Intel shows Origami-like device

So this is what all the fuss was about? The leaked promotional videos looked cool, but the reality falls a little flat.

Sure, who wouldn't want a lightweight, all-in-one "lifestyle" computer? I'd sure like a portable device that could do everything from Web-surfing to e-mail to GPS-enabled driving directions to games to music.

Oh wait, I already have that. It's called a Pocket PC. OK, the Origami would have been a full-fledged PC, something my iPaq is definitely not.

But the prototype device mentioned in the Cnet story gets just three hours of battery life, making it not too much more useful than today's Tablet PCs. The coolest Origami device Intel is showing gets just fifteen minutes!

Intel predicts all-day battery life within a couple of years, but lets get real. Laptops haven't increased capacity much in the last 20 years. And for Origami to be a breakthrough device, it would have to last a long time between charges. I mean, mobility is the whole point, right?

Microsoft isn't officially revealing Origami until Thursday, so maybe there's something more to it. Let's hope so.