Microsoft's Origami Announced

CNN reports on Microsoft's Origami project that has been hinted at of the past couple of weeks.

As expected, the Origiami Project reveals a paperback book sized portable computer.

Lighter than two pounds with a seven-inch touch-screen, the new "ultra-mobile" PCs (UMPCs) use microprocessors from Intel Corp and run a modified version of Microsoft's Windows XP Tablet PC edition.

Samsung is slated to ship one of the first of the UMPCs in April. The new portables are designed to connect to the internet wirelessly and contain full-sized hard drives. Target prices appear to be between $599-$999. Samsung is featuring the device "as a handheld organizer, an MP3 portable music player, a mobile television receiver, a games device and a notebook PC".

Full-sized Tablet PCs have previously been met with disappointing sales. While there have been several rumors of the years of an Apple branded Tablet Mac, few reliable rumors have been circulating recently. A number of Tablet Mac patents filed by Apple over the past couple of years has sparked a lot of interest and speculation from Apple on their potential interest in this market.More: Other photos of UMPCs and Microsoft's UMPC site