Microsoft’s Courier device got the whole tech-world buzzing when it first appeared last September, with many people speculating that such a device, with such a innovative interface, could never be brought to market.
Now though, Engadget have laid their hands on one and it looks like there could be a real prospect of consumers being able to buy one after all.
It’s an interesting concept, a kind of digital notebook designed around handwritten notes and scribbles. The dual-screen format allows you to ‘grab’ images from websites and be creative in all sorts of ways. As well as supporting handwriting recognition, there will be the now obligatory multi-touch support and it will work as both an e-reader and media player.
Engadget say…
it’s designed to be seriously portable: it’s under an inch thick, weighs a little over a pound, and isn’t much bigger than a 5×7 photo when closed. That’s a lot smaller than we expected — this new picture really puts it into perspective — and the internals apparently reflect that emphasis on mobility: rather than Windows 7, we’re told the Courier is built on Tegra 2 and runs on the same OS as the Zune HD, Pink, and Windows Mobile 7 Series, which we’re taking to mean Windows CE 6.
This machine has, for some time now, been hailed as the tablet to rule them all and if it really does come to market, the iPad should step aside and admit defeat. With a proposed launch date projected for later in 2010 I’ll certainly be saving up to buy one.
More screen shots are below with even more still at Engadget.
