Microsoft has recently released two demonstration videos of their upcoming tablet to compete with the iPad. The device, named Courier, features a two screen foldable design with an interface that uses both pen and finger touch input. The Courier is slightly larger than a standard 5″x7″ book but less than an inch thin when closed. There is no launch date or price point at the moment, but it is easy to see that this new device from Microsoft (if it is not vaporware) will be a direct competitor to Apple’s iPad. View the videos of the Microsoft Courier below:

According to Reuters, the latest orders of iPads will be delayed due to low inventory, as Apple appears to be having a hard time keeping up with demand. Apple began taking preorders for the iPad, which basically looks like a large iPhone and is designed for email, web surfing, games and media playing, on March 12. At the time, Apple promised to ship the touchscreen device to buyers on the official sales launch date of April 3, the same date that the iPad is scheduled to start selling in U.S. retail locations. However now Apple’s website states a shipping date of April 12 for customers ordering the iPad online. The new April 12 shipping date indicates that the company has seen robust early demand for the iPad. Many analysts have said that Apple is having some difficulty scaling up production because of issues in the parts supply chain. The device goes on sale next Saturday in the United States, starting at about $500 for the basic model, while the high-end model goes for over $800. Some analysts have estimated that Apple will sell around 1 million iPads in the June quarter.

This is good news for Apple and developers for the iPhone platform, as there will be a huge demand for applications when the iPads finally get into consumers’ hands. As has been seen with other launches of iPhone devices and updates, the initial demand will be very large as users want to use their new devices. Current apps will enjoy a new market with a new class of devices that will run that same platform as the current iPhones and iPod Touch devices, but the huge upcoming market is undoubtedly iPad specific apps. The market may be small to start with but is sure to become as flooded as the current iPhone OS AppStore in a small amount of time. So be sure to get those iPad apps submitted early to avoid a long queue in getting it approved!

According to this press release put out by Google, there is a new contender in the fight for smartphone supremecy. Thats right, Google is throwing it’s hat in the ring with it’s own Google branded phone. And the kicker with Google’s new touch based cell phone, the Nexus One, is that they will offer it unlocked out of the box. This is something that us in America haven’t really seen before - usually to get a cell phone we have to sign up for a lengthy contract with the provider in order to get a discount. And if you don’t want to sign up for a contract, or are already under contract, then you have to pay outrageous prices in order to purchase the phone and then it is locked so you can only use it with that one provider. Of course Google’s Nexus One will have a bundle offered by T-Mobile which allows you to buy the phone for a discounted price if you sign up for a 2-year service contract. Among the features offered by the Nexus One are 3.7″ inch touch screen, 5 megapixel camera with flash, dynamic noise suppression, tri-color trackball, and universal voice recognition. The device is very svelt at 11.5mm thin and 130 grams in weight. Powering the device is the newest version of the Android operating system, Android 2.1, which includes turn by turn navigation with Google Maps and the ability to download new applications for the device via Android Market.

Google’s willingness to offer the Nexus One unlocked is a very bold move that will definitely change the game when it comes to buying a cell phone. Google is such a huge contender that others will have to pay attention and consider offering similar deals to stay competitive. Apple for one needs to pay attention to what Google is doing with the Nexus One. Apple’s exclusivity contract with AT&T may be causing them to lose out on a huge portion of the smart phone market, and they need to realize this before it is too late. One caveat to the Nexus One is that it currently will not work with Verizon, Sprint, AT&T or Rogers. Google plans to offer the phone available for use on the Verizon network very soon but has not said anything about allowing the device to be used on AT&T, Sprint and Rogers.

An article was recently published that estimates Apple’s current profit from the over 1 billion applications that have been downloaded from it’s iPhone OS App Store is approximately $20-45 million. This is much lower than the estimated $1.2 billion in App sales for 2009 that some analysts have projected. With an estimated ratio for paid to free apps as anywhere from 1:15 or as high as 1:45, and the weighted average app price of less than $2, it doesn’t look like the App Store is the golden egg for many developers. In fact, with about 60,000 registered iPhone developers, the average income for them is roughly $3,000. With many of the applications taking many people multiple months to work on them, this is definately not as profitable as some had hoped. Although this is just the average of an estimated number, but it shows that user’s aren’t willing to spend all that much money on software after their initial hardware purchase.

The fellows at Team XBox have released an article claiming that Microsoft is working on a new handheld device that will contain features of the Zune portable music player, as well as be some sort of XBox video game device. They claim that many anonymous sources have spoken with them about the upcoming device, with one person using the term ‘xYz’ refering to the device being a meld of the XBox and Zune devices. The new device could also be used as a phone, which would place it as a direct competitor to the iPhone and iPod touch devices. If this device does come out with superior gaming and other capabilities, it could actually give Apple a run for it’s money. And even if this exact product never sees the light of day, NVidia and Microsoft have officially announced that they are working on a partnership to bring NVidia’s line of new graphics chips for mobile platforms to Windows Mobile devices before any other smart phone platform. I think its safe to say that Microsoft is definitely cooking up something to go up against Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch.