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Microsoft Ready to Take on the iPod?

Monday, February 27th, 2006 at 7:40 AM - by Staff

Microsoft has been working on a new project called Origami that may be geared towards taking down the iPod. According to the Wall Street Journal, Origami is a sub tablet-sized multimedia device designed to work as an ultra-portable PC. In addition to music and videos, the device will also link wirelessly to your desktop computer, cell phone, and the Internet.

Based on a promotional video that appeared on Microsoft's marketing partner for the device, Digital Kitchen, Origami acts more like a portable link to your primary computer. The video was temporarily available over the weekend. It showed people playing music, displaying photos, downloading GPS data, working with files on their PC, and sending pictures and emails.


Origami Playing Halo.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer managed to get some images from Digital Kitchen's video before it was pulled from the Web site.

Microsoft stated that the video represents a concept that it has been working on with various partners, but would not elaborate any further. It also commented that the video was produced about a year ago.

It's unclear if Origami is a proof of concept, or if it is a ready to ship product. The Origami Web site, however, teases that an announcement will be made on Thursday, March 2.

[Image courtesy the Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

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Dean Lewis said:

member since 29 Sep 2001 with 162 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Feb 27, 2006 9:52 am

I understand the need to write catchy headlines, but I think writing headlines that essentially lie is just wrong. "Take on the iPod?" This thing, from the looks of that picture, isn't even in the iPod's same class. Even the article says it is probably designed to be a "portable link to your primary computer." The thing is huge -- it may put 15,000 songs in your backpack or briefcase, but certainly not your pocket. This thing is designed to take a different segment of the market; it's not going to "take on the iPod" so the headline is just plain cruft.

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Tiger said:

member since 17 Jun 2003 with 1018 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Feb 27, 2006 10:12 am

Whoa, that thing sucks worse than a presidential intern. It's like a giant etch a sketch. Can't wear that on an armband at the gym, that's for sure.

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Biff said:

member since 08 Apr 2004 with 1479 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Feb 27, 2006 10:47 am

Ford Poised to Take on the iPod?

Ford has been working on a new project called Camaro that may be geared towards taking down the iPod. According to Motor Trend, Camaro is a four-wheeled vehicle designed to transport people from point A to point B. In addition to doors and an engine, the device will reportedly contain a radio capable of playing music, making it a potential competitor to Apple's hit iPod portable audio device.

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A guest said: (hide)

Mon Feb 27, 2006 10:57 am

A Ford Camaro? Point taken, Biff, but...a FORD Camaro?

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Brutno said:

member since 28 Aug 2002 with 198 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Feb 27, 2006 11:47 am

Anyone out here think this leak was planned? Apple is set to announce "fun new products" tomorrow. Wow, a Microsoft fun* device, supposedly in the works for over a year, suddenly surfaces. I find that peculiar and somewhat predictable.

http://www.macobserver.com/article/2006/02/21.13.shtml

* Yes, I realize that the terms "Microsoft" and "fun" are dichotomous extremes.

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Biff said:

member since 08 Apr 2004 with 1479 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Feb 27, 2006 11:58 am

Hehe. Ford and GM both suck, so who cares?

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A guest said: (hide)

Mon Feb 27, 2006 12:24 pm

That concept Camaro looks ridiculous. It'll never get built - at least not like that.

Microsoft's idea of fun: Spending the day searching for drivers while IE crashes, running Virex (or whatever the hell they use), rebooting, installing driver, rebooting, reinstalling driver after running Virex again, crash, reboot, updating device software, crashing while transferring movie to device, calling tech support, reinstalling XP, etc...

Good times!

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fo said:

member since 23 Aug 2005 with 39 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Feb 27, 2006 2:55 pm

Yeah, I would say this is more of a PSP competitor, not an iPod competitor.

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A guest said: (hide)

Mon Feb 27, 2006 3:05 pm

Biff wrote:
Hehe. Ford and GM both suck, so who cares?

I would agree with you about GM, but I think that Ford has improved over the last few years. Furthermore, I believe that they want to get even better in order to compete with Toyota. Sure they have a long way to go, but Bill Ford came out publicly a few weeks ago and said that they are committed to taking the top spot. As a Japanese auto exec said a number of years ago, it isn't the American auto worker that is the industry problem, it is the management. If I get a windfall, I am going to put some of it in Ford stock, some in Apple and the rest in the arms industry.

Okay, on topic. MicroSoft could have a competing product, they have infrastructure, brand awareness, and for some unfathomable reason they have a loyal customer base. The problem they have is goofy designers and managers that churn out "adequate", kind of parallels the US auto industry.

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A guest said: (hide)

Mon Feb 27, 2006 3:07 pm

Biff wrote:
Hehe. Ford and GM both suck, so who cares?

Hey Biff! Didn't you drive a Ford in Back to the Future.

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A guest said: (hide)

Mon Feb 27, 2006 5:16 pm

Dean Lewis wrote:
I understand the need to write catchy headlines, but I think writing headlines that essentially lie is just wrong. "Take on the iPod?" This thing, from the looks of that picture, isn't even in the iPod's same class. Even the article says it is probably designed to be a "portable link to your primary computer." The thing is huge -- it may put 15,000 songs in your backpack or briefcase, but certainly not your pocket. This thing is designed to take a different segment of the market; it's not going to "take on the iPod" so the headline is just plain cruft.

Amen. The iPodObserver headline is just plain misleading.

I wish they'd stop doing stuff like that, just makes them look cheap and 'tabloid-y'.

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LaurieF said:

member since 15 Jun 2001 with 3547 posts, TMO Forum Mod, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Feb 27, 2006 5:24 pm

Going on comments that Bill Gates and Steve Wozniak have made recently, Microsoft is keen, if not obsessed, in taking on the iPod. So, no, the headline is not misleading. It's a question - is this Microsoft's attempt to take on the iPod? It may be - it won't win. We'll have to wait until later today to find out what Apple's new fun thing is - maybe there'll be more similarity in concept.

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I am insane said:

member since 27 Feb 2006 with 1 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Feb 27, 2006 8:53 pm

The headline should be "Microsoft Ready to Take on the Newton?"

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A guest said: (hide)

Mon Feb 27, 2006 11:08 pm

Origami- n. An object made of paper in imitation of the real thing.

Like I said, it's an Etch a Sketch.

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flypod said:

member since 01 Dec 2004 with 8 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:21 am

Hey guys - It may be *huge* and *ugly*, but lets face it... It will damn sure have a *great* F'ing user interface (including every option on the planet), and "it will work with the entire MS ecosystem" that we all care so *deeply* about.

Reboots? HA! A simple shake over the head, and you are good to go again!

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A guest said: (hide)

Tue Feb 28, 2006 1:59 am

LaurieF wrote:
Going on comments that Bill Gates and Steve Wozniak have made recently, Microsoft is keen, if not obsessed, in taking on the iPod. So, no, the headline is not misleading. It's a question - is this Microsoft's attempt to take on the iPod? It may be - it won't win. We'll have to wait until later today to find out.

LOL. Take a second look at that thing and try to say that with a straight face.

Sorry, but a 'mini-tablet' ain't gonna be "takin' on" the iPod. And yes, the headline IS baseless hype and VERY misleading. End o' story.

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