Microsoft Courier Will Not Target Amazon Kindle

According to CEO Steve Ballmer, Microsoft has no interest in developing an e-reader that would compete with other devices such as Amazon's Kindle. He claims the company already has a device for reading, and he says "it’s the most popular device in the world. It’s the PC."

That being said, Ballmer is known as a passionate supporter of innovation and we expect that the Courier tablet will be a game-changer nonetheless. Microsoft has released its own tablet-compatible e-reader software called Microsoft Reader.

The software is free and runs on desktops, laptops, tablets and mobile devices with the Windows operating system. So far 60,000 titles are available. Amazon currently offers 350,000 titles for their Kindle wireless reading device.

Microsoft Reader is a dynamic reading engine, which builds the eBook page-by-page according to your reading preferences.

Although Courier's features may be oriented in a different direction than Kindle's, it would make sense for Microsoft to make available a variant of their Reader software on the new device. After all, the form factor and Pagestream interface couldn't be more like a book.

No word on what technology will go into the twin seven-inch displays on Courier. It's likely they will be backlit, which may make reading for long periods more difficult and consume more power. Kindle features E-Ink that simulates print on paper.