ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Microsoft Courier to be iPad Killer?

Updated on August 10, 2010

The never-ending battle between Microsoft and Apple continues. This time let’s hope the people at Microsoft do a little better than when they launched Zune to compete with the iPod.

iPad sales created quite a stir around May 2010. Two million units were sold within only 60 days. When Steve Jobs gloated about the numbers during his keynote, competitors were reminded that they would either have to bust into action now or be left in the dust.

There is no shortage of ebook readers and tablets out there. Products like the Amazon Kindle, HP Slate, JooJoo, Nook and Kobo are all fighting to grab a piece of the market. Since Microsoft is late to the party they had better have something original in order to break through the clutter.

Think Small

Microsoft is going small with the Courier. Its design is based on those old fashioned journals teenagers stashed under their beds in days of lore. Opened up, it looks just like a book spread. You have two pages in front of your eyes, just like the old days. Closed it is 5 x 7” and just under an inch thick, weighing in at about a pound. If that is smaller than you were expecting, keep in mind that Microsoft is going for mobility to differentiate itself with the iPad which seems an ideal companion for lounging around the house.

Instead of embracing the touch of fingers, Microsoft is going the stylus route ala Palm Pilot. Built-in technologies allow it to convert handwriting into digital text, creating blog-like organization for written entries. A big advantage is this will allow people to draw; something impossible with fingertips unless you want to create kindergarten-styled paintings.

As expected with pretty well any portable device these days, there will be a built-in camera and headphone jack for audio capability. The software will be the same OS as found on the Zune HD: probably Windows CE 6.

The iPad Killer?

As innovative as it appears stacked up against other tablets, the device is very close in concept to the Nintendo DS: same fold-up screen approach and pen input. At least we know there are bound to be some good game apps around the corner.

The Courier aims to do things a little differently than the rest of the pack. For use as a written journaling device and digital sketch pad, the design is perfect. Some have complained about not getting any real work done with their iPad and perhaps this is just the ticket to stay productive on the move. That’s a great idea in theory, however for the time being people seem to love noodling with portable devices a little too much for this approach to catch on.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)