Microsoft Courier – the next generation mobile gadget?

There have been rumors of a hinged device that would combine characteristics of netbooks, tablets and ebook-readers all in one device, called the Microsoft Courier. For now, few details are known, but we’ll just gather them in this post and we’ll update it once we find newer interesting details.

Form factor and design

Like i said above, the Courier is going to be a hinged device that will offer two different multi-touch 7 inch displays in a book form factor. When closed, the device will be pretty compact, weighing around 1 lbs and measuring around 5 x 7 x 1 inch.

There will be no physical keyboard, as the device will rely entirely on touch-controls. In fact, the entire interface will be built around sketching, drawing and making different actions with the special stylus included in the package. But you will of course be able to do anything with your fingers also.

Microsoft Courier - is this the next gen portable gadget?

Hardware and operating system

The device will be built on Nvidia’s Tegra 2 platform, thus allowing good multimedia capabilities and excellent power consumption ratio. There is no info on storage, amount of memory, etc.

We know that the Courier will offer Wi-Fi connectivity and a 3 MPx camera on the back, but we don’t know whether is going to offer 3G, Bluetooth or a webcam.

The entire platform will be based on the new Microsoft Windows 7 Mobile operating system. Cloud applications will have a big role too.

Purpose and applications

Since the early rumors regarding the Courier, Microsoft claimed this a is device built for entertainment and personal activities management. Watching movies, surfing the web, reading books, listening to music, socializing online with your friends, organizing your daily activities, putting up different projects with your friends, these are its purposes.

Also, Microsoft calls this device an Infinite Journal, where you can take all kind of notes and make all kind of sketches (there will be an advances digital handwriting recognition application, hopefully one that can actually be used, not like others I’ve seen before), plus get content from all over the net and save it in your notes (via some smart Clip and Paste functions).

The videos below should show more info on the interface and the useful functions we’re going to find on this device:

And a second one:

At the moment

At the moment all we have on Microsoft Courier are generated images and videos on the interface. However, according to Engadget, the folks at Microsoft are not far from the first actual prototypes. So expect real photos and more details in the near future.

Early computer generated mockups of the Courier are available for now

Of course, right now we know nothing on prices, availability, etc. Although some say Microsoft is planning to launch the Courier in the second part of 2010, probably just in time for the winter sales period (we should see it for Cyber Monday 2010) and that actually makes a lot of sense.

So stay tuned, I’ll update this post as i find more interesting details on the Microsoft Courier. And don’t hesitate to comment if you have something to say.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Tags: Microsoft Courier, touch tablet, Windows 7 Mobile

Last updated: March 8, 2010 | Published: March 8th, 2010 | Add the first comment!