With Apple gearing up to launch the still-rumored iPad, Microsoft was reported to be pursuing a tablet of its own, featuring a dual-screen, book-like design. Those reports have since been proven true, with Microsoft testing what it referred to internally as “Courier.” But now, before the product even made its way out of its earliest design phases, Microsoft has scrapped Courier.
HardwareCentral takes a look at what happened — as much as can be known — and explores whether there still might be room for Courier with the buzz around tablet PCs at an all-time high following HP’s purchase of Palm.
Microsoft has killed off development of a tablet computer that it never formally acknowledged. “Courier” was a folding, twin-screen tablet first uncovered by gadget blog Gizmodo last September. Courier sported both stylus- and touch-based input and ran an unknown operating system.
Courier looked like an open book due to its dual-screen design. It reportedly supported multitouch input and had a camera. Gizmodo said the project was being run by J Allard, CTO of Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) entertainment and devices division and the person responsible for bringing the Xbox to market.