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Why Did Microsoft Cancel The Courier Tablet?

By Best-eReaders, May 07, 2010

The Courier, the rumored dual screen tablet / booklet device from Microsoft, will no longer serve as messenger. Microsoft has reportedly shelved the Courier Project, which was said to be at its late prototype last fall.

While pulling a plug on a project near completion is somewhat surprising, it’s not new or rare. Such move is part and parcel of many industries (particularly the automobile industry). These companies spend lots of money on concept products. Then the products get axed even before they could reach the production pipeline.     

An innovative and promising tablet device

The Microsoft Courier was designed more as a booklet than a tablet. It was reported to sport two 7-inch screens connected by a hinge that would allow the screens to fold and close like a book. The hinge would have held the home button.

The tablet would have also used a new OS that would allow for seamless integration between the two screens. Reports indicated that it would have unmatched multi-touch capability and stylus operation. The Courier stylus could be used for writing, drawing, painting, sketching, and editing.   

The Courier’s main use would have been to serve as notebook/journal. According to reports, the Microsoft tablet would have featured an electronic journal called Infinite Journal. As the name indicates, the journal would have had an endless number of pages. It could be used to store notes, photos, sketches, and web clippings in the pages. The journal would have had geotagging capability and the  capacity to automatically stamp current date and time on the page for each new entry. Each entry would have been stored in the cloud, making it available from other devices.

The tablet could have been used as a daily planner, too, allowing users to keep track of tasks, appointments, and contacts (based on information pulled from your online social networks).

Possible reasons the Courier Project was canceled

Information about the Microsoft Courier was leaked last year, but Microsoft did not confirm or acknowledge its existence until after news of its cancellation hit the Web. An incubation project, the Microsoft Courier was closed to being commercialized as it was already in its “last prototype” stage when it was axed. The tablet did not reach the production pipeline.

It’s not clear why Microsoft shelved the Courier.  The decision also rather seems quick, giving that the New York Times reported, based on what it heard from its sources, that the Courier would reach mass market in early 2011.  

Here are some possible reasons why Microsoft canceled the Courier.

1. Since Microsoft is already offering Windows 7 for tablets, the company doesn’t see a need to pursue further a new Windows-based OS.

2. Microsoft may want the tablet to go in a different direction than it is currently pursuing. Before the project was canceled, the device was designed to be a digital journal for students/ creative people/business people. They may want the Courier to become a general purpose tablet device instead, or an ereader with journal function, or something else. Microsoft may want to be clear first about the direction it is taking.

3. Perhaps Microsoft wants to see consumer response to current/upcoming tablet offerings (such as the iPad and the HP slate) first. By studying the market, its likes and dislikes about the tablets they own, Microsoft will be able to build a stronger product.  

4. Perhaps Microsoft thinks it would earn more by licensing their software to businesses and school institutions rather than simply selling hardware as they did with their Xbox and Zune HD.

Closing thought

The Courier Project may be dead, but it may not be the last we see of the Courier. About the axing of the project, Microsoft’s official statement was:

“At any given time, we’re looking at new ideas, investigating, testing, incubating them. It’s in our DNA to develop new form factors and natural user interfaces to foster productivity and creativity. The “Courier” project is an example of this type of effort. It will be evaluated for use in future Microsoft offerings, but we have no plans to build such a device at this time.”

This means Microsoft may integrate Courier technologies into other product offerings.

The Courier may resurface as a platform in future devices. Perhaps it would become an app for a Windows tablet.