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Software giant Microsoft has unveiled what it hopes will be an entirely new category of PC with the launch of a paperback-sized portable known as the "ultra-mobile".

After weeks of carefully stage-managed hype over its "Project Origami", Microsoft took the wraps off "its big vision" at the CeBIT technology fair in Hanover this morning.

The company had ramped up online interest with a cryptic Origami website asking consumers "do you know me?" and "do you know what I do?". The campaign provoked speculation that Microsoft would be targeting either the Apple iPod or Sony's Playstation portable.

Instead, it hopes to create a new PC niche between the handheld and the laptop, based on its Windows operating system.

The devices, initially running a version of Windows XP, feature a seven-inch (17.8-cm) touch screen, powerful hard drives and wireless connectivity. They run on Intel Celeron M processors, are about an inch (2.5 cm) thick and weigh around 2 lb (1 kg).

Bill Mitchell, the Microsoft vice-president, said the company believed that the ultra-mobile "will eventually become as indispensable and ubiquitous as the mobile phone today".

"The Origami Project is really our first step toward achieving a big vision," he said.

Microsoft's previous efforts to create new PC categories, notably the tablet PC much promoted by the Microsoft founder Bill Gates, have produced at best mixed results and Microsoft has yet to persuade any major US manufacturer to produce the new ultra-mobiles.

Instead the first three models will all come from Asia, from Korea's Samsung, Taiwan's Asustek and from China's second largest PC-maker, Founder Group.

But if the devices - expected to retail for between $600 and $1,000 - are a success, the major US computer-makers will soon jump on the ultra-mobile bandwagon, providing the wide range of applications that are needed to make the category a success. The Samsung and Asus devices are due in the shops by next month and Founder's will follow in June.

"A lot of the early engagement we have had has been with non-traditional PC vendors, although there is a lot of interest from traditional PC vendors as well," Mr 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 vision gives the ultra-mobile a potentially large niche. Although the devices will not complete directly with the iPod or PSP, Microsoft hopes to entice gadget fans with applications such as global positioning systems, digital TV tuners and webcams. The devices can also play music vidoes and films.

They will not, however, feature keyboards - so users who want to use them for e-mail or word processing will have to either use the stylus or plug in a mini-keyboard through a USB port.

Initial reaction to the devices was positive. Michael Gartenberg, an analyst in Jupiter Research’s New York office, thought that the device had a lot of potential.

"The whole Origami concept may very well change what devices people are going to carry with them," Mr 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."

The device's main weak point appears to be its battery life, which at 2.5 hours rules out many mobile applications. Microsoft hopes to have "day-long" battery life within a few years.

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