Microsoft unveils 'Origami,' a small mobile PC

updated 1:51 p.m. ET March 9, 2006

HANOVER, Germany - Microsoft Corp. finally took the wraps off its mysterious Project Origami on Thursday, unveiling a computer that’s about the size of a large paperback book but runs a full version of the Windows XP operating system.

The ultracompact, wireless-enabled PC is everything a full computer or laptop is, minus the keyboard. Weighing about 2 1/2 pounds, the 1-inch thick device sports a 7-inch touch-sensitive screen that responds to a stylus or the tap of a finger.

“It really opens up new possibilities for PC use,” said Bill Mitchell, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Mobile Platforms Division.

The gadget was unveiled Thursday at CeBIT, the annual technology trade show in Hanover during a speech by Intel Corp. executive Christian Morales. Intel makes the Celeron M and Pentium M microprocessors that power the devices.

So far, three companies — Samsung, Asus and the Chinese manufacturer Founder — have built working models. The first are expected to be available by April.

The gadgets, however, won’t be called Origami — the name used in Microsoft’s cryptic Web-based marketing campaign that led up to the unveiling. (MSNBC.com is a Microsoft - NBC joint venture.)

Instead, the company is calling it the “Ultra-Mobile PC,” said Mika Krammer, a marketing director for Microsoft’s Windows mobile unit.

It will run the same operating system used on notebook computers known as tablet PCs, and newly developed software called Windows Touch Pack will handle touch-screen functions.

Future editions will support Windows Vista, a version of Microsoft’s flagship operating system that’s due out in the second half of this year. Krammer said the device is expected to retail for between $600 and $1,000.

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