Microsoft Also Has a Secret Tablet Project, But Get This — It Has a Pen!
7:01 pm, September 22nd, 2009, Leander Kahney
Un-fuckin-believable. Like Apple, Microsoft is also secretly developing a multitouch tablet, according to this report on Gizmodo.
But where Apple’s device will be designed for your fingers, Microsoft’s includes a pen! WTF? Is this the nineties? Has Microsoft learned nothing from the iPhone at all?
Yeah, Apple’s tablet will also support a pen. For detailed graphics work, and maybe even text input, a pen will work better than your fingers, but the primary input device?
Says Giz:
“The Courier user experience presented here is almost the exact opposite of what everyone expects the Apple tablet to be, a kung fu eagle claw to Apple’s tiger style. It’s complex: Two screens, a mashup of a pen-dominated interface with several types of multitouch finger gestures, and multiple graphically complex themes, modes and applications.”
Microsoft’s tablet is actually a dual-screen booklet, very much like the OLPC XO-2 design concept that made the rounds last year (and I personally was hoping would be Apple’s secret “Brick project).
Codenamed Courier, it has two multitouch 7-inch screens joined by a central hinge, which has a single iPhone-like “Home” button. It’s a late prototype, Giz says, and may have nifty hardware features like inductive pad charging.
But if you have to use a pen to control it, it’s fucked.
Posted by Leander Kahney in Apple, Hardware, News, Tablet | Comment on this article
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Analogy :
Apple takes a guest to a restaurant, orders the finest cuisine and wine and offers it to its guest.
Microsoft takes a guest to a restaurant, orders whatever Apple did *but* eats everything up itself, then vomits on a plate and offers it to its guest.
Microsoft’s half-ass itself is half-assed !
Fat Gorilla, on September 22nd, 2009 at 7:14 pm
From the Gizmodo Article:
“The dual 7-inch (or so) screens are multitouch, and designed for writing, flicking and drawing with a stylus, in addition to fingers.”
Looks like the primary device is whatever you want it to be, stylus or fingers.
Michael, on September 22nd, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Just one word:
FAIL!
Thommas, on September 22nd, 2009 at 7:43 pm
The sharp pen is mightier than the blunt finger
If you combine the precision of a pen based tablet with the ease of use of a finger touch sensitive screen then that sort of makes sense, especially if you combine Vista and Win7’s excellent handwriting recognition. This is where Apple will be weak as they have not had a “tablet edition” of their own, only the retrofitted modbooks and even then I have seen no sign of a good virtual keyboard or handwriting recognition in OS X. The virtual keyboard in 10.6 is ugly as sin! Annoying as porting over the iphones one should be a walk in the park.
I’ve got a linux tablet and the only things I miss from Windows is the virtual keyboard and recognition.
John, on September 22nd, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Hmm.. I wouldn’t dismiss this thing out of hand just yet. The Apple tablet is vapour ware at the moment as is Courier, but Gizmodo has a very interesting ‘concept’ video of the MS device.
I agree the UI looks overly complicated (possibly lots of whistle and polish with little substance…. Vista anyone?) but there’s some interesting ideas there, and the occasional thing that looks frankly quite Applesque.
I doubt they’ll pull it off first time, but then MS rarely does.
veeto, on September 22nd, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Hope they release it within next 1yr, no 6mths, no 3mths. Ya, before someone comes up with something similar/better than this.
Also, I hope M$ doesnt price is at 10k, like they did for surface.
BTW, they should allow us to develop Apps in .NET and allow us to share it with others like Android does, not block us like they did for Zune HD.
If all the above 3 are followed, it’ll really be a device for socialnetworking, otherwise, may make noise like ZuneHD, and have our fingers crossed when they’ll release the App Store.
jinishans, on September 22nd, 2009 at 8:33 pm
my problem is the ‘hinge’. if you want to make a 7in tablet fine. but why tease us with this dead space between two of them
Charli, on September 22nd, 2009 at 8:36 pm
@Leander: why are you so worked up over a product that doesn’t exist? Last I checked neither Apple nor Microsoft are selling a tablet computer. They haven’t even announced one.
Gizmodo isn’t exactly a shining beacon of accuracy when it comes to prototype hardware either. Besides Gizmodo’s reputation, aside from Zune (which isn’t a rip-roaring success itself) Microsoft has not encroached on its hardware partners’ business of selling hardware.
Although, for what it’s worth Microsoft does in fact build a lot of prototype hardware and software to show to its partners and say “This is how you should do it.”
And lastly, given typing on a glass screen with my fingers, writing with my finger tips or writing with a pen, I’ll take the pen. With sufficiently intelligent software, I’d be able to write documents a lot faster by writing in a way that’s natural, comfortable and familiar than I ever would with my finger-tips (either by typing or writing) on a glass surface.
nak, on September 22nd, 2009 at 8:43 pm
How thick is this thing? Looks like a nightmare in terms of manufacturing & servicing the thing
Paul, on September 22nd, 2009 at 9:16 pm
I *TOTALLY* disagree about the PEN part.
If Apple comes out with a tablet that does NOT support the use of a pen, it will be a tragic loss. Finger gesture is ok for a small phone device but the most natural way to import text and images is to WRITE and DRAW. Typing and finger painting is totally unnatural. (Just try to select text or place the cursor on the iPhone and you know what I mean).
The Newton had the right idea, but the technology of the time could not support it.
I currently have a Motion computing tablet PC, and other than the fact that it is running Windows which sux, I love the tablet format and I love the use of the pen.
I am a graphic artist and using a pen on the tablet is perfect for drawing, painting, design and photor etouching. There is no way I could do that with my finger.
I hope that the Apple tablet supports full OSX (NOT iPhone OS) and contains both finger and pen input.
fred, on September 22nd, 2009 at 9:16 pm
You know, I do not use Windows anymore, but I think that the proposed design (and the use of both pen and fingers) is really great! I hope Apple do something similar!
Alexandre Bonatto, on September 22nd, 2009 at 9:25 pm
and the iphone 4g will have buttons
ged, on September 22nd, 2009 at 9:46 pm
I assume this is a concept rendering, not from Microsoft, just like all the fan-made renderings of non-existent Apple products.
It obviously was inspired, in part, by the movie version of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
In the Gizmodo article, it shows a camera on the back. Now I ask you – how in the hell would you hold up that huge, hinged monstrosity to take a picture, and where would the shutter button be?
As for the hinge? Total fail – a huge weak point in the design which will undoubtedly be broken quickly and easily in everyday use. Hardly a rugged design.
Gene, on September 22nd, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Hmmm, ZunePad anyone? running VistaLite? Onward into the future. I want my flying car!
Ictus75, on September 22nd, 2009 at 11:24 pm
1:Reread your own damn article
2:Look up what multitouch means
3:???
4:Show tits or GTFO
The Wasrad, on September 23rd, 2009 at 1:00 am
Fail!
Not because they are copying Apple, supposedly, but purely based on the fact that every company that has tried tablets, fails! Apple are one of the few who have the potential to get it right, but even their success, given all that the iPod and iPhone have achieved, is in no way guarenteed.
Fuzzypig, on September 23rd, 2009 at 1:57 am
Yo Leander, that’s a fairly infantile rant. The tasks that the concept video depicts all look like they’d be better done with a pen than a finger tip, and the book concept lends itself to writing more than touch typing (can you imagine what a pain it would be to support the book with one hand & touch type with the other?).
I’m desperately excited about the coming Mac tablet, but if Microsoft can create something that realises half of the concepts suggested in that video I might consider selling my soul for it. Project Origami this ain’t.
Pete, on September 23rd, 2009 at 5:01 am
Got to say that this appeals to me more than a straight single screen tablet with an on-screen keyboard as the primary text input device. If I want to make a quick note or annotation, then writing it is a lot faster than typing it in, particularly on an on-screen kbrd, as they are more “peck-peck” in use. The overall concept here is good. If it were a Mac concept, we’d all be going “Ooooooh” over it. Just because it’s come from Redmond doesn’t mean it’s not worth considering.
Fearless Fred, on September 23rd, 2009 at 5:43 am
i agree with Fred. I would hate to take notes or use any sort of word processing document without some sort of handwriting recognition and a finger is not adequate for that task.
Head on over to Gizmodo for a video of the MS Tablet. There are parts of that video that are spot on.
Mike C, on September 23rd, 2009 at 7:39 am
You hide your fanboyism well. What are you, 15? You would think Microsoft killed your mother or something. You should learn to appreciate technology for what it is rather than who makes it.
Also you should read the article you’re quoting and watch the video instead of drawing blind conclusions based on what you WANT Microsoft’s tablet to be. And remember – Apple hasn’t shown anything about their tablet yet.
Dan, on September 23rd, 2009 at 7:55 am
What’s with all the bad language in this article? Unable to get your crude point across? Your intellect seems to have slipped and regressed to the playground.
Do you actually have a point in this article?
Charlie, on September 23rd, 2009 at 10:46 am
Wow, it always blows my mind how Apple fans think that Apple invented every cool tech idea out there. Guess what, they didn’t and guess what else? They don’t always do the best job of implementing it even when they do. Apple is a company that hits some really high notes, but not everything they do is “awesome, incredible, fantastic, amazing”.
DC, on September 23rd, 2009 at 11:25 am
I enjoy products from MS and Apple. But come on, MS has had tablet style PC’s with touch input for years. Let’s not pretend Apple came up with the idea. Between the Newton and the iPhone Apple hasn’t done squat on tablet/touch computers. Microsoft has been there all along trying out different form factors and designs (PocketPC, HandheldPC, AutoPC, WinMo, XP Tablet Edition, Surface, Touchwall, UMPC…) sure they are not always hits, but year after year they been innovating.
Proto732, on September 23rd, 2009 at 1:15 pm
wouldn’t surprise me if you could open it and hold it like a traditional laptop as well, with half being a touch keyboard, and one side staying a traditional display.
I think there were some rumors and even design concepts of Apple coming out with a dual screen laptop like this not too long ago. Maybe when the Air was being speculated, or the latest MacBook Pro refresh …
Proto732, on September 23rd, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Its not a ‘prototype’… its a cartoon, the latest in a VERY long list of FUD campaigns by MS.
Any of this sound familiar?
- Actual product ‘X’ is released/announced and gains traction
- MS FUD claims “don’t get ‘X’… we’re coming out with something way better real soon.”
- suckers believe them, and in the meantime maker of product ‘X’ dies.
Unfortunately, the maker of product X this time is Apple, and it’ll be the MS copy that dies.
GQB, on September 23rd, 2009 at 1:52 pm
I would def prefer a “tablet” I could fold in half like a book as opposed to a flat, inflexible, well, tablet. I especially dig the leather cover in the mock-up. Sure, the tablet concept was intuitive 3000 years ago when we were still writing on clay but these days everyone is pretty used to the whole book idea. I used to think that while MS had all these tablets Apple would come out with a book style device depicting the evolution of technology quite ironically… again.
Of course you can make a mock-up of vaperware do anything. Until I see a guy on stage showing me how awesome this thing is gunna be and how I can use it…YAWN…
Church of Apple, on September 23rd, 2009 at 2:23 pm
While this is a really cool looking prototype, the real question is when will the actual product ship and what’s the OS and tools side of the equation, as Apple has pretty much shown this to be the bar for success.
Clearly, Apple learned this lesson from Microsoft (in PC 1.0) but MS feels long removed from those days (i.e., cultivating and growing a software centered ecosystem), especially in light of all of the legacy that they have to support.
Btw, here are some thoughts on where Apple’s Tablet and the e-Book is headed:
Rebooting the Book (One Apple iPad Tablet at a Time):
http://bit.ly/zOoEu
Check it out if interested.
Mark
Mark Sigal, on September 23rd, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Yeah right ! try write a letter with your finger !
user151, on September 24th, 2009 at 1:43 am
Short version:
Finger gestures are great, but not everything – Pen is FTW.
Pointless anti-Microsoft bitching is hurting your credibility here.
Long version:
First of all, I consider myself an Apple Fanboy. I currently own five Macs, two iPods and I’m using my third iPhone. Since I made the switch seven years ago, I’ve never been so happy computer-wise speaking.
That said, I have to acknowledge that there are really great things going on outside Apple, like Android, the Nokia N900 and Maemo 5, PC vendors catching up on design and even surpassing Apple’s (check out the Vaio Carbon Fiber designs -and no, I’m not talking about pretty here-) and things like Microsoft prototyping things like Courier or Pink.
My MacBook Pro isn’t now as superior as other PC models as my good ol’ PowerBook used to be. The fans are almost constantly spinning on the noisy side and the battery, although prettier, won’t last more than those business batteries some PC vendors provide. Also, I have to carry a USB hub with me all the time because it only has two ports and too close between them to be usable, and a miniDP to VGA adapter is also a must in my bag because no projector in the world supports miniDP. Yeah, maybe I’m a business user and I don’t deserve the Apple love but, too much for simplicity, don’t you think?
I’m also sick of jailbreaking my iPhone to get features other platforms are offering by default. Enough dumb-ass marketing messages about usability and zen-like experience. I love simplicity but gee, give the advanced users a chance to squeeze their gadgets to the maximum if they want to. That’s what led so many geeks to Mac OS X in the first place. If you want the eye candy and simplicity, it’s all over the place. But if you want to experience the power of a UNIX system, it’s also there for you to use it. Not locked down like the iPhone, the iPod Touch, or the Apple TV.
So, my point is: stop criticizing everything Microsoft does just because it’s Microsoft. Judging what I’ve seen so far, Courier seems like a great product to me. If Apple releases a tablet with no pen support, it will be a huge failure. Why? Because a tablet has to act, among a lot of things, as a real notebook too and to sketch and take notes you *need* a pen. Finger gestures and multitouch are much needed, but they’re not everything.
Let’s hope what’s cooking in Apple labs is better than Courier; Microsoft is setting a high standard here and I’m grateful for it. I still think iPod’s overwhelming success made Apple way less brave and fresh and we, as Apple users, are suffering the consequences. Do not forget competition is the source of all real innovation.
javier, on September 24th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I agree about the pen being a giant leap backward…
Here is an interesting site note about how the Apple touch book might end up…
There is an audio visual control company called Savant that produces Apple based media centres, touchscreens and control systems. They have released a 13″ wireless touchpanel with technical specs that sound suspiciously like a Macbook.
Read for yourself and see!
http://www.savantav.com/lib/docs/CutSheets/ROSIE_Touch13_R3.pdf
psyllidae, on September 26th, 2009 at 7:27 am