're the real deal, though we are pretty confident in their source. So, let's go over it: these were sent to us detailing it as a Microsoft portable media player, which wouldn't be too far off from what Jobs and BusinessWeek both prophesied Microsoft doing (despite being pretty broadly denied from within).

Now, here's the tricky part with these pictures -- what's with the keyboard and stylus? Because the last time we checked, their Portable Media Center (PMC) OS didn't have (known) support for touchscreen and keyboard input. So is this some new portable OS platform running on CE.net? Or perhaps it's just a fat little Pocket PC device with some media software? Or something totally different -- could Microsoft beat Apple to the punch with the first serious touchscreen portable media device? Or maybe, just maybe, it's that ultramobile lifestyle PC Microsoft was talking about recently. Kinda seems like no matter what the answer, we're all gonna be pretty surprised (for better or worse) come announcement day, March 2nd, being that Microsoft's "not in the hardware biz." (No, peripherals don't count.) But hell, we can't even tell you for sure if these photos are legit, so here we are.

P.S. There's one thing we are indeed fairly sure about: that it's not that prototype "Origami" device announced by National Semi in 2001. Seriously, c'mon, a device from 5 years ago is what Microsoft's got Scoble buzzing about? Bigger pics of this Origami after the break.

Monday, February 27, 2006

Microsoft mystery device is like iPod, and then some

Hand-held also would be mini-PC

By TODD BISHOP
P-I REPORTER

A video of a mystery device from Microsoft Corp. was discovered online over the weekend -- fueling new speculation about the company's plans in a market dominated by Apple Computer's iPod.

ORIGAMI REVEALED?

See screen shots from a video that surfaced online over the weekend depicts a portable Microsoft device called "Origami." The company acknowledged that it's working on such a concept with partners but cautioned that the video is a year old and reflects only its initial explorations.

But the Microsoft device, if released as seen on the video, would appear to take a different approach and not compete directly with Apple's popular media player. The video shows people using the device not only as a music player, but also as a miniature personal computer for accessing the Internet, sending e-mail, editing photos and playing video games.

The video was discovered on the Web site of film production firm DigitalKitchen LLC, of which Microsoft is a client. The video refers to the device as "Origami." That's the same name as a Microsoft marketing site, OrigamiProject.com, that last week began hinting at an upcoming product announcement.

In a statement, Microsoft acknowledged that the video generally reflects "a concept we've been working on with partners." The company, which declined to identify the partners, said it would be able to share more details "in the coming weeks."

But Microsoft cautioned that the video is a year old and represents only its "initial exploration" into the concept. The video surfaced after the emergence of the OrigamiProject. com site prompted bloggers to go digging for online clues.

As shown in the video, at least, the device appears to be a small version of existing Tablet PCs that use Microsoft software. About the size of a typical book, it would give people the option of using a digital pen or a small keyboard for input. Buttons also were positioned on both sides of the color screen.

Actors in the video used the device to listen to music through plugged-in earphones, access the Internet over wireless networks, edit and transmit digital photos, draw sketches, play video games, send messages and control media on a home PC from an outside patio.

Although Microsoft cautioned that the video didn't necessarily depict a final design, the scenes showed the concept device to be noticeably larger than the iPod and somewhat bigger than Sony's PlayStation Portable.

The video game running on the Origami device in the video appeared to be a version of "Halo," the blockbuster title that fueled sales of Microsoft's original Xbox console. People in the consumer electronics industry have been watching to see if Microsoft will try to leverage its progress in video games to make up ground in portable devices -- an area where it has been eclipsed by a number of competitors.

But analyst Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies Inc., said that would simply appear to reflect the device's capabilities as a small computer, rather than any specific portable "Halo" strategy. A version of "Halo" is available for PCs.

"From the video, it looks like it's more of a mainstream Windows hand-held system as opposed to one dedicated to games or any specific application," Bajarin said of the Origami device.

In that way, he said, Microsoft doesn't appear to be positioning the Origami project as a direct challenge to the iPod. "I don't see it as a threat at all to Apple's music empire," he said.

Currently, Microsoft supplies the software for portable devices that are designed by its hardware partners and marketed under their brands. It's not yet clear whether Microsoft would continue with that strategy with the Origami project, or actively design and market such a device under its own brand.

But whatever the circumstances, a miniature PC would be consistent with concepts Microsoft has discussed in the past.

Bill Gates discussed a similar mobile PC concept at a Microsoft conference in Seattle last year, showing a mock-up called the "Ultra Mobile 2007." At the time, it was merely a non-working prototype the company was using to demonstrate the types of devices it believed would be possible in the coming years.

Gates said at the time that he would like to see a device such as the Ultra Mobile have an all-day battery life, weigh less than a pound and cost as little as $800. Other Microsoft executives went even further, citing a possible target price range of $500 to $800.

Microsoft wouldn't be the only company offering miniature, full-fledged PCs, but others have been targeted primarily for business use. San Francisco-based OQO Inc. has been in the market for some time, offering small computers that run Microsoft's Windows operating system. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's company, Vulcan Inc., likewise has been working on a small computer called FlipStart.

If some of the scenarios in the online Origami video come to fruition, Microsoft would appear to be taking a different approach by targeting consumers.

Here's my take on this. Some of the rumor sites on the underbelly of the Web have been suggesting that Origami might Microsoft's "xPod," or iPod-killer. Origami is not that product. Instead, Origami is clearly aimed at pushing the bounds of the Tablet PC platform and will instead be the long-promised 9-inch Tablet PC that Microsoft first started touting two years ago.