learnandteachonline.com

Engadget has more on Origami. Turns out it's a teeny tablet PC that will run XP. Looking at the video I see now that it's quite a big larger than an Archos.

The Internet is wild with talk about it. I don't usually get that excited about gadgets but I think the physical scale is important for publishers. A device this size will make it possible for people to read books and longer articles while curled up in bed, or in my -- I mean, their -- big overstuffed armchair with a blankie. In other words, it's like a book.

You might argue that Origami and its inevitable sizealikes will fail because the RocketBook did. Rocket was just too early. Besides, it wasn't a PC in the bargain.

Think about it. The ability for a reader to take in actual paragraphs could change the nature of online content. All the best usability folks say people don't read online, they skim. Web writers have learned to say it short, preferably in quick sentences or bullets, but now that could all change.

Or more likely we'll evolve to having a continuum of content types for different device types and states of mind: starting from ultra simple and quick word and graphics for web pages viewed on cell phones... through a middle ground of essentially what we have today... up to copy prepared for leisurely digestion.