Which is better: Apple tablet or Microsoft Courier?

Isn’t it about time that Apple tablet rumors finally have some competition? How long has it been??? I mean, Apple has been way ahead of everyone else with tablet talk for how many years? Since 2002? And in all that time have we heard of any deserving device rumors from anyone else? Yeah, there was the Tablet PC, but come on, that was turned into a shipping product. That doesn’t count. Same goes with Microsoft’s multi-touch wonder, the Surface Computer. Real. Even the OLPC 2 announcement was actually that: an announcement. So it doesn’t count as a rumor only device. The virtual mockups of little children holding the virtual dual screened OLPC 2 system would have been noteworthy if, by design, they’d only been leaked rather than announced. That’s the key. That’s what makes a winner.

I guess you could add the TechCrunch CrunchPad to this list too, because after all even though it was publicly talked about it’s been fighting to earn back its rumor credentials, not talking about release dates or obscuring product features or teasing with actual mockups that aren’t close to what the original goal was or the rumored feature set is supposed to be. The fact that TechCrunch has never actually shipped a tablet product before is actually a good thing here–in terms of the value of the rumors that is. Sure makes it more non-real to me anyway.

So, anyway, after all this time, finally, I mean finally, Microsoft has not stepped up to the podium and not announced a worthy tabletish effort: The Microsoft Courier. The early adopters are all over this one, trying to be the earliest of early adopters, aligning themselves into rumor camps of: I’d buy this one today, but not that.

TechCrunch pretty much sums up the current state of the rumor mill with today’s post “Touching: All Rumors Point To The End Of Keys/Buttons.” Unfortunately, the author douses a little water on the Courier rumor flames when he says:

“Unlike Apple’s tablet, which is expected to be media-centric, it appears the Courier will be a virtual notebook of sorts that you manipulate with both your hands and a special pen. It looks very cool, and it’s apparently running Windows 7. And that means it’s likely much closer than the mock-ups and videos may have you believe.”

At least for TechCrunch, Courier may be too real since it “apparently” runs Windows 7. Yeah, yeah, the artist’s renderings don’t actually show Windows 7 running, but if you look at the Courier videos closely, you can see the tell-tell signs of an OS. That’s gotta be Windows 7. What else could it be?

As a commonly accepted rumor mill standard, if it looks like it’s closer than the rumors actually make it look (hmmm, there’s some logic here that doesn’t seem quite right, but anyway), that’s a detriment, unless, of course, it’s a rumor that says it’s farther along than other rumors suggest it is. That actually boosts the value. Put another way: non-blurry, non-shaking camera, leaked videos–especially artist’s renderings–are too real.

So it appears that at least for the blogosphere pressless press, that the virtual currency is leaning towards Apple right now. Microsoft Courier is a noteworthy contender, but you know what, there just seems to be too much we know about Microsoft and its products–even if we don’t really know anything about Courier per se. Apple wins.