Microsoft

At the Maker Faire today, I visited the UMPC Experience Area in the Microsoft section of the Faire. When I arrived, there were only a few attendees near the UMPCs, so I got to spend about 20 minutes with the TabletKiosk eo prototype. Later, I spent a few minutes with the Founder and Samsung prototypes. I did not try the ASUS. Near the end of the day, I attended a 30 minute presentation on the UMPCs.

• All 3 devices seemed responsive and not sluggish at all during my interactions.
• The Touch Pack program launcher is very pleasant.
• DialKeys will take some getting used to, but I think it will be only slightly less usable than the treo keyboard.
• Attendees seemed a little skeptical, but impressed.
• The Founder UMPC is really thin compared to the Samsung and eo.
• I agree with JK when he says that you can rest your hand on the screen without it interfering with your writing. That’s nice!
• The screen zooming is faster than I expected and much more readable than I expected, although several control panels (touch optimizations, system) become blank grey windows at the scaled 1024 resolution.
• Browsing the web with the UMPC form factor was great.
• I like the touch point mouse embedded in the eo. I’m guessing that some old DirectX full screen games won’t respond well to the touch screen, so an external mouse or a touch point is going to be useful in those cases. The Samsung doesn’t have a similar feature.

The portrait mode, dual microphones, stereo speakers, CF slot and Ethernet port are clear advantages for the Samsung over the eo. The eo’s cradle option and touchpoint are its advantages. I don’t know how the 900mhz Celeron M (Samsung) compares to the 1 Ghz Via C7 Nano (eo) and I don’t know how the two graphics chipsets compare. If anyone has that information, please speak up. Also, there is no confirmation on the US price and date for the Samsung Q1.

For now, I’m really happy with my eo preorder. If the Samsung is a lot faster and only slightly more expensive, then I will be really bummed.

Update: I missed Robert Scoble at the Faire. Too bad - I would have congratulated him in person for being absolutely right about the UMPC.

LuckyThoughts.com has a link to the FCC documents for the eo UMPC/Origami device. Samsung’s Q1 FCC docs were posted by Engadget. As I mentioned earlier, I purchased my eo through AllTP.com. It should arrive before the end of this month and I can’t wait to start fooling around with it!!

jk has a pre-production eo UMPC and is preparing a review.

Richard Morton is considering making his OrigamiCar resolution independant so it can work on screens other that 800 x 480. Seems like a no-brainer to me. The only reason the UMPCs have that resolution is because it would be more expensive to use a higher res 7″ screen. Next year’s models might easily have a much bigger resolution while maintaining the same size and a lower price tag.

Rotor 2.0 is out.

Eric Albert notes that Rotor used to support Windows, FreeBSD and Mac OS X, but is only supporting Windows in its latest incarnation.  Rotor is Microsoft’s shared source .Net implementation.

Now, I don’t think Microsoft has any real obligation (or business reason) to port .Net to other platforms, but I wish they would, with no strings attached.  With a lot of help from Sun, they managed to really hurt Java’s chances for becoming a contendor for Windows GUI apps and, to make up for that, I’d really appreciate it if they made it super easy for .Net GUI apps to be cross platform.

X2VGA is releasing a new version of their HDTV to VGA transcoder. The first version only worked with the XBox, but the new device takes 2 standard component inputs and a VGA input letting you switch between all 3 inputs to decide what is shown on your VGA monitor. At $65, this thing is a huge bargain.

I’ve been using version 1 for a long time now to play XBox games with my VGA monitor - it works like a charm. I don’t have any immediate need for version 2, but I’m considering getting a second Comcast DVR for my desk and hooking it up to my monitor with this device. Now, if it only supported picture-in-picture….

Check out the discussion in the comments section of Chris Pratley’s OneNote 2007/UMPC post. Veteran OneNote users are chiming in on how they think the UMPC form factor will handle OneNote. Chris mentions a ‘minimal ui’ mode for OneNote that should definitely help! I asked our resident Tablet PC junky at Homestead, Gordon, and he says the big problem he has with OneNote is that it’s not easy to add indentation and bullets. To me, that sounds like pretty fundamental technology. I hope that’s fixed in OneNote 2007!!

Meanwhile, Lora, in a followup to her Developing for the Ultra-Mobile PC post, pointed to the next steps for UMPC developers, including an emulator and information on the ISV program.

OrigamiPortal has a great overview of the Asus, Samsung and Founder devices. I really wish someone would release a definite answer of when these things are going up for presale and when they will ship.

‘WindowsForDevices.com’ has a look at the Via chipset which will appear in the second half of this year in UMPC devices. Meanwhile, they have a comparative look at the UMPC vs the Nokia 770, an issue that’s been bugging some people.

The CNN video (via gottabemobile) shows the new on s
creen radial two thumb keyboard in action. I’ll have to try it before I pass judgement, but it looks like it might not be pleasant to use.

Scoble is being picked on in the comments section of one of his posts. Was Origami over-hyped? Chime in at scobleizer. My opinion is that Origami is deserving of hype being the most affordable small form factor XP device with a touch screen.

MovieLink is partnering with Microsoft and the hardware partners to bundle its broadband movie rental business with the devices. Sounds good to me. Anything that brings the world closer to instant access to all video and audio for a small fee is great in my book.

David Rothman takes a look at everything that’s been said so far about price for the UMPC/Origami devices.

As reported earlier, the Channel 9 video is up. I just love watching/listening to developers and product team members talk about the products they’ve built. Channel 9 will never get boring because it features people talking (with passion) about the things they build. Otto is no exception. I wish our presidents and representatives seemed as sincerely passionate.

Microsoft has a UMPC sister site to complement Intel’s. Speaking of which, umpc.com has moved to a new host and is much more responsive. Check it out if you stopped visiting it earlier because of its performance issues.

Though I am very enthusiastic about Origami, I posted a series of questions last night that I’d love answers to.

A foldable fabric keyboard/case will be available soon. Click the link if you haven’t seen this thing, yet. It’s pretty neat.

Edit (7/12/07): Since this post, I have owned a Nokia 770 Internet Tablet, an n800 and an eo UMPC. It should tell you something that I kept the 770 and n800 but sold the UMPC.

Update: RogerS over at InternetTabletTalk has a response to Mike Cane’s Nokia 770 complaints. Interesting reading. I think if I had known a little more about the 770, I might have purchased it instead of the Palm TX back in January.

The 770 is nowhere near as exciting as the UMPC. I bet the handheld linux community is actually more excited than most of us about UMPC.

Mike Cane left the following comment in a Scoble post. Normally I wouldn’t reprint something like this in its entirety, but I’ve seen TONS of comments about UMPC being a more expensive 770 and it’s driving me nuts, too. I don’t own a 770, but I’ve been reading what the 770 community has to say about problems with the 770 that are just not going to be issues with the UMPC. Mike discusses the topic in this quoted statement.

OK, now I’m bloody *mad*.

The countless eejits chattering around the web have crossed the line once too often. It’s time to set them straight, shove them back from the line, and show them for the eejits they are!

If I read one more time that a UMPC is “just an overpriced Nokia 770,” I will explode!

Anyone who *has* a 770 can tell you straight: The UMPC is *not* a Nokia 770 in any way, shape, or form.

The 770’s Opera browser mysteriously goes Poof! and suddenly disappears while browsing. I don’t think this will happen with a UMPC.

A site such as Palm Addict takes *over two minutes* to load on a 770. I think it will be a few seconds on a UMPC.

The 770 cannot display embedded video on sites such as Google Video or YouTube. A UMPC can.

The 770 cannot play DiVX/Xvid AVI or QuickTime video. A UMPC will.

The 770 has no browser plug in for FURL. No problem for a UMPC.

Forget word processing on a 770. Its Notes program chokes on as little as 10K of text. And the one free real WP program that’s available is hardly useable because the contortions someone has to go through to have a reliable working keyboard for WP just aren’t worth going through. A UMPC can use any USB or Bluetooth keyboard easily, and there are tons of WP programs available — not just *one*.

Yesterday the 770 I’ve been using for several months had to be rebooted *six times* because of its weak CPU and pathetic RAM. In my first hour of using it this morning I had a crash and reboot. This is its *typical day*. Crash, reboot, crash, reboot. I had a Toshiba GENIO Pocket PC — something infamous for its PPC 2002 OS instability. The 770 is a step *down* from that. Most of you don’t want to know what I call my 770. It is filthy and obscene. *Yet deserved!*

The 770 has a 200MHz CPU with 64MB of RAM. A UMPC will have a 900MHz-1+GHz CPU and most will have half a gig of RAM. If you are *still* dumb enough to think a UMPC is just a larger 770, take your desktop machine and put it in your closet. Replace it with a desktop PC that shares the specs of the 770. Then tell me how the second desktop is just like your original one — only cheaper!

I will be *glad* to exchange the *dysfunctionality* of a 770 for a UMPC with *real* usefulness, *speed*, *compatibility* with all web pages, and the ability to hook up any peripheral.

You eejits harping about the 770 don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. So shut up! shut up! shut up!

And as for UMPC being “overhyped” — baloney. It takes being traumatized by something like the 770 before you can *appreciate* a UMPC. What’s that you say? — it’s just another kind of Sony VAIO U *at less than half the price*? Just what I want! Thank you, Intel and Microsoft!!

Engadget’s post shows that even the first round of Origami devices will have variety. Founder chose to add a 1Ghz Pentium M instead of the Celeron. ASUS stuck a 1.3 megapixel camera on the front. Apparently, both feel more sturdy than the Samsung (do they weigh more?).

Overall, yesterday’s news really solidified my decision. I really want to see price and the size of the power brick, but it’s hard to imagine that either of those things could stop me from buying one.  Which one will I buy?  The Samsung?  The Founder?  The ASUS?  If only one is available in March/April, it’ll be that one.
jkOnTheRun has some thoughts on the variety, too.

At WhatIsNew, Lora posted a list of APIs to consider when building software for UMPC devices.

So, tons of information out there, right?

Well, I still have some important questions.

• When does the first model go on sale?  What is the preorder date?  Is it going to be a pre-order nightmare like with the XBox 360?  I plan on getting one as soon as possible and I’d hate to go without just because I didn’t know that preorders were open.
• Is there a model with a PCMCIA slot?  I want to upgrade to EVDO, maybe not this year, but soon.  This is not a deal-breaker.
• What does the power brick look like?
• When using a stylus, will mouseovers be detected, like on a traditional tablet pc?
• What are each models’ specific features and prices?
• How am I supposed to sleep tonight knowing that all of these questions may be answered far away at CEBit while I’m snoozing?
• What’s the deal with the instant-on media player software that doesn’t require XP to run?  Is that built in to every device or just some?
• What kind of sturdiness tests have been performed?
• Does that two thumb keyboard app work well?  Can you only have one thumb touching the screen at a time?
• When will the first review I really trust be written? (I trust the-gadgeteer.com, Walt Mossberg, TomsHardware, AnandTech)

GottaBeMobile is pointing to Microsoft’s new UMPC site.  Not much new information, but it confirms a lot.  The Asus and Samsung models are there in 3D rotating animations.

It’s not on Channel9.msdn.com, yet, but it is on MSDN. Thanks, Robert, for putting it up early for those of us who don’t want to stay up till 3am!!!

I just watched it. Great stuff. OrigamiPortal has a step by step analysis.

(video is on channel9, now) Though this is just one model and the actual functionality on each model will differ, here are my take-aways:

• The scaling functionality is cool. The display can be set to emulate large resolutions in case you are using an app whose minimum size is greater than 800×480.
• DirectX 7 / DirectX 8 level graphics.
• VGA out on this model, right on the device.
• Hard Drive size will vary with manufacturer. Some will be 1.8″, some 2.5.
• Ethernet Jack, Wifi, Bluetooth built in to this one. 2 usb ports as well.
• Hold button to prevent accidental button or screen tapping.
• Memory may or may not be user upgradable.
• Batteries will be easy to swap on the go.
• Built in picture-frame-style stand.
• 2 Mics for better quality VOIP.
• CF slot.
• Wait for official product announcements for pricing. (he said $599 to $999, probably)

No mention AT ALL of EVDO in the video. It’s clear that the EVDO path for these guys is going to be ‘connect to your phone’. Yuck.

I haven’t seen any reliable information indicating an EVDO upgrade path for Origami devices.  I’m concerned.

Scoble is publishing the Channel 9 Origami video at 3AM Pacific on Thursday. That means I need to be up at 3am to see it in action and then up at 7 in case pre-orders open. Wow.

Using Firefox on a Tablet PC (or Origami):

• MenuX - “was designed for laptop/tablet use where maximum screen realestate is desired. Adds the ability to collapse any toolbar. Adds a library of toolbar buttons”
• Hans suggests: The Grab And Drag extension. It “provides Adobe Acrobat-style grab and drag page scrolling with the mouse. It is an extension for Firefox and Thunderbird 1.0 and higher. It works in Flock betas as well. The extension was originally developed for Tablet PC users to aid pen-based navigation, but some people without scroll wheels on their mice also find it useful.”
• The GeckoTIP extension provides Tablet PC Input Panel support in Firefox, Thunderbird, and Sunbird.
• If it’s your second (or third) FireFox machine, maybe FoxMarks will help.  “Foxmarks is an extension for Firefox that synchronizes bookmarks across multiple machines.”

Past Origami entries:

Origami Report: Tuesday Night, March 7th 2006
Origami History
Origami Report: Tuesday Afternoon, March 7th 2006
OrigamiPortal’s analysis of the new UMPC video and more on the Intel conference.
The CNBC video clip is online.
EVDO for Origami?

Origami Report: Tuesday Morning, March 7th 2005
More data on the UMPC.com site.
New video on the UMPC.com site.
CNBC transcript link.
Engadget’s report on CNet’s hands on.
Models shipping in a few weeks!

Origami Report: Monday Late Night, March 6th 2006
More Pics.
Form Factor comments from Allen at PalmAddict.
UMPC.com forums are open.
Apps I plan to run on Origami.
tech.memeorandum’s coverage.
More wishlists

Origami Report: Monday Evening, March 6th 2006
SirShannon found hidden UMPC.com pages.
Scoble comments on the Origami.

Origami Report: Monday Morning, March 6th 2006
OrigamiPortal is back online with commentary on the new render that’s floating around.
Scoble saw the Origami.

Origami Report: Sunday, March 5th 2006
OrigamiPortal.com outage.
Scoble says he’ll see the Origami on Monday.
Great conversation over at GottaBeMobile. Dennis is asking the big question: What does the Origami you will buy NEED to have?
Info from Steve Payne and Techno-Squirrels.
More revisions on my thoughts on a good Origami feature set.

Origami Report: Saturday, March 4th 2006
ActiveNick is under NDA.
Martin of Tablet UML News is under NDA.
Paul Mooney has notes from a Microsoft presentation.
Scoble and Dennis Rice are trying to manage their own expectations.
My revised thoughts on a good Origami feature set.
I’ve given a little more thought to what I want out of the device. Also, what I don’t need.

Origami Report: Friday, March 3rd 2006
Paul Hoover, apparently from the Origami team, is asking for feedback on the Origami concept with an eye towards ebooks.

Confirmed: Origami will run Firefox!!!
My initial thoughts on what features Origami needs.
An Engadget reader pointed out that the html source code for the Origami Project web site says “Origami Project: the Mobile PC running Windows XP“.
jkOnTheRun has a ‘wrap up’ of other ultra mobile pcs.
The chron techblog references an AP story with more details.
GottaBeMobile: Origami is being demoed to educational software customers.
Tons of opinions from around the web.
Photos of Origami and UMPC.

Origami Project from Microsoft: Week 2
The second installment of the Origami Project Teaser Website is up.

Om’s on fire
The Origami plot thickens with the found video and Om chastizes Palm for not doing it first (I totally agree).

The Real Microsoft Origami?
Well, it didn’t take long for someone to find a prototype commercial for the Origami device.
Neowin’s coverage.
Link to lots of stills + mpg version of the video.

SVSleuth has a look at the short history of Origami, starting at WinHec.

OrigamiPortal just posted two great articles. Analysis of the new UMPC video and more on the details released at the Intel conference.

The CNBC video clip is online. Discussion of the video at Scoble’s!  More discussion at GizModo.

More Origami news here.

I’m still curious to see if the device will have a path to EVDO.  If it does and it’s under $900, then I’ll order it on day one.  It sounds like the first models won’t have an attached keyboard.  The swivel keyboard models will be out next year.  I’m OK with that.  Keyboard has never been on my must have list for this device and I can get a stowaway bluetooth keyboard if I find that I need one.

Some of the prototypes we’ve seen images of in the past couple of weeks and at WinHec last year had very little border around the screen.  I have to say that I prefer that look even if it makes the device a little thicker.  We’ll have to see what models are available.  There are still a ton of question marks.  Thursday is going to be crazy.