Multitouch Oy demos Cell multitouch display

Microsoft had better hurry and get more than one Surface rig out on the market, because there are plenty of other companies working on large-format multitouch hardware -- the latest is Finland's Multitouch Oy, which recently demoed its Cell display for jkkmobile. Just the usual photo pinching demo, but it's running at an impressively fluid 60fps on desktop hardware, even with multiple users. Multitouch Oy says it'll run about $7,000 for a 32-inch model when it hits -- yeah, we'll stick with the DIY kit for now. Video after the break.

[Via jkkmobile]

[gally @ Sep 1st 2008 10:28PM]

First time i blog something before engadget :D

[gabe @ Sep 2nd 2008 3:05AM]

wow - what a pointless technology - or at least the video -

my iphone does the same sh1t - JK - but yah!

[Information Central @ Sep 2nd 2008 8:31AM]

No, it is pointless. For four years or so now we've seen this incredible technology doing exactly two things: rotating and zooming. Two things that you could do (on the rare occasions that you need to) with a mousewheel and finger in a three-inch-square space, much more efficiently than waving your arms around a giant vertical surface.

Multitouch is mostly a waste of time. The two things it would be good for, connecting two things or selecting a range, are never shown. Nor implemented: Witness the iPhone's year-long inability to select multiple E-mails for deletion, and even now they still don't use the vaunted multi-touch for this obvious application.

[HellAshes @ Sep 1st 2008 10:28PM]

thats awesome
1st

[kevincahoon @ Sep 1st 2008 10:56PM]

2nd fail

[madgamer @ Sep 1st 2008 10:50PM]

That's certainly the smoothest and most lag-free multi-touch thing like that I have seen.

[pally @ Sep 1st 2008 11:00PM]

I didn't realize techno viking had such an interest in multitouch.

[Ignatius @ Sep 1st 2008 11:11PM]

Oy!

[Matias Korhonen @ Sep 2nd 2008 1:36AM]

Osakeyhtiö.

[Atanas Boev @ Sep 2nd 2008 2:03AM]

Still, its much simpler to say "Oy, mate!" than "Osakeyhtiö, mate!".

[Saad Rabia @ Sep 2nd 2008 3:59AM]

OyPhone.

[Shunnabunich @ Sep 3rd 2008 4:14AM]

I gotta say, "Multitouch Oy" sounds more British or Australian to me than Finnish.

[mike @ Sep 1st 2008 11:13PM]

Oy vey

[Blackstar @ Sep 1st 2008 11:40PM]

Oy-tacular.

[Neeko @ Sep 1st 2008 11:21PM]

i wonder what is the hardware there using.

[KarlW @ Sep 1st 2008 11:38PM]

The problem with all these multi-touch demos is that all they can show is photo rotation. Yes, using your fingers is great for putting photos in a disorganised mess, we get it.

Now start being innovative with software, and show me some applications that are actually *better* thanks to a pair of multi-thousand dollar displays, and I might be excited.

[loosely_coupled @ Sep 2nd 2008 1:36AM]

exactly.. Microsoft surface is the very same!

You should check out some of Apple's multi-touch software patents. It appears they are working on an incredible fully-formed computer implementation to replace our current HCI paradigm. Apple is certainly the most established candidate company for creating a next-generation user interface. It will be interesting to see what they pull out this fall...

[Tim @ Sep 2nd 2008 1:42AM]

Tom Cruise needs help tracking down future crimes. That should be reason enough.

[konshuss @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:12AM]

as always, nothing beats demonstrating a multitouch display than by using a big mess of photos to spin around and resize.

[Brett @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:14AM]

There's only so much photo resizing I need to do... when are these things going to do something cool ?

[lawschoolbound @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:27AM]

You could play pictionary. Pictionary is cool.

[jptech @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:44AM]

I'm very interested in knowing what effect windex would have on that screen?

I hate fingerprints!

[krepitor @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:48AM]

I wonder how long will take for Apple to buy this company...waiting...
...imagine working with Motion with that. Oooh I'm drooling already...

[andres @ Sep 2nd 2008 1:00AM]

apple already has engineers and technology, they dont need to buy another company to make something like this.

[John @ Sep 2nd 2008 5:54AM]

I don't think I'd want to buy from a company that has a logo that looks like it's giving me the finger!

[SmartSid @ Sep 2nd 2008 2:32PM]

YAWN!

[Cassini @ Sep 3rd 2008 6:56AM]

From an audible perspective, I didn't understand hardly a single word these two guys said. But that aside, the display is very smooth.

What else can the technology do besides making it easier to swipe and resize things?