Microsoft's Surface technology is inching ever closer to becoming a real product line, with hardware partner Samsung demonstrating its SUR40 interactive table at CES in Las Vegas.
Samsung's first attempt at a Surface table is a dramatic departure from the bulky designs of Microsoft's original Surface prototypes, and forms a part of Microsoft's new Surface 2 strategy. Thanks to a technology called PixelSense, the display is able to detect fingers, hands and objects placed on the screen, but without the need for the large cameras that increased the size of the original designs.
As a result of the PixelSense technology, the Samsung SUR40 is a mere 4in thick. As such, it can be used as a table, as with the original Surface concept, but it can also be used as a wall-mounted 40in display if you remove the legs.
Unlike a traditional touchscreen, the SUR40 tracks images of the objects interacting with it, rather than detecting a change in resistance or capacitance caused by a finger or stylus. Each pixel doubles as a low-resolution camera, which combine their images to build up a picture of precisely what is where on the display.
Combined with Microsoft's Surface software, the SUR40 can be used to recognise and interact with objects placed upon it, triggering a synchronisation operation when a smartphone is placed upon it, or even launching a game when a coffee cup is rested on it.
With a significantly refined design that enables the device to be used horizontally or vertically, the Samsung SUR40 could be the first example of a Surface product that someone might actually want to buy.
Does the addition of PixelSense finally make Surface appealing, or are you still struggling to see the killer app? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
Samsung's first attempt at a Surface table is a dramatic departure from the bulky designs of Microsoft's original Surface prototypes, and forms a part of Microsoft's new Surface 2 strategy. Thanks to a technology called PixelSense, the display is able to detect fingers, hands and objects placed on the screen, but without the need for the large cameras that increased the size of the original designs.
As a result of the PixelSense technology, the Samsung SUR40 is a mere 4in thick. As such, it can be used as a table, as with the original Surface concept, but it can also be used as a wall-mounted 40in display if you remove the legs.
Unlike a traditional touchscreen, the SUR40 tracks images of the objects interacting with it, rather than detecting a change in resistance or capacitance caused by a finger or stylus. Each pixel doubles as a low-resolution camera, which combine their images to build up a picture of precisely what is where on the display.
Combined with Microsoft's Surface software, the SUR40 can be used to recognise and interact with objects placed upon it, triggering a synchronisation operation when a smartphone is placed upon it, or even launching a game when a coffee cup is rested on it.
With a significantly refined design that enables the device to be used horizontally or vertically, the Samsung SUR40 could be the first example of a Surface product that someone might actually want to buy.
Does the addition of PixelSense finally make Surface appealing, or are you still struggling to see the killer app? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
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