Innovation never stops and so does not, competition. Engadget published new videos and images of Microsoft’s tablet called Courier. It truly looks like Microsoft is about to get it RIGHT and from what we’ve seen so far it has the potential of becoming one of the most popular gadgets under Microsofts banner.

Microsoft is playing smart by running the gadget on the same OS used on Zune and ZuneHD. which opens it up for developers to develop application for Microsoft Courier and by now we all know eco system of such gadgets is just as important as the gadget itself.

As see in the videos, the gadget seems to be largely targeted at the working professionals who like to maintain and access information on the go. There is a huge professional audience for such a gadget, however, by targeting professionals in the videos; the company is underplaying the potential of Microsoft Cruise for personal users.

I don’t deny the potential of iPad eating into Kindles marketshare and profits but I believe Microsoft’s Courier is a bigger threat to Kindle than iPad is. Majority of the Apple fanboys will buy iPad as a multimedia device which doubles up as a book reader as well but Microsoft Courier’s main use case is built around reading and writing.

The fact that Amazon bought NY based Touchco for its touch screen technology for color LCD’s indicates that we can expect a colorful Kindle that can compete with gadgets like iPad and Microsoft Courier.

Imagine these two scenarios and its potential,

1. Personal Blogging: With the built-in handwriting recognition and publishing capabilities, Microsoft Courier makes it effortless for people to maintain a personal blog, journal, etc online. The way gadget is designed it’s not any different from putting your thoughts down in a diary at the end of every day. Imagine that for a second and see how beautiful it feels!

My only hope is that Microsoft will not restrict publishing to its own properties and will open it up to hosts like Blogspot, WordPress, etc.. through FTP or some kind of publishing method will lets users publish to their own sites.

2. E-books: Though Kindle does an amazing job of replicating the reading experience in terms of display, Microsoft’s Courier is the closest thing that has replicated the overall experience including the book-like looks & grip and the turning-pages part of it.I am pretty certain a number of Kindle owners might be willing to ditch Kindle for Microsoft’s Courier.

There are many more business cases where Microsoft Courier is apt when compared to other existing devices.

One of the only limitations I see with Microsoft Courier is the partition or the folding space between the screens which stops it from becoming a multimedia device. You still might be able to play videos on one part of the screen but it leaves the other part totally unused while watching a movie.

The information leak came soon after Apple announced the availability dates of iPad, April 3rd 2010. Sounds like a strategic leak, doesn’t it?

What do you think? Do you like Microsoft Courier better than Apple’s iPad or Will you ditch your Kindle for Microsoft Courier?

Watch the following video to see Microsoft Courier in action..

Image Credit: Engadget