Microsoft set to release ‘Origami’ Ultra-Mobile PC specs for Vista
By Ruben Francia
Microsoft is all set to release its ‘Origami’ version 2.0 specifications for Ultra-Mobile PCs (UMPC) based on the Vista operating system.
The next generation of UMPC specifications might call for ultra-thin PCs that weigh less than 1.5 pounds, incorporate 5-inch or 7-inch displays and are housed in an 18- to 20-mm footprint, sources said.
At the drawing board level, Origami design include an integrated QWERTY keyboard, a touch screen fully integrated into the LCD, at least 1 GB of memory, and battery life of between three and four hours, said Microsoft Vista development manager Vikram Madan, at the Windows Hardware Engineering conference (WinHEC).
The company rolled out the first version of its UMPC design in 2006, which is based on Windows XP Tablet Edition. The specifications stipulated a weigh less than 2.5 pounds, incorporated 7-inch displays, integrated touch digitizer and thumb-based controls, between 512 MB and 1 GB of memory, and battery life of between two and three hours.
Microsoft revealed plans for its next Origami 2.0 design in 2007 on the heels of two significant UMPC announcements by Samsung and Intel.
In March, Samsung announced the first UMPC running Windows Vista, called Q1P that weighs 1.7 pounds. Intel, for its part, unveiled last month a new Ultra-Mobile PC platform, code-named McCaslin. It expects OEMs to begin shipping McCaslin-based UMPCs this summer.
New platforms, such as Intel’s recently released Santa Rosa Centrino and upcoming McCaslin UMPC based on Core 2 Duo, will provide specifications and reference designs early in the process to level the playing field, said one Intel executive at WinHEC.
Madan said in a statement: “Intel is creating a dedicated platform for UMPCs, and if it follows the laptop trend it won’t be available to most system builders. But if a system builder can get what they need from Intel, it’ll happen much faster.â€
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interested in pricing for this new model - can you forward this note thank you
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