The kerfuffle over the so-called Origami project, a rumored portable media and computing device supposedly about to be revealed by Microsoft, continues. Taking a page from the Apple handbook, the buzz and accompanying lack of hard facts about the supposed device have been lighting up the tech blogosphere all week, and have been fed by Microsoft as well as others, as evidenced by the Origami tag's top spot on Technorati at the moment. Gizmodo is piecing it together from bits of component information, based on reports from Engadget, so the blogerati really are eating their own dogfood at the moment.

What is conjectured about Origami is that it is a portable, "tablet-like" device bigger than a media player but seemingly smaller than a tablet. It is so hot at the moment because of the rapidly evolving portable media and wireless device spaces. An idea that seemed crappy a year or two ago has now found a window of opportunity. Having said that, most Microsoft hardware is underwhelming, and tablet devices that are overly computing-centric have not done well. If it does come to pass, however, it may be another step in the wireless media boom that is underway, providing a bigger form factor device on which to consume video, do some gaming, check maps, etc. Now if we can just get some WiMax around here to connect it.

The "reveal" is rumored to coincide with CeBIT, by the way.