Engadget has some new pictures and videos of the Microsoft Courier. The Courier is a pen-based dual-screen tablet and e-book reader that could be a big competitor for the not-yet released Apple iPad — although we have to note the first videos and pictures showed up long before we even saw a glimpse of the iPad.
Under the hood is the Courier based upon the same mobile OS as Windows Phone 7 Series and the Zune HD, namely Windows CE 6. The graphics would be provided by the succeeder of the nVidia Tegra chip that is used in the current generation Zune HDs.
The Courier has in my opinion a very attractive interface which is based around drawing, sketching and writing. Of course is handwriting recognition one of the capabilities of this modern agenda. In the age of social networking is sharing a must, so the courier would make it possible to share notes easily with friends or colleagues. Furthermore this device would have a camera built-in and a 3.5 mm mini-jack to plug in your headphone for media playback.
Beside being a notebook and a 21 century journal, the Courier would also be Microsoft’s e-reader device. It would be packed with an ecosystem around reading and buying books.
The price is still unsure, as well as the launch date. All Engadget was told about the release date was “Q3 / Q4″. Make sure you watch the videos of the interface below.
