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Nsquared's Seamless Computing, Surface + Kinect + Slate + Phone = amazing interface (video)
Sydney's nsquared is calling it "Seamless Computing" -- software which unifies Windows Phone 7, Surface, Windows 7 Slate and Kinect. Begin designing a new home on your phone and then place it on the Surface to share between all the devices, then pick up the Slate to make some modifications before walking through a 3D model of the building, navigating with Kinect's gesture interface. Software like AirPlay and Touch to Share already give you a taste for this sort of tech, but the experience that Dr. Neil Roodyn demonstrates in the video below is far more immersive -- not to mention unspeakably cool.
Viliv X70 Windows 7 slate with Oak Trail hands-on (updated with video)
You may remember Viliv from last year's CES, but it's back again this year with a smattering new of tablets. The X70 Slate is powered by Intel's upcoming 1.5 GHz Oak Trail processor, and has a 7-inch 1024 x 600-resolution capacitive multitouch display. That new silicon is supposed to simultaneously speed up Windows 7 performance (both Starter and Home Premium are available), and improve battery life (they claim 6.5 hours, which is better than the Galaxy Tab). A custom split keyboard was added by Viliv, which eases thumb typing so you don't have to awkwardly reach across the screen to hunt and peck for keys. It's got a 3 megapixel shooter around back as well as a 1.3 megapixel shooter up front in addition to an optical trackpad. This thing should be hitting retailers like Best Buy and Amazon in April for an unspecified price, but you can check out our hands-on photos while you patiently wait to find out. Update: Video after the break! %Gallery-113308%
Windows 7-based HP Slate referenced at WPC 2010, Ballmer says 'hardcore' tablet push coming
Is this the answer to the question we posed back in mid-June? Maybe. While we're still unsure if Hewlett-Packard has a webOS-based tablet in its pipeline, those on-again / off-again Windows 7 rumors may finally be nearing an end. On the homepage of this year's Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference -- which kicks off in earnest today in Washington, D.C. -- there's a pane of Windows 7 slates that are on deck for this year. Er, a pane with vendors promising Win7 slates this year. Sure enough, HP's logo is front and center, right alongside the likes of Sony, Dell, ASUS, Panasonic, Onkyo, Toshiba, MSI, Samsung, Lenovo and Fujitsu. We'll be keeping an ear to the ground for more, but for now, feel free to let your imaginations run wild. It's Monday, after all. Update: During the event's opening keynote, which was headed by none other than Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the bigwig confirmed some of what's pictured above: Windows 7 slates will be arriving this year. Interestingly, he never mentioned HP by name (despite teasing us gently at CES with an apparent mystery device), but he did note that devices would be available at various price points and in a variety of form factors -- "with keyboards, touch only, dockable, able to handle digital ink, etc." We already knew as much from being overwhelmed by prototypes at Computex, but it's good to get the word straight from Ballmer himself. Now, to see if anyone's actually interested in buying a desktop OS on a mobile form factor... Update 2: Seems Ballmer's drinking his own Kool-Aid in a serious way, and not just on the tablet front. He noted that Microsoft will be giving consumers "a set of Windows-based devices that people will be proud to carry at home and will fit the kinds of scenarios enterprise IT's trying to make happen with the phone form factor," and that Microsoft would be "working vigorously" to "drive enterprise IT and consumers." Furthermore, Steve affirmed that the tablet sector is "terribly important" for his company, and that it's "hardcore about this." He didn't shy away from calling the range of Windows 7-based tablets coming out "over the next several months" ones that would be "quite impressive," but honestly -- what else would you expect him to say?
