At the CeBIT, details about Origami/UMPC are finally revealed. Asus shows an Ultra Mobile PC (still nameless), Samsung presents the Q1 and a product from Founder also can be seen.

The UMPC is mini Tablet PC with Touch screen. As operation system, the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 with additional software is used (e.g. a virtual thumb keyboard). The display is about 7” (or smaller) and shows a minimum of 800x480 points. The UMPC weighs approximately 2 pounds and is WiFI- and Bluetooth-enabled.

According to Samsung, the Q1 has 512MB Ram, weighs 780 gram (1.7 pound) and measures 9 x 5.5 x 1-inch. With a battery-life of 3.5 hours, you can play music and videos without booting Windows. As processor, the Celeron M ULC is used plus 40GB harddrive. No details about the Asus PC are known yet, however, it’s supposed to have a Webcam and one of the demo products has a GPS receiver.

THE UMPCs are supposed to come to the market within the next few months for the price of about $800.

Altogether the UMPCs appear to be an interesting concept. Whether it is enough for on-the-road Notebook replacement, will still turn out. Considering the price, it could be an alternative for those of who the PSP screen is too small for surfing.

Two years ago, Sony had already pursued a similar approach with the Vaio U. But Sony never sold the devices in Europe and the series was stopped in the meantime…
For more information check out these links:
UMPCommunity Site
Microsoft Ultra-Mobile PC Site
Live Pictures from the CeBIT (Engadget)