Just over a week ago, a promotional video was being passed around the Internet which showed a new device from Microsoft called Origami. It was shown performing a number of functions, including editing photos, browsing the Internet, and even playing Halo. Microsoft later said the video was a year old and was basically a test of how the product might look and might be used. Additionally, they said Halo was only used because it was a Microsoft property and no way implied that Origami was a "portable Xbox."

Indeed, the device looked more like a compact tablet PC, and that seems to be borne out by the official announcement today, dubbing it an "ultra-mobile PC", or UMPC. Gamespot reports:

The general form factor will weigh in at around two pounds and will have built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality. Each will come with an internal hard drive of between 30GB and 60GB and will sport a 7-inch touch-sensitive WGA screen. According to GameSpot sister site CNET News.com, the only price point announced was for Samsung's first-quarter UMPC, which will have a 900MHz Intel Celeron processor and will retail for around $1,200. However, another News.com report hinted that other UMPCs would retail for around $800.

The official site hints at any number of abilities, including downloading and playing music and movies wirelessly, as well as being able to essentially perform any functions your desktop PC can. Thus, Origami will most likely be capable of being used for gaming, but not any more than any other computer. Any other older computer, that is; with a 900 MHz processor and a question still in the air of what kind of GPU the system carries (or if it has one at all), you're probably not going to be carrying Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion around in your suitcase. Still, there's a wide selection of older games that would run easily on such specs, and with built-in WiFi, you can imagine the possiblities for old-school wireless LAN games on a long bus trip.

Source: Gamespot