Origami – in search of a market?

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ITBusiness.ca  has just released a pretty brutal article on Origami / UMPC. In the article Stephen Baker, an NPD Group analyst, is quoted as saying the prices are too high, battery life isn’t sufficient, and the product definition is not sufficient.” In addition, he says that it is a product in search of a solution.

I can agree with him mostly on the battery and current pricing levels, but I totally disagree that it is a product in search of solution. Having used the LS800 for two weeks – Microsoft and Intel have a identified the problem and come up with a solution via the OEMs products.

Elliot Katz, a senior product manager of Windows Client in Canada admits, like what Microsoft has been saying from day one, “This is version one”, and that two main areas going to get improvements are: battery life and weight.

The article goes on to talk about how the products are being released prematurely and that it is bad marketing from Intel and Microsoft to do so.

What I found very telling was the closing comment from Samsung Canada:

When asked to comment on Q1, Samsung Canada made this statement: “The Q1 UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC) product announcement was made by Samsung’s Computer Division (out of Korea) at CEBIT. Samsung Electronics Canada is investigating how and if it will market the product in Canada. Currently, no formal Canadian launch date has been set.”