Microsoft Courier dual-screen tablet on sale by June..?

by Julian Prokaza
on Mon 08 Mar 2010 7 Comments

We’re really not sure what the point is behind the steady stream of videos that show the Microsoft Courier in action — after all, they all clearly show computer animations of a concept rather than working prototype.

Don’t get us wrong — we’d love to see a dual-screen tablet device like this, but it’s almost impossible to imagine Microsoft shipping a finished product that worked in this way. Even so, the latest Courier news to appear does at least provide some greater definition for the Courier concept — and a supposed launch date.

We’ve known for several months that the Courier uses two 7” multi-touch screens in portrait mode that are hinged down the middle, but Engadget adds that the device is now 1” thick and weighs around 1lb. It’s also reckoned to run the Windows CE 6 core operating system (same as Windows Phone 7) and be based on the NVIDIA Tegra 2 platform, but this isn’t simply a tablet computer.

Although they don’t show much in the way of fresh information, the new images and videos do reinforce the idea of the Courier being a digital journal designed to keep track of your life rather than a general-purpose computer. The dual screens work in concert to organise your activities via calendar, note-taking and web-clipping applications, and the user interface shows no trace of Windows 7 — or Windows Phone 7, for that matter.

Engadget reckons that “Q3/Q4” is being bandied about as the launch date for Courier, but we just can’t believe it — particularly since all the information so far seems to have come from a design agency and Microsoft has yet to acknowledge the existence of this project. File this one under “We’ll believe it when we see it”…

[ Engadget]

Originally published on www.mobilecomputermag.co.uk, now incorporated into Broadband Genie

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Comments

  • neutral

    by /whine at 16:59 on 9 Mar 2010Report abuse

    Don't burst my bubble! This device is the first bit of hardware that's actually got me excited in a long, long time... =(

  • happy

    by TamaraDigi at 15:40 on 10 Mar 2010 | registered | 1 postReport abuse

    OMG – the courier looks amazing; the iPad has a serious contender on its hands. However the two products offer completely different functions, the iPad is a multimedia/entertainment tool, whilst the Courier is a ‘work friendly’ glorified notebook with multimedia capabilities. I think the progression of natural user interface technology should persuade software companies to encourage us to develop more relevant natural skills and enable new technologies. The Global Graphics Blog explains it in more detail... http://bit.ly/GlobalGraphicsBlog

  • happy

    by kanika Bhoobher Bhatia at 11:48 on 28 Mar 2010Report abuse

    I need to know the price of microsoft courier tablet and the date of lauunch in India.......Please can some1 tell me about these details?

  • happy

    by Sean Dee at 16:37 on 7 Apr 2010Report abuse

    Why cant a smart app developer replicate the functions of the courier and incorporate it all into an app he/she/they can sell as an app for the iPad. All these courier brilliancecan be replicated on the Apple iPad. Imagine if an app developer pulls this off !!! It will sell by the ton load and someone would get rich pretty quick. I hope the business minded and enterpreneuarial savvy are paying attention...

  • unhappy

    by victor salman at 06:07 on 12 Apr 2010Report abuse

    you mean like this :... ?
    http://www.fastcompany.com/1580582/microsofts-courier-is-already-doomed-a-simple-ipad-app-shows-why

    Dont think its as good as the courier can be,but im not an apple fan. Not a MS fan aether but as a Designer the courier seems all I need.

  • happy

    by Andrew McDermott at 11:22 on 14 Apr 2010Report abuse

    Said design agency is actually a Microsoft owned subsidiary and the company developing / researching the hardware / software is also Microsoft owned. This device is probably a lot closer to release than you realise.

    Oh, and to all the Apple fanboys above, who want this functionality on iPad - it's never going to happen. Jobs has already waged war on styluses and says if you need to use one you've failed. He's wrong, but his viewpoint means that Apple would simply never allow an app on their marketplace that heavily supports usage of a stylus, even if hundreds of thousands of his customers would want it (like they want Flash - we all know the story there!!)

    Personally, I think this is aimed at exactly the right market and will be a major success in creative industries, as well as for business clients who want a digital notepad with integrated functionality. I know my organisation is waiting on this in great anticipation and would order a few hundred right now if they could!

  • happy

    by jaime de leon at 01:46 on 8 Nov 2010Report abuse

    I need this product soon.

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