Hardware
Gizmodo Reporting Microsoft is Canceling Courier
According to a Gizmodo report, Microsoft is canceling the Courier Tablet project. Gizmodo apparently confirmed the is with Microsoft as quoted below.
We contacted Microsoft, who confirmed that Courier will not go into production. Microsoft Corporate VP of Communications Frank Shaw told us:
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.
This is going to come as a big disappointment to many here at GBM and Tablet lovers everywhere. The Microsoft Courier certainly looked like one heck of an innovative product in the concept videos we’ve all drooled over.
More as we get it.
Sumocat
04/29/2010 at 3:07 pm
Guess they were just tired of all the inquiries they couldn’t answer. Still, not like it was ever scheduled, so it can’t really be canceled either. At most, it’s simply not scheduled for release.
Joe
04/29/2010 at 3:35 pm
Very disappointing, in my opinion, especially since it looks like the HP Slate might not have a pen either (though no confirmation either way, just no pen silo on the leaked ‘review unit’ that has since been pulled).
boort
04/29/2010 at 3:41 pm
WTF? O_O
im still waiting for it!
kati42
04/29/2010 at 4:33 pm
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Seriously – I’ve been obsessing over this device, checking for news every day or two. I’d have paid quite the premium for it if it was similar to the videos. I so want a dual-screen pen-enabled multi-touch device.
Sigh.
David Howard
04/29/2010 at 5:34 pm
Too bad, the YouTube videos make it look cool. I am disappointed that Microsoft could have contributed to great tablets years ago and basically handed it to the iPad. Even Fujitsu appears to have dropped out of the pen based tablet market.
Loren Heiny
04/29/2010 at 6:18 pm
The Courier prototypes looked quite sharp. I look forward to the day when dual screens like this are pulled together in some cohesive way.
Until Microsoft steps up with a rich dual screen experience itself, it looks like we should watch the OEMs to lead the way. There’s the forthcoming HP Slate (single screen) but also don’t forget the dual display demo units shown in past years at CES (like the forthcoming MSI unit too). There’s still hope.
Stuart
04/29/2010 at 7:00 pm
I just wonder if HP might have been a partner to produce Courier and since they acquired Palm that might have hastened the demise/announcement.
Jonathan
04/29/2010 at 7:05 pm
MS one word: Lame.
Joe
04/29/2010 at 7:16 pm
Honestly, I bet the reason that they cancelled it has nothing to do with HP or Palm or any of that stuff, it’s probably just that they couldn’t get it as well integrated as it was in the videos, and they knew it’d fail with that being the case.
I’d bet even if we don’t EVER see a Courier device, that some of this stuff makes it out in some form or another at some point.
tabletenvy
04/29/2010 at 11:26 pm
Perhaps the money is in media consumption, rather than productivity.
Or more likely, they just couldn’t get the bloody thing to work.
SAM
04/29/2010 at 11:52 pm
I liked the idea of this computer.
I have just read that the HP slate has also been cancelled
GoodThings2Life
04/30/2010 at 5:08 am
WTF @ the tablet news today?! Ludicrous!
WellThen
04/30/2010 at 8:20 am
I was really looking forward to the Courier. I run a Microsoft household (WHS, 3 tablets, 2 WinMobile phones, etc.) so I’m not an Apple guy, but I wonder if after seeing the speed of the UI on the iPad, MS felt like they would not be able to reasonably compete in this space.