Microsoft's new 'Courier' tablet/booklet mobile device

[UnderOpenSky]

Then use it's leverage with software houses to get every possible application and remote desktop program they can ported over. That's how they beat apple, "Want to run word on your tablet? There's no app for that, buy a courier"

Since it appears MS are going to have this, the next Zune and phones all running the same OS this would make a lot of sense. They don't want to lose the mobile war and they're throwing a lot resources that way. It will be interesting to see how it scales across devices though.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

There is literally nothing special about apple desktops or laptops anymore, with the exception of software.

This is such a spec-spod thing to say "Oh look it uses components that anyone else could buy, therefore it's the same" It just doesn't bear out in practice; design, structure, weight, balance, look, feel are things that are contributory when it comes to people buying machines. (One might prefer different designs of course.)

 

[Bob_the_lost]

This is such a spec-spod thing to say "Oh look it uses components that anyone else could buy, therefore it's the same" It just doesn't bear out in practice; design, structure, weight, balance, look, feel are things that are contributory when it comes to people buying machines. (One might prefer different designs of course.)

Guilty as charged

Sony do good look and feel. Hell their hardware is as pretty and ergonomic as apple stuff is for the most part (and have two fucking buttons on their mice!). Apple have generally maintained excellent excellent physical design teams and don't put out many ugly computers and more importantly have a reputation for design.

But they're not gods, there's nothing that Apple have done (in terms of physical components) that the competitors haven't. Hell in many cases the competitors had done it first. Great PR, great advertising and the best UI around to back up the first two. Without that UI, which is 95% software, they wouldn't be the tech reviewer's standard to which everything else should be measured.

 

[Lemon Eddy]

You seem to think that the UI is down to hardware. It's not, not alone and not even for the most part.

No, I do not. I said:

People pay a premium for Apple gear because the user experience is (generally) more pleasing than it's competitors, in terms of both software and hardware.

And I repeat that argument. Trying to claim it's all down to software is just out and out wrong. It's down to a combination of both factors - and one area where Apple are well known to beat their competition is in terms of design of the hardware. Trying to say that because they only use off the shelf components they aren't doing anything special in terms of design is just silly. Look at all the plaudits that have been thrown at Ive and Apple, and you must - if you're honest - admit that the physical design of Apple products is one of their main selling points.

Tell you what, let me demonstrate. Let me give you some quotes from various reviews:

Ipod touch:
"the iPod touch is still a heartbreakingly beautiful thing to hold, arguably more so than the iPhone with its even more svelte form and simply delicious weight. It's just the right size to slip into your jeans pocket and almost forget that it's there; a breathtaking feat of engineering. "


The iphone:
"I really have to mention the other area where Apple continually excels - product design. Even by Apple's own high standards, the iPhone is a beautiful looking product. The glossy black screen fascia, is offset by a solid chrome surround, while the back of the device is also metal, giving the whole thing a quality feel. Some may be put off by the 145g weight, but personally I feel that the weight adds to the solid, high quality feel of the iPhone."

And you know fine I could do this all day, linking to reviews of how beautifully designed the hardware is. You know fine this is true. And being blunt, I reckon you also know fine that the success of the these products is down to the combination of well designed hardware and software.

 

[Bob_the_lost]

And you know fine I could do this all day, linking to reviews of how beautifully designed the hardware is. You know fine this is true. And being blunt, I reckon you also know fine that the success of the these products is down to the combination of well designed hardware and software.

And I could spend all day linking to sites that have reviews of the competition saying the same things. Or worse I can pick up the first thing in the article you're quoting:

First up, let me say that everything you may have heard about the iPhone interface being revolutionary is completely true, and then some! I honestly can't describe to you how much of a pleasure the iPhone is to use, and compared to pretty much any other mobile device, it's in a completely different league

The interface for the iphone is a touchscreen and software. That's it. The touchscreen wasn't revolutionary just well done. The software was and is brilliant and that's what made the phone and the touch really stand out. Hell why aren't people flocking after the Nexus or the HTC Hero in such huge numbers as the iPhone? The hardware is pretty much equal in most ways, often weighted away from Apple.

The software is what makes apple products really work.

 

[Lemon Eddy]

And I could spend all day linking to sites that have reviews of the competition saying the same things. Or worse I can pick up the first thing in the article you're quoting:

First, I truly doubt you will find even a fraction numbers of reviews for competing hardware that talk about them being as well designed as the products I've mentioned. What I reckon you will find is lots of "this almost feels as good as an iPod/iPhone".

And secondly, and more importantly, I repeat yet again that my point is purely that it is the combination of good hardware and software that makes products such as the iPhone as succesfull as they are. I honestly cannot believe you actually disagree with this - you reckon if I ported iPhone OS to a device twice the size and shit in build quality it'd sell, even at half the price? If MS come up with a good OS for this device, but it feels like shit in your hand or is awkward to hold, it will fail.

 

[Bob_the_lost]

First, I truly doubt you will find even a fraction numbers of reviews for competing hardware that talk about them being as well designed as the products I've mentioned. What I reckon you will find is lots of "this almost feels as good as an iPod/iPhone".

And secondly, and more importantly, I repeat yet again that my point is purely that it is the combination of good hardware and software that makes products such as the iPhone as succesfull as they are. I honestly cannot believe you actually disagree with this - you reckon if I ported iPhone OS to a device twice the size and shit in build quality it'd sell, even at half the price? If MS come up with a good OS for this device, but it feels like shit in your hand or is awkward to hold, it will fail.

Volume means squat, iPhones are popular and well marketed, there's going to be a lot of reviews.
First review i found for the Nexus one:

the shape and size of the phone is absolutely fantastic; even though the surface of the device houses a 3.7-inch display, the handset generally feels trimmer and more svelte than an iPhone, Hero, and certainly the Droid.

So: A better form factor. The Nexus one has a camera that spanks the iphone, hell virtually everything does. The 3G chip is possibly slightly better there too. Battery life is better and it's removable.

The iPhone doesn't lead in hardware at all, not quality nor form factor and definitely not components. To say that good hardware is required is so obvious it's not worth doing. However you've failed to show that the hardware is anything above the norm for premium end products, while we all know that the software is.

 

[Crispy]

this is one of the more ridiculous arguments on this thread, tbf

 

[tarannau]

I know. It's about the integration and whole package rather than a dispassionate analysis of hardware ve software as a driver of success.

 

[Lemon Eddy]

Fair 'nuff. I apologise for the hijack, and will give up on trying to convince Bob that Apple are good at design.

 

[editor]

I don't give a fuck about this hardware/form factor argument, I just want the Courier to be as advertised and sat in my lap pronto.
I fucking love the idea of being able to sketch on the thing and two screens in folding book format = sizeable win.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

I don't give a fuck about this hardware/form factor argument, I just want the Courier to be as advertised and sat in my lap pronto.
I fucking love the idea of being able to sketch on the thing and two screens in folding book format = sizeable win.

This times 1000!

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Bloke I was just talking to in the pub, who works for Microsoft at the moment, reckons the Courier has two A4 panels that fold out, and that he's held prototypes.

He was quite hammered mind you.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

Bloke I was just talking to in the pub, who works for Microsoft at the moment, reckons the Courier has two A4 panels that fold out, and that he's held prototypes.

He was quite hammered mind you.

A4? Seems a bit on the big side..?

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Well that's what I thought. I would doubt he was entirely making it up but he may have seen some other prototype.

 

[Lemon Eddy]

Bloke I was just talking to in the pub, who works for Microsoft at the moment, reckons the Courier has two A4 panels that fold out, and that he's held prototypes.

May not be the technological advance we were hoping for, lads.

 

[editor]

Every time I read a bit more about the Courier, the more I want it.

For all the hype about the iPad, this is one massively innovative concept that people are getting very excited about.

Even if it turns out to be Microsoft vapourware, the good news is that so much has been leaked about the project already, I've no doubt that a ton of knock-offs are being assembled right now.

And while the iPad represents a new device category, Apple is counting on the familiarity of the iPhone and iPod touch to flatten its already narrow learning curve. The Courier videos, on the other hand, describe a device that is all about productivity, a pursuit in which Microsoft has a storied and profitable heritage. However, rather than the eye-glazing grids of text one might find in an Excel spreadsheet or Access table, Courier presents a digital reinvention of the scrapbook. Its "infinite journal" provides a pasteboard for collecting digital inspirations scavenged from the device's camera, and contributions from others on shared pages.

And it does this in high style. The Courier user interface is a showcase of gestures, pen input, and novel user interface conventions such as docking items in a virtual spine for visual copy and paste or drawing a rectangle around a list of items to turn them into a sticky "to do" note. The Courier concept is so captivating that it's easy to overlook the question as to who the product is for apart from artists and designers. Whereas previous Microsoft products have called upon IT to make it work, Courier may evoke those words from Tim Gunn. We've likely not seen all that that Courier can do, but one way to make the product more broadly relevant to those who must apply creativity to create some kind of mind-mapping or outlining capability.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/30/switched-on-courier-courts-the-creative/

 

[Kid_Eternity]

It's almost a bit holy Grail like, reckon it'll disappoint but until then we can dream...

 

[stupid dogbot]

You're just as bad as the Apple fanbois.

 

[editor]

You're just as bad as the Apple fanbois.

Hardly. The enthusiasm is for the product, not the brand.

See the difference?

 

[stupid dogbot]

Hardly. The enthusiasm is for the product, not the brand.

See the difference?

Jesus, lighten up, Mr Sneery.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

You're just as bad as the Apple fanbois.

 

[Pie 1]

Jesus, lighten up, Mr Sneery.

No chance!
Having to maintain strict double standards is a very serious business, don't you know

 

[editor]

Having to maintain strict double standards is a very serious business, don't you know

What 'double standards' are these please, Mr Shit-stirrer?

 

[elbows]

Im not sure if Microsoft will make one of these devices themselves because unlike Apple they tend to work with hardware partners on a range of platforms, and Im not sure they would want to spoil any of those relationships by competing themselves. They may well develop the concept and suitable OS platform, but then it will be down to others to make it happen. This has some advantages and some drawbacks, and Ive no idea if it will happen in this case, we still havent seen quite what the new gen of tablets to compete with Apple will actually be like, such as that prototype that Steve Balmer was waving around months ago.

I am a fan of the concept of having 2 screens that open like a book.

 

[gabi]

What 'double standards' are these please, Mr Shit-stirrer?

 

[elbows]

On further reflection I think the price point that Apple have set for the ipad (& netbook pricing in general) will slow down the tablet competition, especially a 2-screen affair like this courier concept which I will assume cannot be delivered at the right price point for some time to come.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

This is , gives you an idea of how possible the courier is...

Was talking with someone today about the iPad, they were saying it looked cool, got them to take a look at the courier tech demo and they were literally blown away saying they're not gonna bother with the iPad and wait for the courier. At this point I tried to dampen expectations by mentioning it's a demo and doesn't exist as such just yet...but still...

 

[sunnysidedown]

Hardly. The enthusiasm is for the product, not the brand.

See the difference?

speaking as someone who has used Apple products for the past 20 years I would no-doubt get called a 'cool-aid drinking Apple fanboy' by some, I don't yet own any Apple branded underpants, maybe I should get some.

On topic:

elbows makes a good point, what is the supposed conceptual price for this?

 

[editor]

speaking as someone who has used Apple products for the past 20 years I would no-doubt get called a 'cool-aid drinking Apple fanboy' by some, I don't yet own any Apple branded underpants, maybe I should get some.

I've no idea what a 'cool-aid drinking Apple fanboy' is or why you're posting up this irrelevant nonsense on a thread about Microsoft's Courier.

Back on topic, HTC have just filed this patent.

http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/htc-courier-dual-screen-patent-appears-682301

Some interesting related concepts here too: (I see KE has already posted this too)