What should the Origami be ?
Every geek would have by now read on the details of the Origami project by Microsoft and would have seen the branding video.
Microsoft’s new portable device.
A similar thought has been on my mind for the past few months and if I ever got a chance to talk to someone at Microsoft, I would have spoken, but things would have been slightly different.
It all started with me getting a Dell PDA which ran Windows Mobile 2003. To make it simple, a stripped down version of Windows running on an 850 Mhz processor and the thing was kick-ass. What impressed me furthur was the fact that I could use this device for more than one thing. Let me explain.
My Dell Axim
Since the PDA had 802.11b, I could browse the internet and check my mail. I did not need a laptop when I travelled anymore. Additionally, I installed Skype, which meant, I could walk around my house and talk, just like a cellphone.
With its blue tooth connection, I could pair it with my cellphone. This gave me a whole new set of options, dialling into my office to access the internet, copying pictures taken from my cellphone and using the array of devices that blue tooth offered me.
One of this was my Holux GPSlim GPS receiver. Combined with a good piece of software, I could now use the PDA as a navigation system. Pretty similar to the ones found in most modern cars, but at almost half the cost.
My Holux GPSlim GPS Receiver.
Additionally, I could store music on my SD card and use the PDA as a music player. Strategically placed keys made controls easy. All I needed was a good pair of headphones.
Given the fact that Intel had announced a much faster processor for the PDA’s in the near future, I thought Microsoft would combine all this into one.
A PDA that ran windows mobile, small, light and extremely portable.
Update MS Streets and Trips mobile version with route and voice guided navigation.
Add an inbuilt GPS receiver to the PDA and a hard disk (borrow it from the IPOD).
If possible, make it a cellphone.
So now we have a pretty small device that is a Cellphone, MP3 / Video Player, Navigation System, Portable Computer all bundled into one.
Judging from the Origami Video, MS seems to have all these features in this device. The only thing that is different is that this device is much bigger than what I was expecting.
If MS decides to shrink the device, I think it will be the IPOD killer that they have been searching for. What do you guys think ?
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