Microsoft Courier – Not an iPad Killer
Remember a few months back when the video first leaked out and everyone was a tizzy about the Microsoft Courier tablet/e-reader/digital journal thing? Well, it was a pretty cool little mock-up video, and it’d seem a little more has leaked out today that helps shine a little light on what exactly Redmond is up to. Well, partly so.
First things first: the Microsoft Courier digital journal (as it is now apparently being called, not tablet or e-reader) is not an iPad killer. It’s not an iPad. It’s not meant to do the same things as an iPad. It’s not the same size. It’s not the same class. Microsoft Courier, at least as the videos show it, is a much more ambitious, and niche, product.
While a lot of the details are still a mystery, what has come out is that the Microsoft Courier is running a Tegra 2 CPU, which is basically an nVidia product that’s really starting to pick up steam in the mobile sector. Additionally, it appears that it’s running the same OS that Zune HD and the new Windows Mobile 7 Series products are seeing, so that basically means Windows CE (which, if you’re familiar with Windows CE, isn’t necessarily a good thing). Also, as noted, Microsoft Courier is not meant to be an iPad killer, especially when you look at the form factor: it folds up into roughly a 5×7 photo size while managing to be under an inch thick and weighing less than a pound. Definitely mobile.
Those are all good things (Windows CE aside) and will really help Microsoft market it as something other than an iPad and give it a chance to catch on with the auteurs of the world (I’m not sure there’s a big market for auteur computing, but I’d be interested to find out otherwise) and those who are just plain looking for something different from a gigantic iPod Touch, i.e. the iPad (though when it comes out, we’re going to see that that is most definitely an understatement).
So watch the videos at the jump and see what it looks like. It’s basically more of the same style from the original video where it shows a “person” interacting with both side of the device by dragging things around. Of note, the “person” also uses their finger to manipulate the device in addition to the included pen. And that’s when we get to the problem.
If you’ve used a Microsoft-based tablet PC then you know that, unless you’re one of the 1% of the audience that loves them, they’re a terrible experience. Part of it is because Windows XP (and to a lesser extent, Vista; I’ve not tried 7, so I’m not counting it) is not designed to be used with a touch-or-pen-based input. It’s just not. It’s keyboard and mouse driven and it excels at that. As soon as you take the mouse out of the picture, it’s a nightmare.
The buttons are too small and the accuracy too low to use a pen. Micrsoft Courier is going to be designed around a pen, so this may be fine. But, we still get to the big problem: if a laptop class CPU can’t keep up with pen entry (i.e. draw your writing on the screen as quickly as you do, or even quicker than you do if you watch the Microsoft Courier videos — curious, that), then I seriously doubt a Tegra 2 can. Granted, the Microsoft Courier won’t have the overheard of Windows XP or Windows Vista to deal with, but I still have doubts that it’ll be able to keep up with the user.
And then there’s the problem of using the pen to do input beyond writing a note or adding a quick subtitle. Can you imagine how clunky it’s going to be to write a URL? And if you don’t have decent handwriting? Good luck getting to where you’re going.
Apple has shown that using a finger as an input device, on an OS designed around that, is an exceptionally enjoyable experience. I’ve yet to see anyone, Microsoft or otherwise, prove that the same could be said of a pen, outside of, say, Photoshop.
Again, this is all assuming that Microsoft hasn’t figured out how to make the pen track quickly with the user’s input and that handwriting recognition is still terrible, but considering the track record (iPaq and tablet PC, anyone?), I don’t have a lot of faith, but I do have some hope.
While I’m ready to buy an iPad now, I can’t say the same of the Microsoft Courier, but I am very intrigued. It looks like it might be really, really neat, but until I see actual video instead of mock-up (or better yet, use one), I’m withholding judgment.
Engadget has all of the details including the videos that’re sure to impress.
im loving the ipad personally. what do you think of it now? was it upto your standards?
A few days into it and I’m really liking my iPad. I had a couple of issues I managed to fix, and since then, it’s been a pretty good experience. I’m hoping to get my review up soon, but I did get some initial iPad impressions down that I think are promising.