Microsoft Courier Tablet: Bursting the Apple Tablet’s Bubble?
By mikepayne
Microsoft Courier Tablet – After months of speculation and homegrown renderings of a possible Apple Tablet, Microsoft surprised the tech world with the revelation of the Microsoft Courier Tablet. Microsoft’s Courier Tablet is a dual-screen, multi-touch tablet designed to manage our lives, our media and our interaction with others. More of a booklet than a tablet, this leather-bound dual-screen system folds into itself for transport and folds apart for use. The Courier Tablet can be used both as a multi-touch device and a stylus-controlled writer at the same time, providing a new style of human interface for mid-scale mobile computing.
Beyond the hardware renderings below, the Microsoft Courier Tablet has a strong focus on software. Courier appears to be an operating system unto itself, as evidenced by the deep levels of utility displayed in the Courier Walkthrough Video below. This is not just a concept on paper, as the Courier Tablet has entered the late stages of prototyping. Expect much news about the Microsoft Courier Tablet in the future, and until any hard facts are known about Apple’s own tablet, it’s likely that Courier is king of the tablet world from this day on.
Microsoft Courier Tablet Walkthrough Video
Microsoft Courier Tablet Images
Microsoft Courier Tablet Gallery
Microsoft Courier Tablet Link Roundup
- Courier: First Details of Microsoft’s Secret Tablet [gizmodo]
- Microsoft Courier tablet prototype reminds us of Codex [arstechnica]
- Microsoft’s dual-screen Courier booklet emerges, isn’t near production [engadget]
- Microsoft Courier: the Apple tablet just got bumped into second place [crunchgear]
- Courier: A Collaborative Phone-Based File Exchange System [microsoft research]
- In contrast, here is a roundup of Apple Tablet design concepts [mashable]
Microsoft Courier Tablet vs. Apple Tablet Poll
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Thursday, September 24, 2009 10:31AM
[...] under the alias “Pretty Boy.” (That was following the unveiling of Microsoft’s “Courier” tablet under the name “Paperboy.”) Why all the secrecy? Because an inside source is leaking [...]
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 11:33PM
Well sure, this sounds familiar. But it will be interesting to see if, this Courier Tablet, like every other product that runs a Microsoft OS will be accompanied with the usual slew of high maintenance baggage and usability frustrations. Windows Mobile was and still is hopelessly behind every other major mobile platform. I had a Windows Mobile 5.0 then 6.0 device before I finally switched to the iPhone. I don't have any religious views on this (Win Vs Mac etc.), I just want a product to work well. Purely from a user's perspective — there is simply no comparison with the iPhone, which provides a vastly improved user experience in almost every aspect that I think of. The Courier tablet looks great, sounds promising, and I'm sure many will be happy with it. Speaking for myself, I will never buy another Microsoft OS based device; I'll be more than happy to wait to try out the Apple product when its available, and yes — will gladly and with confidence pay a premium for it. I've learned the hard way that great products come only from companies with a proven track record of producing quality, and that vastly superior user experience comes at a premium, but a premium that's very often if not always well worth paying for.
Friday, November 20, 2009 4:53PM
I'm sure it made people at apple shudder a little…I doubt they can top that. I use a mac laptop, yea', but the Courier? wow. I hope Microsoft does the hardware aspect too, not JUST do the software and outsource the hardware to the likes of HP and Dell….If they do, at least set standards.
Cool product.
Thursday, December 10, 2009 4:10PM
[...] “Year of the Tablet Rumor”. Joining the unrelenting rumors about the Apple tablet and Microsoft Courier, Dell is apparently busy preparing a tablet that will reportedly be displayed at CES 2010. Though [...]
Thursday, April 29, 2010 3:53PM
[...] Microsoft product that never was. The Courier, a device that was originally broken by Gizmodo last fall, has been canceled according to two sources the blog consulted with.Gizmodo quotes [...]