Over the past few months, the high-tech industry has been working itself into a frenzy of excitement over the newest idea about to hit the market: Tablet computers. Granted, this idea isn’t exactly new. Back in 1993 Apple released the Newton MessagePad, which is similar to the much-anticipated tablets that will soon be released.
Both Apple and Microsoft are hard at work designing their interpretation of the tablet computer. Apple is currently working on the Apple iPad, while Microsoft is designing the Microsoft Courier tablet. We all know how desktop computers work. Tablets are one of the few mysteries left for us to discover. That being said, which tablet will best for you? Which company will turn the fantasy of a tablet into a perfect reality? It’s hard to say at this point. There has been some information leaked on both tablets, so all we can do at the moment is look into the supposed details.
Microsoft Courier Tablet Pre-Review
The Microsoft courier tablet is a little different then one would expect, so it will be interesting to see the reactions it gets from users when it is released. It sports 2 7-inch colored screens, which will cause it to resemble a book, or a really cool day planner. It combines gestures, a multi-touch commands, AND a stylus pen. Yes you read right, a stylus pen. Some believe that the pen interface belongs in the tablet pc era, but not in the touch interface devices. The pen interface obviously has its pros and cons. It is also going to be one of the main differences between the courier and the apple tablet.
As far as the hardware goes, it has been reported the Microsoft courier tablet will run on Microsoft’s Windows 7. Also the courier will have a built-in camera on the back, and Wi-F. That’s about all that we know about the courier, and from the rumors that have surfaced, is seems that the world can expect "mid-2010" delivery. While it does look attractive, the controls and interface seem to lack the intuitiveness that defines Apple’s products. The gestures and motions seemed strange and not natural from the videos. Lots of funny tapping, throwing items, cutting them out and other strange motions. Whereas Apple’s products work on intuition, it appears that you will have to read the manual carefully to figure out which gestures are appropriate to get stuff done on the courier. Perhaps this isn’t going to be an issue at all, only time will tell.
It has been said that the Courier is "almost the exact opposite of what everyone expects the Apple tablet to be." No one knows for sure what the apple tablet will actually look like. We have never seen a full sized prototype leaked to know for sure. All we have to go off of again are rumors and a few blurry pictures that back them up. As far as the world knows, the apple tablet may not even exist, though with Microsoft hard at work on the courier, Apple may be forced the join the tablet race whether they want to or not.
Apple Macbook Touch Tablet Pre-Review
The Apple iPad tablet is assumed to be a bigger iPod touch with a 9- or 10-inch multi touch display, an iSight camera, with Wi-Fi and of course, 3G capabilities. It with either be running the iPod OS or more likley a version of Mac OS X like Snow Lepoard which apparently already has some touch screen capabilities built in to the code. However, Apple’s products always seem to work better with other Apple products. Your ipod syncs to your Mac, your Mac syncs to your .Me account, your .Me account will sync from anywhere online. While convenient, it can also be annoying for those who like more freedom. A la “Jail breaking” your iPhone or iPod touch. We are quite excited about the number of ipad cases, ipad covers, and other accessories for the iPad that are coming out in the near future!
Let’s pretend for a moment that both devices are for sure coming to a store shelve near you. What will be the result of the Courier Vs. apple tablet batter? If you have seen Apple’s “get a mac” ads, you will laugh when you see what the apple iPad touch tablet is rumored to look at. It looks like a sleek, cool looking device that will allow you to own rock band and create a movie masterpiece within minutes. On the other hand the courier has the feel of a business-oriented device that lives to create spreadsheets and pie charts.
As always, each company is going to be offering devices for two different customer types. Leaving you with a deceivingly tricky question: PC or mac?
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