Update:

Yea, so about that whole stepping up their game thing…turns out its more of the same. Courier has been cancelled as we all tried not to believe. Way to go Microsoft, for killing dreams. C’mon Adam, your our last hope and we don’t want any more delays! Anything past November and all bets are off!

On another note I’ll go ahead and add the ExoPc “Slate” to this list…

Its 11.6 inches, slightly bigger than the iPad, and runs Windows 7 which should be quite useful for people who still need to get stuff done. What really drew me in was the interface. Love the WebOs reminiscent swipe-to-exit functionality there. I also think the app launcher is pretty neat as well. Full HD playback, camera, and Adobe Flash support don’t hurt the cause either.

Ok Guys,

I’ve got more tablet news. If you are still thinking about purchasing the iPad, or one of the other tablets out there so you can let everyone in the office know what a trend-setter and awesome guy (or gal) you are then pause a quick second before you open that wallet.

Remember Microsoft’s rumored tablet? No, not that HP thingy, the two screened one that had the awesome demo vid? Yeah, its called the Courier, and its really shaping up to be a great device to rival the best.

I’ve included a nice video from Engadget below.

Now a couple of comparison notes:

  • iPad has an actual pre-order date of March 12th and a shipping date of April 3rd, so its the first to actually materialize. Notion ink’s Adam and the Courier are still Q3 or Q4, whatever that means.
  • Adam will have two modes – one for reading and one for content viewing which should dramatically increase battery life. It should also be able to run Javascript and have full HD playback making it an ideal content consumption device.
  • Courier is smaller than both, but has two screens which could become interesting with game-play. Think Nintendo DS.  It uses the stylus heavily for better or for worse, but the UI is quite captivating. If Microsoft can deliver on its promises in the video below they may have a winner. No word on pricing, video playback quality or battery life as Microsoft hasn’t even confirmed its existence yet, but I know you can’t wait!