The Skinny on the Xbox Going Portable If you are an Xbox or Xbox 360 fanatic, you are probably familiar with the ongoing rumors that the Xbox will soon be going portable. Although the Xbox 360 presented an impressive array of details and accessories that allow it to go completely wireless, the issue of true portability is another can of worms altogether. So what's the deal? Is the Xbox truly going portable? Well yes, and no. The truth is that Microsoft has not released any official reports about the Xbox itself going portable. Instead, the focus is shifting to another secret Microsoft project. The project is known as the Origami Project. The Origami Project has to do with a device that Microsoft is developing that will operate as a working PC and a gaming console. It makes sense that there would be some conclusion. After all, Microsoft's gaming tour de force resulted in the now mega popular Xbox and Xbox 360 gaming console systems. It should come as no surprise, then, that when analysts hear of a portable gaming console being developed by Microsoft, their minds automatically turn to the possibility of another Xbox game system. After months of speculation and teasing on behalf of Microsoft, they finally released the news: the Origami Project consists primarily of a portable PC with limited gaming capability. So the prospect of a truly portable Xbox video game console system is out of the picture, at least for now. Now it has become clearer exactly what the Origami is designed to do. The Origami has been described as an 'ultra mobile PC' that is as small in size as a paperback book. The Origami is being designed with a certain class of consumers in mind: those who have rejected the too bulky design of most laptops in the past. The Origami presents some very impressive features. For instance, it comes loaded with an ultra touch sensitive screen that will run the Windows PC program. Better yet for most consumers, the Origami will most likely be offered to consumers at a lower price than they would expect to pay for a full-size laptop. It is estimated that the price of the Origami system will range somewhere between $500 and $1000. The price of the Origami is what tipped off many analysts and gamers that the Origami was definitely not a portable version of the Xbox video game console system. The prices announced were just too low. Some critics have argued that the relatively low retail price of the Origami is indicative of its major failings. According to some analysts, the Origami simply tries too hard to do too much, and because of this, it fails to stand up against other products that do a better job on their own. For instance, the Origami is capable of playing popular Xbox video game titles such as Halo because of the presence of a high-end graphics chip. However, the Origami does not provide users with a whole lot of space to store their games, and the graphics and sound are definitely compromised. The Origami also strives to act as digital music player, but is far outdone by rival music players such as the Apple iPod. However, as a portable PC that can play music, share photos, play video games, and which you can use as a DVD player, it fares well. This is especially true in light of its very affordable retail price tag. Just don't think of it as a portable Xbox video game console system because the Origami was
simply not designed to offer the high definition quality of the Xbox and Xbox 360 video game console systems.