[NTLK] OT: iPad vs. MS Courier: Sound Off

[Tony Kan]

There's a lot that the videos don't show about the MS Courier so it's going to
be difficult to judge without seeing a real one. Just some quick shots from the
hip:


  1.. It might be more robust with both screens being protected when it is
closed.
  2.. Dual screens will definitely improve productivity.  I have this set up on
my desktop and there's no going back now.  It's so great having a reference
document in one window and writing in another without having to manually switch
between them.
  3.. HWR and stylus input seems to be better integrated into the overall UI
  4.. No productivity apps like an adapted MS Office suite was mentioned
  5.. No mention of any telephone capability (AFAIR)
  6.. No mention of third party apps
  7.. No mention of watching videos (AFAIR)
  h.. If displaying videos was possible, watching videos with a bezel straight
down the middle of it is a problem but then you could hold it horizontally with
a video in the top half and continue writing notes in the other half.
Will the UI be as elegant and organic as the iPhone OS?  Probably not.  The
company culture's are quite different.  According to Chris Pratley
(http://blogs.msdn.com/chris_pratley/archive/2004/04/27/120944.aspx), MS's MO is
to get something out there that's functional as quickly as possible.  Attempt to
keep the competition off balance with multiple updates.  It works if the
attempted feature set is on the sweet spot but crashes and burns if they
misunderstand the market.  Beauty, aesthetics and elegance are secondary.

My 2c

Tony

Christchurch
New Zealand

[snip]
These are other people's impression of the device.  Do you think a dual screen
with stylus, like the MS Courier, is the better of the two?
[snip]