Microsoft cans Courier tablet

Microsoft has shelved plans to launch a folding, two-screen touch-screen device, known as Courier.

The highly anticipated product has been much discussed in tech blogs and news outlets in recent months. The two-screen tablet was to incorporate touch-screen and pen-based controls. And although Microsoft has never confirmed the existence of the project, it has confirmed that ‘Courier’ is now dead.

Corporate VP of communications Frank Shaw told Fast Company, "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 offerings, but we have no plans to build such a device at this time."

The cancellation comes soon after the launch of Apple’s Pad, while PC manufacturers are looking into portable touch-screen computing devices as a lucrative successor to laptops.

Pic credit: Gizmodo