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While the link between Toshiba and Microsoft might seem tenuous, it's worth remembering that Toshiba manufactured Redmond's original Zune music player, whose hardware was based on a Toshiba PMP (personal music player) known as the Gigabeat. Last week, a Toshiba executive reportedly told Reuters Toshiba would release two tablet-style devices later this year, one a single-screen device running Google's Android OS and one a dual-screen device running Windows.
Last month, Engadget staffer Nilay Patel posted an item citing an "extremely trusted source," stating that the dual-screen "Courier," offering digital journal and e-reader functionality, will launch during the second half of this year. Under an inch thick and with a footprint approximately 5 x 7 inches, the device will feature a Windows CE-based OS running on an Nvidia Tegra SoC (system on chip), he added.
Engadget -- which published a gallery of official-looking images and even a video, shown later in this story -- claimed the Courier would have a pen-based interface centered around drawing and writing, complete with handwriting recognition. A related website will allow access to everything entered into the device in a blog-like format, added Patel.
Latter in March, Microsoft appeared to confirm the Courier's existence via a posting on its JobsBlog recruiting page, which referred to the Courier as an upcoming product, and linked to earlier coverage on the Engadget website. As reported by All Things Digital's Peter Kafka, mention of the Courier came in a blog posting touting "how Microsoft is again leading the industry in innovation."
The JobsBlog posting is said to have read as follows:
Do you already know everything about Project Natal and the Cloud? Is Blaise Aguera y Arcas' jaw-dropping TED talk on augmented-reality Bing Maps and Photosynth last month's news? Then check out some of the online chatter surrounding new releases of Window [sic] Phone 7 series handsets, Internet Explorer 9, and the upcoming Courier digital journal.
Hyperlinks for the mentions of Windows Phone 7 and Internet Explorer 9 led to stories on Engadget and CNET, respectively, while a link for the "upcoming" Courier led to the Nilay Patel story mentioned above. Now, while the JobsBlog posting remains, the reference to the Courier has been deleted.
Background
The images posted by Engadget suggest that if it actually exists, the Courier will offer web browsing, though no word was provided regarding connectivity options. According to Patel, there will also be a built-in camera and a headphone jack for media playback.
It's said the Courier will have a user interface resembling that of Microsoft's existing Zune HD (left) and upcoming Windows Phone 7 operating system. The Engadget story added that, like the Zune HD, the device will employ Windows CE 6.0 under the skin and use an Nvidia Tegra processor -- perhaps the recently announced Tegra 250.
A separate story last month by Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley speculated that Microsoft may release a "Zune HD2" later this year that, unlike the first Zune HD, will be able to run all the software written for Windows Phone 7 devices without modification. The WiFi-only device would bear the same relationship to Windows Phone 7 handsets that Apple's iPod Touch does to its iPhone, she suggested.
Further information
To read the DigiTimes report about a dual-screen tablet to be manufactured by Compal for Toshiba, see here. To see the Reuters report about a Toshiba dual-screen tablet, go here.
To read Peter Kafka's All Things Digital posting about Microsoft's JobsBlog entry, then see the subsequently altered version, go here and here.
To read Nilay Patel's original Engadget story about the Courier, go here
Mary Jo Foley's posting regarding the rumored Zune HD2 may be found here.
