Microsoft Awarded Patent for Dual-Screen Tablet

Gone but not forgotten.

Microsoft killed off its fascinating dual screen tablet, the Courier, in April of this year and, while the company said in a statement that it would be evaluated for use in future offerings, Redmond also stated, "We have no plans to build such a device at this time."

Disappointed, we came to terms with the fact that Microsoft's 14-inch (2 x 7-inch touch screens) digital journal would never come to pass. However, a recent application to the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office leads us to believe Microsoft was definitely serious about the Courier. Despite the fact that Robbie Bach told TechFlash in May that the Courier was never a device, rather it was a project and incubation leading to innovations that could find their way into other Microsoft products, this patent filed in January suggests Microsoft was, at one time, committed to a product that looked strikingly similar to the Courier.

Microsoft received the patent this week and TechFlash reports that this kind of patent is good for 14 years, so Microsoft has until 2024 to do something with this design.