[From Mike Cane] OK, so Samsung has revealed its Q1 Origami UMPC and some enticing details have emerged:
1) Media player that is *instant on* and does *not* require a full XP boot
2) Customized XP interface for stylus optimization
Well! For all those snarkers who pooh-poohed this as Just More OQO -- OQO has neither! As compelling as I found OQO to be when I fondled it, I wasn't pleased by having to navigate the traditional XP desktop interface. It's just inefficient. It seems MS has renewed XP's face for Origami! I also wasn't keen on the wee size of the screen (same as the Nokia 770) -- it straightjackets the net and makes everything too damned small.
I love the instant-on media player. If it really *is* that, it'll be great. I see many people carrying
portable DVD players in NYC (believe it or not!) -- these people will switch to Origami. (Especially
after they learn of -- cough!cough! -- P2P!)
The one thing I haven't yet read about the Q1: hard disk size. Given that it's 2x the size of an OQO, I'm hoping it can use iPod-class HDs -- which would mean a *60 or 80GB* HD, not the dinky 30 of the OQO or 40 of the DualCor!
One gadget site said there's no market for UMPCs. That proclamation will go down as one of the dumbest predictions of 2006. I expect UMPCs to have sales above those of PDAs this year.
Just add on top of that Engadget have a piccie of the possible Samsung device.