Touch Screen Gadget

Surface made headline table page

Posted by admin | Category: Multi Touch, Table and Floor

“Better late than never”, that could be the ad slogan for Microsoft’s Surface computer.

The table top, multi-touch, screen-based device that the company demonstrated last May has been wildly popular as “demo-ware” – garnering lots of attention in its public outings.

However, so far there have been none of the deployments initially planned by Microsoft’s commercial launch customers by the end of last year.

Microsoft announced this week that AT&T will begin using the Surface computer in its phone stores, starting with “select retail locations” in New York, Atlanta, San Antonio, and San Francisco on April 17. The intent is for consumers to use the computer to help them compare mobile phones and service plans for sale in the stores.

“By harnessing the power of Surface in our retail stores, we’re giving shoppers the opportunity to learn about the growing universe of mobile applications and devices in a very personal and unique way,” AT&T said in a statement.

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No More Mouse; Touch screen making inroads

Posted by admin | Category: Trend Watch & News

The hands-on approach is making its way into more technology used by consumers, from laptops to mobile phones to gaming and multimedia devices.

With these devices getting smaller and sleeker, touching them with a finger is often much easier and way more comfortable than clicking a mouse or thumb-typing on a tiny keyboard.

Touch-screen technology is people friendly, said Mike Agerbo, host of the Get Connected TV and radio show.

“As humans, we do everything with touch and with our hands whether we’re opening a door or sorting things out,” Agerbo said from Vancouver.

“It’s more of a natural way to actually interface with things.” Read the rest of this entry »

Consumer Version Of Surface PC by Microsoft

Posted by admin | Category: Table and Floor

Microsoft last year introduced Surface — a coffee table-sized computer with a horizontal, 30-inch touch screen — as a platform that businesses could use to create interactive kiosks and entertainment devices for customers. “We talked about how we were going to bring it to market for commercial customers,” Ballmer noted.

But Ballmer said a high level of consumer interest in Surface has prompted the company to invest in creating a mass-market version. He did not provide a timeframe. Surface is expected to be widely available for businesses in the spring.

Some companies in the hospitality industry already are testing the tabletop, which is powered by the Windows Vista operating system and is compatible with numerous Windows applications. Read the rest of this entry »

Give your computer the finger: Touch Screen evolution

Posted by admin | Category: Trend Watch & News

“Good summary of today’s touch-screen technologies on Computerworld — the obvious Apple iPhone and Microsoft Surface, plus projected touch screens (nothing for users to break), handheld devices that you control from the back (so your fingers don’t obscure the screen), and of course giant multitouch walls a la Minority Report. Anyone got $100K?”

The WIMP human-computer interface may have an uninspiring name, but Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointing devices have dominated computing for some 15 years. The keyboard, mouse and display screen have served users extraordinarily well.

But now the hegemony of WIMP may be coming to an end, say developers of technologies based on human touch and gesture. For evidence, look no further than Apple’s one-year-old iPhone. From a human-interface point of view, the combined display and input capabilities of the iPhone’s screen, which can be manipulated by multiple fingers in a variety of intuitive touches and gestures, is nothing short of revolutionary, researchers say. Read the rest of this entry »