iSlate Hacked

Since technically the Courier is still a mythical product, Microsoft leaves us at the same level of unknown expectations as the fictional iSlate has left us.  So….we thought we would put the two of them up together and see how they pan out.
The mystical Courier and the mystical iSlate, Steve Ballmer is keeping as quiet on this one as Steve Jobs.  I can see them side by side sitting in class for the course in “ALWAYS KEEP THEM GUESSING.”
The Courier is purported to be a real game changer, just as the iSlate.  We are having to go on speculations, leaks and rumors.  It is said to be in the late development stage.  It is being referred to as “The Infinite Journal.”  It includes two, multi-touch 7-inch screens that can be used for writing, flicking, and drawing with a stylus pen, or navigating with your fingers.  It can collect and hold almost any kind of content, web clippings, notes, diagrams, drawings, or photos, each item gets a timestamp and geotag. The hinge doubles as a “pocket” to hold items you want to move from one page to another.  Microsoft’s tablet heritage is digital ink-oriented, and this interface works with the Surface touch computer and the Zune HD.  It has been reported to run on top of Windows 7.  The pen is more than just the old fashioned stylus, it comes with two buttons, an eraser and different drawing modes activated by a twisting mechanism.  The rear button is an undo action, while the front button is a quick-select.  You can also use finger gestures to interact with the device.  It has a camera mode,  that  uses the “Cloud” system which provides you with the web-based access to your Journal, where you can share it on line.  This seems to be serious competition for the iSlate.

The iSlate is also purported to be a real game changer.  Rumors, speculations and leaks are all that we have to go on with this one also.  It is to have a seven-inch screen and run a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache and 1066MHz system bus. It will be sold with 2GB of RAM, but will support up to 8GB. The iSlate will feature a 120GB SATA hard drive that spins at 4200rpm.” Other specs include a “built-in iSight camera and projector; multitouch display with oleophobic coating; two USB ports and an SD slot; stereo speakers with mic and optical digital output; and gigabit ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR.  It will run “Mac OS X Clouded Leopard v10.7.” This one seems to be serious competition for the Courier.
Well, now you have it, which one truly exists, which one will be declared the winner,   will either or both of them actually ever leave the gate?  Questions..Questions…Questions