Courier tablet one of many Microsoft prototypes

Microsoft does indeed have a dual-screen tablet code-named Courier, and it may not be the only gadget that the software maker has up its sleeves.

Earlier on Tuesday, Gizmodo revealed photos and a video of Courier--showing it to be a dual-screen tablet with both pen input and multitouch capabilities. Earlier this week, ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley also reported that Microsoft was taking another swing at the tablet PC concept.

(Credit: Gizmodo)

My sources say it's legit, but I'm hearing that it's just one of several prototypes that has been cooked up as part of a skunkworks project being led by executive J. Allard and a small team of 'Softies.

Microsoft has been trying to keep Allard's work under wraps--even locating Allard's team well away from the rest of Microsoft's main Redmond campus. Until it was shown by Gizmodo, not only was Courier's existence a surprise to many outside Redmond, few inside the company were aware of it either.

Whether Courier--or any of its still-secret brethren--actually come to market is still yet to be determined, I'm hearing. That said, the tablet PC is a long-held dream of founder and Chairman Bill Gates, who said that he hoped the device would continue to evolve even after he stepped away from full-time work at the company