The folks at Engadget have snagged a series of new photos and some new details about Microsoft’s upcoming Courier tablet. It sounds like Microsoft is prepared to take on Apple’s iPad using pretty much the same strategy it’s bringing to bear against the iPhone: The Zune HD and Windows Mobile 7 Series operating system.

The Courier will reportedly weigh just over a pound and measure less than an inch thick. it features two screens, and when you close it up, it’s a little bigger than  5 x 7 photograph.

Under the hood, Engadget says the tablet will have an NVIDIA Tegra 2 chipset, which is a low power chip capable of HD and 3D graphics. The OS will be based on the latest version of Windows CE. But the UI should look more like the Zune HD interface than the Windows Mobile 6.5 user experience.

The Courier is designed to be a “digital journal,” and relies pretty heavily on stylus input and handwriting recognition. Engadget says it should be out later this year.

You can find more photos at Engadget.

Anxious to get your hands on Microsoft’s upcoming Courier tablet, but don’t feel like waiting for Microsoft to actually release it? MyDellMini forum member pakkei feels your pain. But instead of sitting on his butt, he decided to do something about it and built his own Courier-like device.

Basically, he took apart a Dell Inspiron Mini 9, added a touchscreen display, and then for good measure removed the keyboard and replaced it with another touchscreen display.

The project is a bit rough around the edges, but Windows 7 detects both touchscreens and pakkei says he expects to use one screen for reading and the other for writing using an on-screen keyboard and/or handwriting with InkSeine.

via SlashGear

Those crazy kids at Gizmodo either have an incredibly reliable source inside Microsoft that keeps slipping them details about the company’s upcoming Courier tablet with dual touchscreen displays, or the whole thing is part of an elaborate hoax. Either way, Gizmodo has published the latest leaked document about the Courier, and this one details exactly how you’re supposed to use the thing.

The display supports multitouch gestures, and you can clip a content by tapping and holding; flick content from one screen to the other by sliding it with two fingers; and pinch certain content to zoom. 

The user interface is based on a “journal” metaphor, and you can create notes, copy and paste items from the web, and perform other actions. But there’s also a “Smart Agenda” view that summarizes content by providing you with email messages, to-do lists, weather, and other information.

Of course, the Microsoft Courier will also have a web browser, which seems to have a rather minimal interface. The device will also have a camera for taking photos, and a “Library” screen for finding all of your applications, data, and other information. The whole thing makes a lot more sense if you check out Gizmodo’s walkthrough, so head on over there and take a look.