Microsoft's Courier: May the best OS win
Summary: When the first pictures and videos of Microsoft's next-generation Courier tablet leaked, I heard from my sources that the prototype in the shots was running Windows 7. New leaks claim it's running some kind of mobile OS based on Windows CE. So, which is it?
When the first pictures and videos of Microsoft's next-generation Courier tablet leaked, I heard from my sources that the prototype in the shots was running Windows 7.
On March 5, Engadget got some more Courier pics and details. According to their information, the "Franklin Covey planner on steroids" (as I described it months back) is now running a Windows CE-based operating system which may share components with the forthcoming Windows Phone 7.0 operating system (and/or the Zune HD OS or Project Pink OS). All three of these latter operating systems are built on top of the Windows CE core, not Windows.
So, which is it? Is Courier a Windows-based tablet? Or is it a Windows CE-centric/Windows Phone OS-based tablet? Or is it a Microsoft Linux tablet? (Had to thow that in, in anticipation of my many Linux-loving fanboys in the Talkbacks.)
At this point, Courier is nothing but early prototypes and marketing videos. Technologizer's Harry McCracken wondered aloud whether that's all Courier will ever be -- more of a "look what could be possible if you stitched together all the Microsoft Research demos we have" kind of thing than an actual device that will come to market any time soon.
I think Microsoft does have some kind of next-generation Tablet in the works, which may or may not end up using the InkSeine and Codex Microsoft Research technologies. It's not surprising that such a device would support multi-touch and allow note-taking a la OneNote.
At this point, in my opinion, there are a few different factors influencing which operating system that device will end up running.
Politics: Windows is the big cash cow at Microsoft. Remember the HP slate that Microsoft CEO demonstrated at CES this year? It was running Windows 7, not Windows Phone OS 7.0/Windows Mobile or the Zune HD OS. Windows isn't too big or bloated to power some very sleek mobile devices.
However, a Microsoft Alchemy Ventures project supposedly spearheaded by J Allard, is an Entertainment and Devices kind of thing. Products from the E&D division (Xbox, Zune, mobile phones) aren't Windows-based. So I'd say the choice could go either way, at this point....
Processor: If the Courier device is Intel-based, Windows is likely to be the OS within. If Courier ends up running Tegra, a CE-based operating system is likely what will be inside.
Timing: I know Engadget's sources are saying Courier is a Q3/Q4 2010 product. I stick by what my sources are still saying: Courier isn't going to be out until 2011 at the absolute earliest. Even if the iPad ends up being a rousing success, Microsoft isn't going to rush the Courier out of its incubation labs.
If Courier ends up being Windows-based, it could be even later if the Softies want it to run Windows 8. If it's a CE-based OS like Windows Phone OS, Silverlight will have to be running without any glitches, meaning it might take an iteration or two to work out the kinks. (Remember, Silverlight still isn't running -- yet -- on Windows Mobile or the Zune HD. It's expected to debut on Windows Phone 7 devices for the first time this holiday season.
What's your take? If and when Microsoft does deliver Tablet PC 2.0, a k a Courier, what will it be running?
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Talkback
Microsoft's Courier: May the best OS win
Is there real demand for so many gadgets
Market suggests otherwise...
extremely popular and smartphones are extremely
popular. The is just a tween device. I would buy
one over a netbook if it was similarly priced, so
far they're more expensive. Also I believe the use
of GPS, accelerometer and compass adds a new
dimension of input that is in high demand. I
believe you'll see them standard in laptops in 10
years just like cameras became standard.
Interesting Read Mary Jo , Thanks! *NT
RE: Microsoft's Courier: May the best OS win
Microsoft releases several great marketing videos of
superb potential products, but have terrible follow through
in releasing such products, or when they do, it's horribly
hindered unrecognizable from the concept videos they
release, or extremely overpriced.
My take? I'll believe it when I see it. Sorry Microsoft. Your
track record is behind you on this.
Marketing vs. Potential
mean seriously, I'm generally platform agnostic, but
the demo they showed for this, if accurate, definitely
puts the iPad to shame. I really like the journal
functions that were there and how it so seamlessly
merges the functionality of Outlook, IE, and OneNote
into one app that looks like it's so much fun to use.
IMO the OS should be dictated by what third party
functionality they want to be available. For me, as
sweet as this thing seems, first one that can run
Photoshop wins, but I know I'm in the minority. Is
Microsoft looking to integrate WinMo devs, WinDOWS
devs, start a new ecosystem entirely, or make everyone
stock spec like the 1.x iPhone, leaving third party
stuff to the xda devs?
Joey
Drink that kool-aid
doesn't exist yet, but soon will in order to shut down sales of a
competing product that is not so slick, but actually does exist.
So you think it's better than the iPad?
Incidentally, what will you say when it actually comes out?
Hmm?
Much slicker than the iPad.
show this is the very early stages of conceptual design. There may even
be some test hardware to try out the concepts.
But don't expect it to ship in the next 6 months... or 12 or 18 for that
mater.
fantasy
product. the one is a designer's dream with no basis in real technology
and the other is real shipping product. gotcha?
"..no basis in real technology."
Face it, it would take only half of those features to blow the iPad away. Of course, the new Lenovo tablet netbook already blows the iPad away.
Watch the video.
conditions on the same type of object under very similar contexts do
something completely different.
So yes, conceptually the Courier is pretty cool but the videos do not
seem based in real technology. They are very much conceptual ideas of
how to interact with a device.
I did.
@Lester Young. You miss the whole point.
and 1 to 2 months later you have a fully functional major product with
all the software written and debugged. It simply does not work that
way.
The problem with the Courier videos is not that they show a super-
cool technical product (they do), the problem is there are lots of
inconsistent gestures used. Does lassoing text create a copy action or
create a yellow stick-it? Both results are shown. Same gesture. Same
context. Same datatypes. Different results. This is one of many many
similar conditions that goes to show this is little more that conceptual
design at this point.
Do you undertand the idea of "conceptual design" VS "finished
design"? Even AFTER the finished design is complete, you still have
implementation to go through. This will take something called time:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time
And the amount of time from finalized design to finalized
implementation can be quite a bit. Especially something as
conceptually ground-breaking as the Courier is trying to be.
In short, the iPad will be on version 2 to 3 by the time this gets out.
Ha ha!
Idiot.
your tiny little mind, has that post got anything to do with iPad.
Gotcha?
I'm sure that, with some creative software, I can make a video of a product that fits in your pocket, projects the images in the air above it, and has a direct link to your brain (MindLink (TM)). It might just take a little while for me to deliver it :).
FTH
Most likley...
Not drinking KoolAid
common misconception and is largely used out of
context.
That said, I wasn't going to buy an iPad. it
doesn't interest me. At all. It's not to say
that there's not a market for it, it's just
that I'm not that market. Apple didn't lose a
sale because I like the Courier concept. It's
that the iPad *never* interested me, while the
Courier does. Heck, I'd even eyeball the HP
Slate over the iPad, because the Slate is much
more likely to do what I want than the iPad is.
Apple doesn't make products for me, at any
price. I want a number pad and two physical
hard drives in my laptop. Apple doesn't make
them. Being as it's my money, I'm going to
purchase the tool that does what I want it to
do. I want a stylus on my tablet. Apple doesn't
make them. HP does, and the videos demonstrate
that Microsoft might be as well. Guess who gets
my money, and guess whether the logo on the
outer plastic has any influence on my purchase?
Joey
Well, yeah, but YOUR logos don't glow.
Koolaid: Ken Kesey, Merry Pranksters, LSD
Flavoraid: Jim Jones, People's Temple, cyanide