Will Microsoft do the unthinkable and field an all-in-one consumer/business ultra-portable, designed to take on Apple, Palm and maybe RIM, too? Microsoft has registered a Web site for something called "The Origami Project. From the rather cryptic video clip there, you can't tell much about what Origami is or what it will do. Guesses about Origami's origins have been all over the map.

But what we're hearing now is that Origami might be little more than a new code name for an ultra-portable device that Microsoft demonstrated last year at its Windows Hardware Engineering Conference. (Since Microsoft is continually changing code names to keep company watchers guessing, such a move would not be unprecedented.) The original "Haiku" device was described as an ultra-portable mini-Tablet when the first prototypes made their public debut. The systems, as described Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, would weigh about a pound, feature a battery that could hold a charge for a full day, and integrate a camera, a phone and a music device in a single form factor.

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Origami revealed!

Much like everyone else, I’ve been wondering what Microsoft’s Origami Project is. The speculation runs rampant but it appears that you might not have to wait a few weeks to find out what Origami truly is. Marketing firm DigitalKitchen must have the ad campaign on this one because if you hit their site and enter, click Work and then BrandTheatre, guess what you’ll find. Not just pics of the device, but a Flash-based video showing the various uses.

I won’t add to the speculation fire that’s burning and tell you what I saw. Instead, I’ll let you spend a few minutes viewing the revealing show so you can form your own conclusions. I will say this: as a new WMCE user, a TabletPC and WindowsMobile user for several years, I’m hoping what I saw in the video becomes available very soon. I’ll still be getting a new WM 5.0 phone that you can pick for me (so don’t forget to vote), but Origami is next on my list!

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