The tech site Gizmodo reported Tuesday that a secret Microsoft project, code-named Courier, is working on a two-screen tablet -- essentially, a computer "booklet."

Animated Video

According to the report, the device features two approximately seven-inch multi-touch screens, and the primary interaction would be using a stylus for writing, flicking and drawing, in addition to finger-based input.

There's a camera on the back cover, and battery and Wi-Fi signal strength are shown along the rim of one of the screens.

The research project is reportedly being led by J. Allard, head of technology and user experience for Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division. Gizmodo said Courier is in the late prototype stage, with the team working on development of the full user experience and making presentations to outside agencies who might work on final development and rollout.

A video demonstrating the device, labeled with the name Pioneer Studios, is also available on Gizmodo. It presents the user experience of the device with animation showing a user moving labels and other materials from one screen to another with a drag and flick of a finger.

The interface and user experience shown in the video are radically different from any version of the Windows operating system, with a smooth interplay of multi-touch interaction, stylus writing, and a seamless two-screen desktop of objects and mini-applications. Inspired touches include a virtual pocket in the hinge between the screens, which can "hold" items.

Other sites are contending that, while the tablet prototype is under way, it is only one of a variety of radical new directions Microsoft is internally developing.

'Input Method Is the Big Question'

Tablet computers are beginning to emerge as their own category. Toshiba showed one at at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, and there have been persistent rumors that Apple will be bringing out a tablet device in the next few months.

The French company ARCHOS recently announced its Android-based ARCHOS 5 Internet Tablet, which features 720p high-definition viewing on a five-inch screen, TV recording, and built-in GPS with 3-D navigation, in addition to Net browsing. It also has a Windows-based tablet with a nine-inch screen.

And the CrunchPad, a Net-surfing Android-based tablet from a company formed by technology blogger Michael Arrington, is reported to be ready for release this fall.

Richard Shim, an analyst with industry research firm IDC, said "slate-based computers have been fairly unsuccessful" in the general consumer and business markets because of the lack of a physical keyboard and software that takes advantage of the form factor, among other reasons.

"The input method is the big question," he said, noting that there are few advantages for a consumer or business user in the portability offered by tablet computers, compared to the disadvantages. But, he noted, tablets have found some success in vertical markets where a worker is standing all day, such as people who read meters, for whom an easy-to-carry computer has value.