Transmeta (Semiconductor) (TMTA)

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So far for the speculation about Efficeon in Origami. Now, this stock can move on going to the $3-$4 range based on the successful business turnaround.

With the current specs of the first few Origami devices, I don't see anybody wanting to spend more than $500 on such a thing.


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DJ Microsoft's Proj Origami An Ultracompact PC Running XP

03/09/2006
Dow Jones News Services
(Copyright © 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)


HANOVER, Germany (AP)--After months of cryptic Web marketing and word-of-mouth hype over Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Project Origami, the company finally showed off the product Thursday: an ultracompact computer running Windows XP with a touchscreen and wireless connectivity.

It's everything a full computer or laptop is, minus the keyboard. It has a 17.8-centimeter, touch-sensitive screen that responds to a stylus or the tap of a finger.

Two models from different manufacturers are expected to hit stores shelves by spring, and Microsoft says they'll be about 2.5 centimeters thick and weigh less than 1.1 kilograms - about the size of a large paperback book.

It will run on a full version of Windows XP, the same operating system used on larger tablet PCs, and newly developed software called Windows Touch Pack will handle touchscreen 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.

"It really opens up new possibilities for PC use," Bill Mitchell, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Mobile Platforms Division, said Wednesday.

The device was unveiled Thursday at CeBIT, the annual technology trade show in Hanover during a speech by Intel Corp. (INTC) executive Christian Morales. Intel makes the Celeron M and Pentium M microprocessors that run the device.

Morales said Intel hopes to develop more chips for the device that will run faster and cooler.

So far, three companies have built working models - Samsung Corp. (000830.SE), Asus and Chinese manufacturer Founder Holdings Ltd. (0418.HK).

The device won't be called Origami. Instead, the company is marketing it as a category it's calling the ultramobile PC, said Mika Krammer, a marketing director for Microsoft's Windows mobile unit.

Though Microsoft is not manufacturing the hardware, it took a guiding role from the start.

"We've done more than just provide the software. We've built the reference designs to sort of get the category started," he said. "We had the first prototypes about nine months ago and started working with partners early on."

The Samsung and Asus devices are expected to be in stores by April, and the Founder device in June, Krammer said.

"A lot of the early engagement we have had has been with nontraditional PC vendors, although there is a lot of interest from traditional PC vendors as well," Mitchell said. "It ideally brings the best of what a Windows PC is and marries it to what the best of a very capable consumer electronic device is."

That, said David Bradshaw, a principle analyst with London-based Ovum, is key.

"I really would hope that it would be something that works," he said, adding that he had not seen one of the models. "Something that is wirelessly connected. Hopefully it will have a wide range of wireless options so that you would be able to use Wi-Fi when available or a (wirelesss) carrier's network if you can afford to pay through the nose."

Krammer said device is expected to retail for $600-$1,000.

Michael Gartenberg, an analyst in Jupiter Research's New York office, said he thinks the device has potential.

"The whole Origami concept may very well change what devices people are going to carry with them," Gartenberg said. "It's not a pocketable device, but it's certainly small enough to be kept close at hand, and the fact that it runs Windows means that it can do a variety of tasks, from productivity to games to media consumption."

Web site: http://www.origamiproject.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-09-06 0600ET

Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.