Nevermind the iPad, I’ll Wait for the Courier

After watching the drama unfold this week around Apple’s iPad, as shiny and sleek as it is, I’m still holding out to see what comes of the rumored Courier tablet from Microsoft (video above with diggnation commentary). I definitely dig the more tactile-seeming interface of the Courier and how the two displays seem to be able to work in tandem for link/share/clip tasks.

There’s also an earlier video (below) which seems to suggest a very early -stage protoype of the Courier concept called Codex. Of course, this just inflates my hope that Courier is indeed real and will be available in the near future. We’ll see.

6 Comments

  1. i like what the Dell guy was saying.

    Microsoft has a lot of catching up to do. With the 140,000 apps that the iPad can run off of plus the apps currently being made for the iPad…you already have a solid, reliable app store and device (from what we’ve seen from the success of iPhone.

    Since the iPad is much larger and open to more development and possibilities (such as the introduction of ebooks and the iBookstore), I believe it will an amazing device seeing that the iPhone, though many thought at its release that it would fail (along with the touchscreen keyboard and interface) is by far the best smartphone of its kind.

  2. that rendering or concept of the Microsoft Courier looks nice but looks a bit complicated.

    Remember, Microsoft has never been too successful with its Windows on mobile devices. It’s interface isn’t too user-friendly, it drains battery fast, and isn’t appealing to someone who is computer-illiterate.

    Microsoft needs to stop taking Windows and cramming it into a smaller device. They need to have a separate operating system for mobiles as a whole….not run a whole OS on a tiny device.

  3. I certainly think that the Courier isn’t meant to be an iPad/iPhone or even eBook killer by any means. The demo video seems to target a very specific demographic which is very interesting.

    As for the interface, Microsoft had indeed done a poor job with their mobile devices in the past. Their presentation of this UI makes me hopeful that they are trying to break out of that by making extensive use of gestures and conventions like pie menus, which seem to me much more efficient and intuitive than their previous platforms by far.

    My first thought when I saw the video was how the demo was very similar to how I use my laptop and IRL notebook in conjunction. I’d be very excited to have a way to integrate these tools into one device that can access the Cloud where the majority of my resources are already stored.

  4. Microsoft’s Journal for windows 7 shows a lot of potential for handwriting recognition. If they have it for the Courier as well as a seamless integration with my PC, I’m sold! I’m not a bandwagon fan for anyone by the way, I just go with whatever works.

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