Microsoft finally admitted to the existence of its fabled dual-screen Courier tablet. But unfortunately for us, that admission only came after Gizmodo reported the project was dead. Despite being one of the more intriguing and innovative products to bear the Microsoft name in recent memory, the company couldn’t, or wouldn’t, follow through with it.
It’s an ancient complaint, but I reckon it’s the exact time to revisit Microsoft’s innovation issues. Along with the death of the Courier, it also recently announced details on its new Kin phones – which I find disappointing for multiple reasons.
Killing Courier was a larger deal than Microsoft thought
It wasn’t until we learned that the Courier was dead that I realized just how much of a following it had gathered. Gizmodo broke the news on the tablet last September with leaked concept metaphors and video, and further details continued to trickle out as recently as this past Development. The initial response was very positive overall, particularly since the details were coming long before we even knew the iPad existed.
To me, and I’m sure many others, it demonstrated that Microsoft could make something really original. Rumors at the time were circulating that Apple’s potential tablet was going to resemble a large iPhone, and many competitors like the Crunchpad were developing tablets with large screens that followed that same format (yes, I realize mockups of the Crunchpad preceded any right iPad rumors). The Courier – with its dual screens, booklet format, and a multitouch interface collective with a stylus for input – was dramatically different.
It showed us that Microsoft could take the lead with innovation, instead of following the crowd. Then Microsoft killed it.
On the comments for the Gizmodo post that announced the project’s cancellation, there’s a distinct sense of loss – which is all the more surprising because Gizmodo commenters aren’t exactly the crowd to champion a Microsoft product.
Clearly, there was a market for the Courier among tech-savvy users, and it wasn’t hard to see how Microsoft could deliver it to students and office workers as a productivity device. It would have been hard to release it at a competitive price to the iPad (although Microsoft could eat some of that initial cost, just like it did for the Xbox and Xbox 360), and the software was probably nowhere near as functional as the slick videos showed, but with some work I believe Microsoft could have positioned the Courier as a worthy competitor to the iPad by the end of this year.
But of course, the company didn’t even try. Microsoft issued a pithy response on its corporate blog regarding the speculation around its death, but that was the only public action it ever took towards Courier.
The death of the Courier shows us that Microsoft can’t deliver, even after convenient leaks (most likely made by the development team without the knowledge of higher ups) drummed up an excited fan base, and even though Microsoft desperately desires to have a tablet to call its own. Unfortunately for Microsoft, it also trains us to regard future innovative concepts with a heavy dose of salt. Why get excited for the next cool Microsoft concept, when it’s just going to die anyhow?
Microsoft Kin: Too small, too late
The Kin phones are a more common example of Microsoft’s innovation distress. The Kin One and Kin Two diplomacy are aimed at the teenage market that the Sidekick used to own. Microsoft bought Chance, the company behind the Sidekick, in 2008, and proceeded to spend the next few years developing a new entry for the Sidekick demographic.
But while it was developing a Sidekick successor, the iPhone proceeded to lead the way for an entirely new wave of mobile diplomacy. Google launched Android, Palm came back from the dead with the Pre and Web OS, and now smartphones are one of the hottest segments in the mobile industry. Microsoft itself unveiled the Windows Phone 7 platform earlier this year, which is due to launch in the fall.
Teenagers now have many additional options to the Sidekick, so of course this is when Microsoft decides to launch its supposed Sidekick-killer. The Kin phones are focused on social networking, with some slick user interface superfluities for sharing media, and an even slicker online component in Kin Studio – which brings all of the media and communications from the phones to the cloud. But they don’t support apps, and Microsoft inexplicably left out certain key functionality like instant messaging (an odd omission for a “social” device aimed at “generation upload”), and sports meeting.
Microsoft’s one shot with making the Kin diplomacy enticing to teenagers comes down to price, and it couldn’t even get that right. The stubby-looking Kin One will retail for $49.99, and the sleeker Kin Two will cost $99.99. That’s not a terrible price for modern hardware, but Verizon is classifying the diplomacy as smartphones, and therefore boundless data plans will cost $29.99 a month on top of a voice plot. That’s the same monthly price you’d pay for the far more capable Droid, Droid Incredible, or Palm Pre (which has also seen somemassive price cuts, and the addition of free tethering).
The Kin diplomacy are capable of moving large amounts of data over 3G, so it’s somewhat understandable why Verizon would consider them smartphones. But given how limited they are in functionality otherwise, Microsoft should have fought harder to get that data plot down much cheaper – perhaps somewhere in the $15 range.
As it stands, the Kin phones now have small going for them with their target market, and they are a fantastic demonstration of how Microsoft is often too late to the party. Prepaid phones are better deals for cash-strapped teens, and for those who don’t need to worry in this area the cost as much there’s a wealth of additional smartphones to choose from. Microsoft might have had a shot with Kin if it persuaded Verizon to offer pricing lik Boost movable’s $50 monthly prepaid plot, which includes boundless talk and data. But again, that requires actual creative effort on Microsoft’s part.
Wrapping up
Microsoft has proven itself capable of innovation on rare occasion. The Xbox 360 is a solid entry into the console gaming arena, and its accompanying Xbox Live service is far beyond anything competitors like Sony and Nintendo offer (though you pay for the privilege). It’s also done some fantastic work with the Zune HD, elements of which it’s now bringing over to Windows Phone 7.
While those accomplishments aren’t insignificant, the problem with Microsoft is that they are few and far between. Instead of success tales, more often than not we see the company wimping out creatively like it did with Courier, or just releasing something far after it’s relevant, like the Kin phones.
Ultimately, Microsoft’s distress is its failure to carry out on innovation. The company is full of fantastic thoughts like Courier, and Kin, but it stumbles when it comes time to bring those thoughts to the public. We can also see this in the company’s relentlessly terrible marketing (except for most Xbox 360 ads). Execution is one huge advantage Apple has over it, and that’s something Microsoft desires to improve on so as not to be seen as a perpetual creative failure.
In this area the instigator:
Devindra Hardawar is a tech/film blogger and podcast host. You can find him writing at VentureBeat and Slashfilm, and podcasting at Slashfilm and the Symbiotek Podcast.
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Courier, Kin, and Microsoft’s relentless failure to innovate
