Steve Ballmer might have no idea what's going on with the
Microsoft Courier tablet, but a new set of documents leaked to
Gizmodo certainly suggests the product is more than just a
couple videos the boss-man hasn't seen. The images detail the Courier's unique user interface, which draws on everything from multitouch gestures to pen-based handwriting recognition. The heart of the interface appears to be the Smart Agenda, pictured above, which pulls together all your disparate content like calendar entries, emails, and to-dos into one unified starting place, described as "Cliff Notes" to the Pagestream "novel." The journal itself appears to be searchable by all kinds of data, including time, location, and tags, and it's all accessed by a special multi-button pen. There's also a camera and an offhand mention of "boos and subscriptions," so it sounds like whoever was dreaming this all up considered using the Courier as an ebook reader as well -- which would be totally sweet, given the types of annotations you could do. Of course, none of this is real yet, but we're hoping against hope -- please, Mr. Steve, make our holiday dreams come true?
posted Nov 4th 2009 1:51PM
Wow, it's looking pretty good.
I'm already saving my pennies.....
Is it weird that I skimmed "pennies" as "penis"?
Did the same by skimming your avatar ;)
I hope it folds in half so that it can be held with one hand and written on with the other on one of the screens.
your penis? ouch!
Yeah, because "pen computing" was such a huge hit the last time around.
Computers without keyboards are cumbersome pains in the ass. It's been proven repeatedly.
@Information Central
This isn't a laptop without a keyboard, it's a new device designed from the ground up to be controlled with a pen and multitouch gestures.
The reason why traditional pen-based tablets suck is because they're running on interfaces designed for a mouse and keyboard and are intended to replace a laptop. This is none of those things.
Like I said earlier: Information Central is a dumbass!
Things like this should exist.
Make it happen Steve!
now!
My brain just exploded looking at this.
There's something about it that's really elemental -- I feel like the concept brings together a bunch of different technologies that are useful, but at least not totally natural for me... mobile phones, netbooks, etc.
If I could use this instead of my phone for all of my calendar keeping, note taking, drawing, etc... that would seriously change my life.
+1 this needs to exist.
No kidding. Enough talking, make it happen.
Have you ever tried a Tablet PC and actually used Microsoft OneNote (and I mean USED to its fullest capability)?
The main thing that Courier features over a tablet PC and OneNote is potentially better (we don't really know) Outlook integration, and a sleeker dual screen design.
@ micheal
i don't care which Steve makes it happen
People are drooling, Steve. Don't mess this up.
You can say that again. I can only imagine how much easier my life would be if I could sit in lectures with one of these and take all of my notes down on it. To have it sync my contacts from my phone, show me upcoming appointments, be able to sort my notes into different books for different modules. In fact, I'm surprised no-one has started work on this any sooner - students, writers, hobbyists, journalists, graphics designers; we'd all buy it in a shot :)
It's a nice looking concept, but holiday dreams? I'm not up for buying any untested, unreviewed first-gen tech product *especially* from MS. I'll wait & see.
Then don't buy it right away. There are a number of people who would be happy to buy it if it were available for the holidays. If you refuse to buy it until many people had a chance to try it out and review it, what difference does it make when it is available? If it is available for next year's holidays, would you still refuse to buy it then if nobody had a chance to get their hands on it?
Your comment history also seems to be pro Apple, anti-MS. Do you have the same attitude towards Apple? Apple generally announces a new device without letting people get their hands on it before it is sold. When/if Apple releases their tablet, will you say the same thing and refuse to buy it until it has a full review and time for people to put it through the paces to make sure it works properly?
Has Microsoft ever released a product that they didn't give full details about in well in advance and give reviewers full working units well before the launch? It is not like they keep their products closely guarded secrets until the second they go on sale. So you can wait for those reviews and first impressions and let others experience any of the release bugs and still get order on on launch day.
@ NohOne: Congrats on being able to look at a comment history - as if that's somehow relevant to what I posted here. And, yes, I do have the same attitude toward Apple, or any other tech companies. I've gotten burned on first-gen products enough that I prefer to wait for early adopters to waste their time and money doing beta testing.
iWant
and
iCantWait
You know what, that whole 'i' comment thing is really getting iOld.
It is probably just something Microsoft Research has done and is not slated for production.
Just a concept.
its the complete opposite.
Seeing how a slew of products are aiming for this class of item and this product is generally up their alley, I would say this goes nicely in their 'Microsoft Experience' goal and I haven't seen a *realistic* concept yet that can match this.
Bring it out Microsoft, bring the freaking thing out!
Looking better and better every time something is shown. Can't wait to try it (and hopefully purchase).
If this were available today I would leave my office and buy it immediately!
CES 2010 could be interesting.
I need this device to complete my life. I'm married to it already!
me too.
I doubt it'll happen this holiday season, but maybe next? This thing looks like the perfect everyday-computing device to replace my current tablet :D.
REAL Notebook style computing. I like it.
I'll only get this if it runs Windows 7 proper, and the agenda thing's just an application preinstalled on it.
In my opinion, as long as this thing interfaces and talks nicely with Windows 7, I don't see a need for it to actually be running it.
I don't see Microsoft diverging their market anymore. Windows Mobile and Windows are split nicely.
One thing to notice. It is probably 1 screen even though it's split. So imagine using the snap left and right feature. It just makes sense.
wow, i don't care who makes this thing, somebody come out with it. finally a fresh idea
this could be a game changer
OLPC concept from a couple back.
http://helderluis.net/content/olpc_xo_2_2.jpg
Here's the last image of it.
Latest article on the OLPC is basically saying that the dual-screen concept is unfeasible for any release before 2012, and they're calling that one the "XO3". Sorry to burst your bubble.
Now this is the microsoft i know and love : ) Innovation is wonderful.
This is probably going to be downvoted to hell for being spurious, but I was told on a certain technology website that the hardware is made by Dell and that it's been around for a couple of years. I can't comment on the plausibility of that assertion.
This device is exactly what i need. Hope it would go with Windows 7, not windows C.E.
Thats already confirmed bro......just check the previous post about it at Gizmodo. It runs proper Windows 7 on Microsoft hardware .
I would wait in line for this. I use my tablet about 4-5 hours a day for taking client notes and this thing looks like exactly what I need (and more).
Please don't get my holiday hopes up, there is no way this thing is coming out that soon without much more press already. CES 2010 unfortunately sounds more likely.
Late 2009 and 2010 are/are going to be an incredibly sweet time for electronics. I see a lot of innovation and great products coming out. We already have windows 7 and snow leopard, the new iMacs, Android 2 and all it's phones, the 3gs. Such great stuff. And now we have the Courier, usb 3.0, light peak, 4th generation iPhone, better Android 2 phones, and the Apple Tablet to look forward to. What a great time to be alive.
I think smartphones and tablets are going to change electronics in a drastic way. It's so exciting. We have Apple, Google, Microsoft, Intel and so many other companies to thank for this. I hope they keep pushing each other to innovate and make better, higher quality products.
If we can improve battery technology and make the internet faster, cheaper, and more available and then we will see even greater technological evolution.
"There's also a camera and an offhand mention of "boos and subscriptions," "
What the heck are boos? And why would I want to subscribe to them?
I think "boos" = books. That would make the sentence make sense anyway.
Can I have one of these yet? how about now?
I think 'boos' refer to the ghosts is Super Mario. I could be wrong...
Fail. Waste of time. Concentrate on iphonekiller.
Both of their iPod killers have failed miserably, what makes you think their iPhone "killer" will be any different? Do you really want them to play the "me too" game?
This on the other hand is great for Microsoft. They needs their "own" product if you will, and the courier could most definitively be IT.
Quick question word/Truth: Do you ever think about anything other than the iPhone? I mean, EVER?
no way, this is exactly what Microsoft needs to be doing. They'll no doubt destroy whatever tablet device Apple releases (whenever, if ever) and then Apple will be playing catch-up to make a "Courier killer".
Seems great as an e-reader and organizer. Maybe this is the November product that the Qpixel technology will be used in.
I agree I see this product going great with school, business, or casual use.
I can't wait for the Comic Sans interface.
Comic Sans, the boldest of them alllll
Did you type that in New Times Sarcastica?
THIS IS GOING TO BE A MICROSOFT PRODUCT NOT AN APPLE PRODUCT
If IM and flash support is also included, this will be a great product (music, video, website, direct contact). I wouldn't need anything else!
"boos and subscriptions," so it sounds like whoever was dreaming this all up considered using the Courier as an open bar as well....
"iPhone Killer" is a very very relative and annoying term.
Studpid comment system... that was supposed to be a reply @word... Meh.
If I can turn that thing on its side and a virtual keyboard displaying commands of the app I'm using emerges, we'll talk. I've been waiting for conventional notebooks to get in on touch/multitouch interfacing for too bloody long already.
... and by that I mean: take the Optimus keyboard's concept, the iPhones subtle touch stylings and the notebooks conventional form and blend readily until next generation sexiness appears.
Best served with Linux... and a fruity merlot.
That seems like a horrible waste of such a promising device.
I want and need this, as long as it works the way they are showing it.
~
MS and most companys are known for creating something and leaving out a lot of features then come out with a second version that does everything the first one should have done in the first place (ZUNE)
Ahhh, my favorite.
It really improves my day to see a courier post.
Just tell me where to send my soul for one of these. You can also have my first born and 1 future drift pick just please make this and get it out sooon please...
Hey, remember a time waaay back when a 'leak' or rumor of a MS product would actually stop competitors in their tracks and inhibit consumers from buying an existing product? Ah, the good ole days.
Ya, back then there were existing products in the same category.
Seems like a good tool for a student, especial any kind of design major. I can see it working in some business settings but people will still need the blackberry for most communication. Not sure how this would be of use to me day-to-day as I have a computer, laptop and smartphone.
CES launch fo sho
Hopefully by "boos" you either mean boobs or "boo" from mario, hopefully both.
According to ZDNET:
"So far, they're aiming for a "mid-2010" delivery, since it's further along than a Microsoft Research project, but not quite in the commercial pipe yet. Which puts it right in the Apple tablet's purported path. Oh, 2010 is going to rock."
I have a feeling that probably Apple/Google are already building SW/HW for a similar device and MS has caught the scent of it.. and might have "leaked" this to keep its fan hopes high...MS has always been the last... not to innovate but to copy someone's innovation... I dont think MS can actually make this happen..
That's not nearly elaborate enough. I think what happened is Microsoft hired a Ninja assassin to kill Steve Jobs. Said assassin wore a camera that showed everything he saw. Unfortunately, just as he was going to land the death blow, his phone rang and Jobs instantly turned around and killed the Ninja with his bare hands. As the ninja was falling, the camera caught a glimpse of an Apple/Google tablet that looked exactly like these pictures. Steve naturally spotted the camera immediately and crushed it but the damage had already been done. Oh and aliens attacked somewhere in there too.
On a serious note, you trolls are just getting desperate.
Another MS product that won't be half as good as the crap they spew about it.
Not sure where I stand on what MS is doing here. In their stance against Apple, rather than trying to outdo them or to beat them, they seem trying to take the wind out of their sales. Honestly, is MS actually going to release a device that looks or works anything like these graphics. Raising expectations so high for a possible Apple tablet can only work against Apple. And with the MS stores, they basically mimicked the Apple Store to make it seem less a unique experience.
On the one hand, I admire what they're doing as a business move. It'll probably work to a certain extent...at least in the short term.
But, in general, I think that it's a pretty lame approach...improving ones position by taking others down, rather than actually innovating, trying to win the game. It's a really sad attitude for a tech company...and ultimately not good for the consumer.
So you're making the assumption that this product, which has an awful lot of evidence behind it, isn't real and that the Apple Tablet which has been rumored for years without ever coming to fruition is real?
Also you are acting as though Microsoft doesn't have a long history of Tablet's and stylus driven interfaces (Wacom to be specific) and that this is just some pre-emptive marketing gimmick. Ever think that maybe this is just another evolution of the Tablet PC form factor that has been around for many years? This thing is essentially a dedicated "one-note" machine that has been out for years.
I don't know if the expectations on the mythical Apple slate are all that high, most people I know expect it to be just a really big iPod Touch. If the Apple slate happens as I expect it, it will be a whole different animal than this thing.
Microsoft has a lot of technology that could be used for a capable smart tablet. If they could just figure out UI design, they might have a real winner. Nice idea, but If its as much a pain to use as WinMobile, just forget it.
how exactly is it a pain to use windows mobile?
A true notebook PC. I'm totally married also. The problem I see is battery life (based on powering two screens with two active digitizers). Still, I'd drag a car battery chained to my ankle if I could have a digital sketchbook like that.
I'm worried about battery life too, not because of the screens but because it's supposed to be an interface running on top of Windows 7, which means this thing has to be running full x86 (probably atom) hardware instead of ARM. That takes my battery life expectations from 8 hours to 3 hours, which makes me sad.
This type of shit does exist, in video games.
this type of shit existed in Inspector Gadget when I was 8.
I wanted it then and I still want it now.
I'm sold on this concept, but I don't see how this can be practically implemented right now. Particularly, I don't know how two screens and a fast GUI running on top of Windows 7 can translate into a two-pound-or-less device with more than 3 hours of battery life. If it ran a stripped down version of Windows 7 (similar to how the iPhone OS is a stripped down version of OSX), optimized for a low-power consumption CPU, I think it would be a good performer. But I have a feeling than an Atom CPU would be too anemic, and a faster CPU would be too expensive and consume too much power, meaning shorter battery life and increased weight.
I would love to be proved wrong come next year though.
I don't understand why people think this is a Microsoft product. In one of the videos, they clearly show the Apple website in one of the browsers. We know this isn't an Apple product, but why would Microsoft advertise Apple in the Courier? It wouldn't. This is a sham.
It was an internal concept video, it wasn't "advertising" to anybody because it wasn't intended to be shown publicly.
In this world, innovation belongs only to apple/google as for some people understand it. All the apple fanboys probably never heard of or too daft to acknowledge Microsoft Surface PC, which is essentially a extremely big version of Courier and already being implemented with amazing Multi-Touch tech that Apple can never imagine.
Windows 7 is enabling similar kind of multi-touch on all-in-one touch screen based PCs (like Sony Vaio L), for which the so-called almighty Jobs has no answer to. He is busy patenting his ad-based Mac OS, which is craptastic and probably he will never want to bring it to reality too.
I am not Pro-MS, i am not Pro-Apple, I use Linux instead. I may sound against apple here but its the apple fans who are the most vocal in criticising anything that is not made by apple, for no apparent reason.
All I mean to say is, its time the sane population of the world started appreciating innovation with an unbiased attitude.
Special mention - @amit_reddy who thinks this was copied from a developing concept by apple/google. If apple had anything similar in mind, they would first stand in line to Patent it before even thinking of developing. Get your feelings right dude. Your post should be so much downranked that the commenting system wouldn't even allow you to post anymore here.
Nice choice of font on the gestures graphic. Finger what?!
i guess i can toss my sketches for a calendar, email and to do list in a one screen lay-out in the paper basket now... chances are my version will not be able to compete with the big M's.
John Scully talked this idea up back in 1987. Apple called it the Navigator. I've not yet found the article on it but I did find a video of on youtube. Regardless, I'm sure Apple has had some time to make it more current in tech and design. Still MS looks pretty good - just let it run Win7 and not some hack of WinMobile.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WdS4TscWH8
How is that even remotely the same idea as this? Because it's book shaped? They have totally different interfaces and completely different purposes.
If you actually watch the Courier videos and learn what it's about, you'll see that there are virtually no similarities between this product and that fantasy at all. They're both book shaped, that's it. Other than that, they are operated differently, have totally different interfaces, and serve vastly different purposes.
I want. Going to the Art Institute with something like this would ROCK.
I would sell one of my kidneys to have this today!!