Panasonic flat-screen TVs are among the technological wizardry on display at the CeBIT fair in Hanover, Germany.

Kai Uwe Knoth / The Associated Press

More Photos (1):

Other articles by Matt Moore:

TECH TEST : Swann's camera pen lets you play spy Publisher plans print version of Wikipedia Report: Lynndie England sorry for Abu Ghraib scandal, blames media for resulting firestorm '.xxx' is rejected as Internet porn address Scissor Sisters' follow-up keeps quintet's kitsch complete, for now AOL Germany selling its Net access Relaxed laws during World Cup permit later shopping hours Siemens, Nokia in network venture Freed journalist rejects 'propaganda' statements Adidas, Reebok team up to go one-on-one vs. Nike

Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President

HANOVER, Germany — Whether it's a giant flat-panel TV screen, cell phone with enormous storage capacity, or tiny PC with full laptop functions, visitors to the CeBIT tech fair are hit with the message that bigger is better — even though it might come in a smaller package.

The show's opening-day buzz Thursday was clearly owned by Microsoft Corp., which unveiled its Project Origami to be an ultracompact personal computer.

With three working models built by Microsoft partners Samsung, Founder and Asus, the four companies drew big crowds — and even German Chancellor Angela Merkel — to see the device in action.

The ultracompact, wireless-enabled PC is everything a full computer or laptop is, minus the keyboard. Weighing about 2 1/2 pounds, the 1-inch thick device sports a 7-inch touch-sensitive screen that responds to a stylus or the tap of a finger.

"It really opens up new possibilities for PC use," said Bill Mitchell, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Mobile Platforms Division.

So far, Samsung, Asus and the Chinese manufacturer Founder have built working models. The first are expected to be available by April.

The gadgets, however, won't be called Origami — the name used in Microsoft's cryptic Web-based marketing campaign that led up to the unveiling.

Instead, the company is calling it the "Ultra-Mobile PC," said Mika Krammer, a marketing director for Microsoft's Windows mobile unit.

It will run the same operating system used on notebook computers known as tablet PCs, and newly developed software called Windows Touch Pack will handle touch-screen functions. Future editions will support Windows Vista, a version of Microsoft's flagship operating system that's due out in the second half of this year.

Though Microsoft is not manufacturing the hardware, it took a guiding role from the start.

"We've done more than just provide the software. We've built the reference designs to sort of get the category started," Krammer said. "We had the first prototypes about nine months ago and started working with partners early on."

Mitchell said, "It ideally brings the best of what a Windows PC is and marries it to what the best of a very capable consumer electronic device is."

That, said analyst David Bradshaw, is key.

"I really would hope that it would be something that works," he said, adding that he had not seen the models.

"Something that is wirelessly connected. Hopefully it will have a wide range of wireless options so that you would be able to use Wi-Fi when available or a (wireless) carrier's network if you can afford to pay through the nose."

Krammer said device is expected to retail for $600 to $1,000.

Origami, Mitchell said, supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless technology.

For users who don't want to jot down notes with the stylus, the Origami has a built-in program called Dial Keys that splits a standard QWERTY keyboard into pie shapes on the lower corners of the screen so that input can typed — or thumbed in.

The battery power averages about 2.5 to three hours, and it will have up to a 60-gigabyte hard drive.

Mitchell said the device is aimed at consumers who want to have the full power of a PC while on the go but don't want to lug around a heavy laptop or desktop PC.

"We think that for most people, this is more of a replacement for the classic consumer electronic devices that they're buying with disposable income," he said.

Michael Gartenberg, an analyst in Jupiter Research's New York office, said he thinks the device has potential.

"The whole Origami concept may very well change what devices people are going to carry with them," Gartenberg said. "It's not a pocketable device, but it's certainly small enough to be kept close at hand, and the fact that it runs Windows means that it can do a variety of tasks, from productivity to games to media consumption."

Elsewhere at the show, exhibits ranged from the futuristic displays by mobile-phone makers Nokia and Sony Ericsson to an entertainment-oriented setup by Samsung.

South Korea's Samsung brought a host of new or improved devices, including a mobile phone featuring a built-in 10-megapixel camera — 2 megapixels more than its top offering last year.

Then there was its cell phone that features an 8-gigabyte hard drive for storing tons of photos or music.

The phone is set to go on sale in South Korea by June with a rollout in other markets later this year. To store photos, it features MMC micro memory cards of varying sizes.

Taiwan's BenQ Siemens brought a massive display of its phones.

Many visitors were drawn to the company's EF51, a small, square box that looked more like an MP3 player than a cell phone.

A flip of the lower half of the case revealed the key pad. The device plays music, too.

The phone is expected to be out soon, but the price has not been set.

For fans of home theater, several companies showed off the latest in big-screen TVs. Really big.

Samsung showed off its 102-inch flat-screen television, but just a few steps down Panasonic went even bigger — 103 inches. It displayed a lifelike video from the East Village Opera set in New York City with scenes of the Staten Island ferry.