And like Paul... I am not impressed, at least yet....

The new Microsoft Site features some snazzy looking hardware, and the typical hype, but at this point, I see it as a repackaged Tablet PC. What it looks like at this point, is that Microsoft created a shell to run on top of Windows XP, and removed the keyboard.

From Microsoft's Origami Blog:

Of course XP has been out for quite some time, so did Microsoft actually announce something new? Why yes, we did. We announced the Microsoft Touch Pack which is a new set of software built exclusively for UMPCs. That means only OEMs who ship UMPCs can preinstall the Touch Pack.

The Touch Pack is made up of five main applications/features. The first is Program Launcher. It is the launching point for applications on UMPC devices and what you see in many of the marketing materials. At its simplest form, Program Launcher basically gives the user a way to easily categorize their applications to make them easier to find and easier to open on a small form factor pc. It’s also totally cool looking!

So there you have it... what's new... A Shell running on top of Windows XP Tablet Edition, not that revolutionary....

The promise of this device is if they can achieve the same small form factor, LOOOOONG battery life, (I have heard that this version has only three hours battery life), and sell for under $1000. Anything less and it is just a new Tablet form factor.

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