p2p news / p2pnet: Origami device docked to a desktop PC. Undocked device controlling a PC by remote control. A standard-sized keyboard can be used. Use the stylus to make it a drawing tablet. In the car, it’s a navigation aid. It plays “Halo,” too.

Are these the key features in a hand-held, touch-screen Wi-Fi mobile Bill and the Boyz promise will, “change your life”?

The “change” statement comes on an Origami project web page and, “Much like everyone else, I’ve been wondering what Microsoft’s Origami Project is,” says the Kevin 2.0 blog, going on:

“The speculation runs rampant but it appears that you might not have to wait a few weeks to find out what Origami truly is.”

That’s because when you surf over to the Origami site, it takes you through a teaser presentation which doesn’t say much beyond, We’ll tell you more on Thursday.

But Kevin 2.0 points out that DigitalKitchen, “must have the ad campaign on this one because if you hit their site and enter, click Work and then BrandTheatre, guess what you’ll find. Not just pics of the device, but a Flash-based video showing the various uses.”

Microsoft, “acknowledged that the video generally reflects ‘a concept we’ve been working on with partners’,” says the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

“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.”

Is the mobile a Microsoft-branded media player meant to go up against Apple’s iPod?

“Several commentators suggested the device would be a Microsoft-branded media player aimed at competing with the Apple iPod,” says the New York Times. “Microsoft has had little success in using its conventional model of rallying branded hardware makers around its software and services to create a compelling alternative to Apple’s combination of the iPod and the iTunes music store.

“A number of industry analysts said that Microsoft, which has traditionally generated little suspense with its product announcements, was trying to steal a page from Apple Computer’s playbook by fueling anticipation with secrecy.”

Also See:
blog- Origami video: the real deal?, February 25, 2006
Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Microsoft mystery device is like iPod, and then some, February 27, 2006
New York Times - Is Microsoft Dropping Cryptic Hints About a New Gadget?, February 27, 2006

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