Microsoft Scraps Dual-Screen Tablet, the Courier
Microsoft has reportedly scrapped its Courier dual-screen tablet completely.
Microsoft's dual-screen tablet was first uncovered by Gizmodo back in September of last year. Packing two 7-inch (ish) displays that were connected by a hinge, the device incorporated a mix of capacitive and resistive touch. In an odd move for a company who has yet to confirm a product, or even comment on reports regarding the product, Microsoft kind of confirmed the Courier in a job posting that mentioned the device by name and linked to an article on Engadget which contained what it claimed were exclusive pictures and videos of the product. The posting was soon edited but not soon enough.
MSFT job listing (prior to editing):
"Do you already know everything about Project Natal and the Cloud? Is Blaise Aguera y Arcas' jaw-dropping TED talk on augmented-reality Bing Maps and Photosynth last month's news? Then check out some of the online chatter surrounding new releases of Window Phone 7 series handsets, Internet Explorer 9 and the upcoming Courier digital journal."
While some would see this as a clear confirmation that the Courier is real and on the way, it looks like we may never see the dual-screen tablet. Gizmodo cites sources familiar with the matter who say Microsoft execs informed the internal team that had been working on the tablet device that the project would no longer be supported.
When contacted by Giz, Microsoft's Corporate VP of Communications Frank Shaw had the following statement:
At any given time, we're looking at new ideas, investigating, testing, incubating them. It's in our DNA to develop new form factors and natural user interfaces to foster productivity and creativity. The Courier project is an example of this type of effort. It will be evaluated for use in future offerings, but we have no plans to build such a device at this time.
Though the Courier had never been mentioned by Microsoft in public (the above slip up aside), a lot of people will be disappointed that this project has been scrapped.
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If those are 7" screens, then that must be a 7" pen. Dontthinkso...
If those are 7" screens, then that must be a 7" pen. Dontthinkso...
It's a concept render for a scrapped concept product. Hardly an issue now.
So apple won again? The iPad sold so good that it scared of all competition? HP has canceled it's slate, now MS? Hmmmm... God for apple I guess.
Since when did HP cancel the Slate?
Although having it Atom-powered was a mistake I reckon, so I ultimately I don't think we'll miss it. Say what you will about the iPad, its CPU is powerful enough to do what the iPad's designed to do. The Atom isn't powerful enough really to do what the Slate was designed to do.
I hope another company figures out the benefits of a pad computer that folds like a book to make it more portable friendly. The applications to this are amazing. If you had one screen that was foldable and no break in the middle you could open it out fully or use it like you would a book, split screen to each page, especially if you decided you wanted to read an ebook on it.