HP tablet 'confirmed,' but Courier "far off"
updated 04:30 pm EST, Wed January 6, 2010
Microsoft keynote may not bring Courier
An HP tablet is coming at tonight's Microsoft keynote but may not be the rumored Courier tablet, multiple sources indicate today. A contact for Reuters says to expect a media-centric, multi-touch device from HP at Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer's keynote, but doesn't provide details. Journalist Kara Swisher adds, however, that her own contacts are adamant it won't be the dual-screen Courier and instead will be a slate that runs Microsoft software.
The news is echoed by Gizmodo editor Brian Lam, who in a Twitter update adds that any Courier product is "far off."
A possibility remains that the system is actually the TouchSmart tm2 convertible tablet, which has multi-touch input and runs Windows 7. Microsoft has been known to use its presentations partly as demonstrations of its partners' recent PC projects rather than to unveil hardware for the first time.
Based on a late-breaking rumor Tuesday, speculation has been building that Ballmer might use a Courier launch at CES specifically to undermine claims Apple might make about its own rumored tablet, which could be unveiled as soon as January 27th.
Yawn
01/06, 07:18pm reply
"Ballmer might use a Courier launch at CES specifically to undermine claims Apple might make about its own rumored tablet"
MSFT is going to launch a product to go against an Apple rumor? MSFT must really be shaking in their boots about Apple's 5% market share...
Raman
Grizzled Veteran
Joined: Mar 2001
MSFT Vaporware
01/06, 07:22pm reply
If Balmer does launch Courier consumers are smart enough to know exactly what that means - another floater to flush.
FreeRange
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2009
Microsoft software
01/06, 07:32pm reply
"will be a slate that runs Microsoft software."
This means it will be Windows 7 with a few nifty touch based applications, just like HP's Touch Smart Computers.
This will be as successful as tablets of almost a decade ago running Windows XP with a few nifty pen based applications.
I predict, FAIL
mjtomlin
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 1999
how sad for HP and MS
01/06, 11:44pm reply
once upon a time HP had the engineering chops to design their own chips, to write their own OS.
They could have an "Apple Tablet" success.
But this is just more Windows with some tablet features that never worked before, and wont' work this time.
Boring.
Jonathan-Tanya
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 2004
Re: how sad
01/07, 10:16am reply
Yeah, and their chips were slow and over-complicated, and their OS (which was Unix with a crappy UI) basically blew chunks.
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001