Microsoft Origami Devices - Will you buy it?

Microsoft has officially unveiled its Origami project. It's a middle-ground device sitting between PDA and notebook. It can play media, enable gaming and allow people to store personal information, access the Internet or download photos from a flash storage card. I personally think it's similar to the ultra-small notebook Sony launched a few years ago.

Samsumg Q1 Origami Handheld
Samsung is the first to launch the Origami platform "ultramobile PC". The Q1 is finished with the same sort of shiny black plastic that is used for the PlayStation Portable. It is based on an Intel Celeron M processor running at 900 MHz. It has 512MB of memory and a 40GB hard drive. There are wired and wireless LAN adapters, Bluetooth networking, and a Compact Flash card slot that could be used for other types of modems. It can be controled by buttons and its 800-by-480-resolution (Widescreen VGA) touch-screen. The price of it will be US$1,190 (NZD$1,800) when it goes on sale in Europe.

Will you buy it? I think it's too expensive for me. If the price could drop to under NZD$1,000, I believe lots of people will start to think about it.

For now, we have the Archos AV700 media player in the market. It also has a 40GB or 100GB hard drive and 7" colour screen for watching movies from various formats, including MPEG-4. It can also record your TV programme like a DVD/hard drive recorder and play on the move (of course you can also play it back on your TV). Click here for more information and pricing.