Is this Microsoft's upcoming foldable Surface device?
Microsoft has filed a patent for a foldable dual-screen notebook– a two screen device that appears to work in a number of configurations – which looks similar to the company’s “Courier” concept. The Microsoft’s Courier, was first reported in 2008 but was abruptly cancelled in 2010.
Microsoft has filed a patent for a foldable dual-screen notebook– a two screen device that appears to work in a number of configurations – which looks similar to the company’s “Courier” concept. The Microsoft’s Courier, was first reported in 2008 but was abruptly cancelled in 2010.
First spotted by MSPowerUser, the patent for a “self-regulating hinge” shows a “pair of self-regulating hinge assemblies rotatably securing hinge ends of the first and second portions around a first hinge axis associated with the first portion and a second hinge axis associated with the second hinge axis so that an extent of rotation around the first hinge axis corresponds to an extent of rotation around the second hinge axis.”
The patent, filed at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), includes intricate details around how the hinge works. However, there isn’t much information provided about the software for such a device.
One image shows one half of the screen serving as a display while the other half has a virtual keyboard and trackpad. The second image shows off a device placed in a tent-like formation with its display showing an alarm clock.
However, The Verge points out that it isn’t clear if such a device will ever make it to market. Microsoft previously toyed with the idea of a Surface Mini, but CEO Satya Nadella canceled the project just weeks before it was due to be unveiled. Surface chief Panos Panay described the canceled device as “awesome” and “like a Moleskine,” and leaked Surface Mini images gave us a closer look at what Microsoft was experimenting with.