Microsoft Courier and Apple Tablet Rumors Are Heating Up

The rumored Apple tablet will be getting a lot of competition from Microsoft’s new Courier tablet PC, if it should ever get released. In the video from Gizmodo (also after the break), you can see all of the features of the new double screened courier tablet and how each of them operates.

The leaked video also focuses on one of the main features of the Courier, the “infinite journal”. The infinite journal is a note taking app that is essentially endless and which resembles that of the iPhone notetaking app. You can type and add as much information as you can onto the device and it will be able to store it, allowing the user to later publish it straight to a site or a PowerPoint.

The device also features a content management feature that is very similar to a Delicious library and looks like a cross between Apple’s CoverFlow and Top Sites. Many sites including ZDNet say that the Courier tablet is using software that is based off of Windows 7 and will be very similar in terms of usage.

Along with the release of Microsoft’s Courier, Apple may release their own, the iTablet. The iTablet has been rumored for release for some time and was even expected at Apple’s September event. After no appearance at the September 9 event, sources say it will be available early 2010. This time, with what is hopefully a true rumor, sources say that Apple has settled on a 10.7 inch screen, bigger than the previously rumored 7 inches. It is also rumored that the iTablet will have a multi-touch display like the iPhone, will carry 6x the resolution as the iPhone (almost 720p HD), and will run a stripped version of the iPhone OS, instead of running full Mac OS. The tablet will be announced at an Apple event no later than January, 19 2010 and will be released in retail stores in May or June of 2010.

These two devices will have lots of competition between them, but Apple’s tablet may be sure to win, since, its rumors have been swirling around for a while. The Courier will be costly with its two screens (No word on ebooks, music or video). However, the Apple tablet may cost less than the Macbook or Macbook Pro and probably be running a lighter version of Snow Leopard, after the discovery of the soft keyboard built into its OS.