The Origami Prototypes Are Not (Too) Impressive

The Apple oozing mystery Microsoft has shrouded its Origami project in has begun to unravel once Intel showcased some of prototypes, which are part of the Microsoft-Intel project.

CNET News.com got their hands on some devices presented at Intel Developer Forum, but were not impressed with what they saw.

"Hoping for one portable machine that could handle video, audio, photos, word processing, games and Web access, many technophiles were disappointed with what we saw. And if Microsoft is working toward a device like this, it's taking baby steps to get there," the CNET editors wrote.

The prototypes presented at the Intel Developer Forum featured touch-screen displays, x86 processors and weighed approximately 907 grams. Another disappointment was the price. Microsoft initially announced a $500 price tag, but it seems that figure is somewhere near $1000.

In addition, the battery life for these devices was three hours, which is not enough to satisfy the users' power-hungry needs.

Not even the bloggers are impressed with the creation showcased by Intel, the device lacking the features that would enable it to replace any current devices.

Here's what Robert Scobble, a Microsoft employee, writes on his blog:

"It's not an iPod killer. It's not a portable Xbox. It's not an OQO killer. It's not a PSP killer. It's not a Nokia N90 killer either. It's not a Treo 700w killer. Hey, PalmAddicts, it's not a Palm killer either."

Tomorrow at CeBit, Microsoft will shed more light into the cryptic Origami universe, but there are many who are wondering if this will turn out to be a major Microsoft-Intel failure.