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Microsoft pilfers Surface name from its smart table, now called the PixelSense (video)
If Microsoft's recent Surface announcement made you think about a funky LED table, that's because it wasn't long ago that a joint effort with Samsung bore that moniker instead. While Redmond appropriated the name for its new tablet, the two companies are still selling the original device -- now the Samsung SUR40 with Microsoft PixelSense -- as a business collaboration tool. Though there's no mention of price on Samsung's site, the last time we checked, the 1920 x 1080 gorilla glass device was running a mere $8,400. For that sum, it might be useful for deep pocketed institutions -- so hopefully early adopters hoping to earn some hipster cred didn't end up with buyer's remorse. [Thanks, swaggernaut812]
Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface available for pre-order in 23 countries, expected to ship in 2012
Microsoft's Surface hasn't exactly exploded on the sales figure front, but with next-gen model pricing estimated at $7,600 $8,400 and limited availability, we're not surprised that the table of the future hasn't begun popping up in hotels and retails stores the world over. That may slowly change, however, with one of the most recent models -- Samsung's SUR40 -- finally coming up for pre-order today. Enterprise customers (or deep-pocketed individuals) can reach out to dedicated sales reps in any of 23 countries to place an order, including the U.S. and Canada, parts of Asia, and most of Europe. An exact ship date has yet to be released, but don't expect the 40-inch 1080p multitouch table to start popping up until early next year. Want to start touching and tapping today? Check out our hands-on with an early SUR40 from CES. Update: Microsoft wrote in to let us know that pricing has jumped a bit -- to $8,400 -- since this year's earlier estimate. International pricing will vary by country.
Pioneer's Discussion Table gets a thumping $37,000 price tag, taken for a spin (video)
We thought the latest version of Microsoft's Surface was pricey at $7,600, but it's cheapo IKEA compared to Pioneer's WWS-DT101 Discussion Table. We just reported that this beast is due to hit the Japanese market in July, but now we discover you might need as much as ¥3million (around $37,000) plus van hire before you can cart it away. Acknowledged, it has a bigger screen and better all-round specs than Microsoft's SUR40, and it looks pretty damn responsive judging from the video after the break. But it's still an unlikely amount to spend on a piece of furniture that can't even play Dungeons and Dragons.
Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface hands-on with video! (update)
Microsoft offered a brief glimpse of its revised Surface earlier this week at the Ballmer keynote, but now we've had a chance to check the Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface (as its officially termed) for ourselves. The "2.0 experience" firmware is early and a bit buggy right now (especially with finger input), but there's plenty of time fix that up before its launch later this year. The hardware itself is much thinner, with a 4-inch profile that can now be placed vertically against the wall (although we suggest using the stylish legs when possible). The 40-inch 1920 x 1080 gorilla glass display was crisp as all out, but since we could get close and scrutinize, you'll definitely notice the pixels. The first demo we got to see is also probably the most impressive, wherein a paper with "I can see" written on it is scanned and read very clearly (a dev monitor was hooked up to show what Surface could "see"). Meanwhile, we couldn't help but touch every point to watch the ripple effect emanate from our fingers. Apps are arranged in a row that you can sift through or rotate 180 degrees for someone facing opposite. We kept accidentally opening apps when we tried to scroll through, which is annoying but again, we were reminded it's early firmware. Some of the apps we have seen before with the original Surface -- some changes are required to make compatible, but we're told it's a fairly smooth transition process. Some highlights from what we saw: Bing, which for now only does image search (maps and local to come). The screen right now is a bit too sensitive and would detect sleeves as much as it would our fingers (you can see typos galore in the gallery). Images are scattered about a new results widget, and you can move around a bit from there or pull out individual ones to rotate and scan. A Red Bull with a printed code on the bottom that launches on-screen prompts for videos that you can smoothly rotate and scale on the fly, and a RBC Royal Bank that'll make you feel really guilty about that cup of coffee from this morning. Oldies like Social Stream, Garibaldi Panorama, and Galactic Alliance. Another plus for the SUR40? It's cheaper than its predecessor -- but at $7,600, it's still not ready for consumer market. We've got a ton of pics below and video after the break! Update: We've added our full impressions and cleaned up the footage after the break. Enjoy! %Gallery-113289%
