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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]
Will Surface tablets use Microsoft's new MagSafe-like power and data connector?
Microsoft has borrowed a couple of Apple-flavored notions for the launch of its new Surface tablets. For a start, it's avoided mentioning certain tech specs -- like the amount of RAM -- and now one of our readers has noticed something else: the strange-looking power port on the new devices looks very much like the magnetic, MagSafe-style connector Microsoft sent to the US Patent Office last week. We could be wrong, but the two do seem nearly identical, in which case Surface owners -- just like new Apple buyers -- may also have to put up with the clutter of more proprietary cables. [Thanks, Ryan]
Hands-on with Microsoft Surface for Windows RT, Touch Cover and Type Cover (update: video!)
We're here live at Microsoft's press event in Los Angeles, where it just unveiled not just the rumored tablet you were hoping for, but two tablets: Surface for Windows RT, which has an NVIDIA chip inside, and Surface for Windows 8 Pro, which runs off Ultrabook-grade Ivy Bridge processors. (Yes, Surface here is the name of a tablet line, not software optimized for large touchscreens. Get that out of your system now.) Though the two differ slightly in dimensions, with the Pro model measuring in slightly thicker, both have a slim kickstand, about as thick as a credit card, that folds out of the backside like the tail of a photo frame. Both are made of magnesium and, perhaps most importantly, work with either of two magnetic covers that double as keyboards (one with multitouch input, and one with physical, three-dimensional keys). No word on pricing -- just that Surface for Windows RT will cost about what you'll end up paying for other Windows RT tablets, and that the Pro version will fetch similar prices as Ultrabooks. We saw Surface for RT as well as both keyboards on display at the demo area here following Microsoft's big press event. We've got a gallery of hands-on shots, as well as impressions past the break.
Microsoft Surface tablets: the differences between Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro models
Surfaces. Turns out, the plural form of Microsoft's new tablet range rolls off of the tongue with ease, but understanding the differences between the first two models may not be quite as easy -- particularly for the everyman, or folks intimately familiar with Microsoft's other Surface. Two editions -- Surface for Windows RT and Surface for Windows 8 Pro -- were unveiled today in Los Angeles, and while the exterior of each one looks nearly identical, the innards expose major differences in architecture. Let's break it all down after the break, shall we? %Gallery-158538%
Microsoft announces Surface for Windows 8 Pro: Intel inside, optional pen input
Microsoft didn't just announce one Surface tablet today -- it's announced one for each of the main varieties of Windows. That includes the Surface for Windows 8 Pro, which is slightly larger and decidedly more Intel-based than its ARM-fueled counterpart for Windows RT. In addition to the more full-fledged OS, it packs a larger 42 W-h battery, an Ivy Bridge Core i5 processor (at least in the model on display today), USB 3.0 ports instead of 2.0, and your choice of 64GB or 128GB of storage (double the standard offerings of the RT Surface). You'll also get a higher 1080p resolution from the 10.6-inch ClearType display, but it comes wrapped in a package that's 13.5 mm thick and weighs 903 grams (compared to just 9.3 mm and 676 grams for the RT). That's apparently not big enough to disqualify it from Microsoft's new keyboard-laden covers, though, and it even gets another accessory of its own: a pen with "Palm Block." As for pricing and availability, Microsoft is only going as far to say that it will be "on par with Ultrabook-class PCs" and available about three months after the Windows 8 launch (when the RT model will be available).
Microsoft one ups other tablet 'smart' covers with Surface's Touch Cover and Type Cover
What's 3mm thick, crafted from the finest Polartec and attaches to a tablet magnetically? If you guessed an iPad smart cover you might be right, but right now we're pretty enamored with Microsoft's Touch Cover for the newly announced Surface. See, it works almost exactly like that other "smart" tablet shield, but this one actually earns it's smart moniker. When you peel the plastic shroud back it turns into a fully functional keyboard and touchpad. Obviously, being a thin plastic sheet, the cover is relying on touch for key presses, not the actual depression of mechanical switches. So, while that means it's theoretically possible to touchtype on this bad boy, it remains to be seen just how pleasant of an experience it actually is. Our guess -- it'll be fine for quick emails and Google Bing searches, but we probably wouldn't have to write the Surface review on one. Now, the Type Cover on the other hand, perhaps we'd consider drafting lengthy posts on. It's safe to assume this one is thicker and heavier, turning your tablet into something more closely resembling an Ultrabook. But, it does have a traditional keyboard with solid plastic, separated keys as opposed to a pressure sensitive pad. Perhaps one of the more interesting features though, is their ability to force Win 8 to color coordinate with your chosen shade of folio. Click the blue Touch Cover on to the Surface and the background switches to a soothing shade azure. There's even an accelerometer inside those 3mm-thin softer covers -- which is an impressive feat of engineering. The Touch Covers can easily distinguish between you simply resting your hands on the keyboard and actually typing, which should help minimize accidental key presses. We'll be back as soon as possible with some hands-on. %Gallery-158535% %Gallery-158544%
Microsoft reveals its own Windows 8 tablet: meet the new Surface for Windows RT
Here at its mysterious, last-minute press event in Los Angeles, Microsoft just confirmed it will sell its own Microsoft-branded Windows 8 RT tablet under the Surface badge. Measuring just 9.3mm thick, the Surface for Windows RT is built around an angled, all-magnesium VaporMg case that weighs just under 1.3 pounds, with an NVIDIA-made ARM chip powering the whole affair. Microsoft's hardware partner has also gone all-out on extra touches, such as a built-in stand, twin 2x2 MIMO antennas for WiFi, and a 10.6-inch optically-bonded, Gorilla Glass 2-covered HD display. Not unlike Apple's last two generations, there's a magnetically attached cover, but it's more than just a protector: here, it includes a full multi-touch keyboard and trackpad. As for expansion, you'll get one each of HDMI, microSD and USB 2.0 (sorry folks, no 3.0) as well as either 32GB or 64GB of storage, while software includes the usual Windows 8 accoutrements and a newly Metrofied version of Netflix. The Surface for Windows RT should arrive roughly in step with Windows 8, but Microsoft is only promising pricing "competitive" with similar ARM tablets -- and you're looking for a tablet with more grunt, you can spring for the Intel-packing Surface for Windows 8 Pro. Be sure to check out our hands-on with the Surface! [Thanks to everyone for the product link] %Gallery-158533% %Gallery-158538%
Live from Microsoft's mystery press conference in Los Angeles!
When Microsoft calls a last-minute press conference to make a "major" announcement, there's only one sensible thing to do: pack your bags, fly to Los Angeles and get ready to hear what Ballmer & Co. have to say. With no hints whatsoever (not even a cheekily worded invitation!), we've nothing but speculation and rumors to guide us as we head into this news conference. Will we hear about Win8 tablets -- specifically, a Kindle Fire competitor running Windows RT? Or maybe today's news elaborates on Xbox Music? All we know is that it won't have anything to do with Windows Phone, seeing as how Microsoft is holding another press event just two days from now where it's promised to give us a sneak peek at Apollo. Oh-so mysterious of Redmond, and all the more reason for us to host a liveblog. The doors here open at 3:30pm local time, so stay tuned as we bring you up-to-the-minute coverage on Microsoft's big reveal. June 18, 2012 6:30 PM EDT
Playsurface touchscreen computing table hands-on (video)
Let's be honest -- the first time we saw the Microsoft Surface in action, we all dreamt of getting our grubby fingers on our very own unit. Five years later, we're no closer to the dream of a touchscreen coffee tablet in every living room. Templeman Automation, thankfully, shares that dream. Earlier this month, we caught word of the company's Playsurface, a Kickstarter project aimed at bringing low cost touchscreen computing to the tabletops of eager early adopters who just can't quite justify the $8,000 price tag on Microsoft's similarly named product. We were excited at the prospect of finally getting to play with the product when TechCrunch opened up the gates to the hardware portion of its Disrupt conference. Unfortunately, as we quickly found out, things wouldn't be quite so easy -- the show was held at Pier 94, a space with overabundant natural light courtesy of rows and rows of skylights. As it turns out, the sun doesn't play too well with the infrared light that helps power Playsurface's touchscreen functionality. The table's creators were nice enough to pop by our offices to let us take the living room gadget for a test drive.
New shear touch technology lets you skip a double-tap, push your device around (video)
Most every touchscreen in the market today can only register your finger input as coordinates; that's fine for most uses, but it leads to a lot of double-taps and occasionally convoluted gestures. A pair of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, Chris Harrison and Scott Hudson, have suggested that shear touch might be a smarter solution. Instead of gliding over fixed glass, your finger could handle secondary tasks by pushing in a specific direction, or simply pushing harder, on a sliding display. Among the many examples of what shear touch could do, the research duo has raised the possibility of skipping through music by pushing left and right, or scrolling more slowly through your favorite website with a forceful dragging motion. The academic paper is still far away from producing a shipping device, although a Microsoft doctoral fellowship's partial contribution to funding the study indicates one direction the technology might go. You can take a peek at the future in a video after the jump -- just don't expect a tablet-based Van Gogh this soon. [Thanks, Chris]
Insert Coin: Playsurface open-source multitouch computing table
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. A Microsoft Surface in every office? Yeah, fat chance. At $8,000, you may never see Samsung's SUR40 glow in the wild, but budget versions of the backlit HD table have begun popping up, such as the Merel Mtouch, which retails for half the price. Still, four grand is a lot to ask from casual users -- we need a bargain-basement option to help catapult the concept to success. The Playsurface could be one solution, with an open-source design and a much more affordable price tag. The multitouch computing table is the product of Templeman Automation, and its creators have begun promoting their concept on Kickstarter. In its current iteration, the Playsurface will ship in two flavors -- short, to double as a coffee table, and tall for stand-up applications -- with a $1,750 pledge netting backers a complete kit. Setting out to fulfill the goal of widespread adaptation, the creator is promising one Playsurface kit with a $1,750 pledge, including a Windows computer, a short-throw 1280 x 800-pixel DLP projector and a transparent touch surface, all housed within a self-assembled wood enclosure. There's also an infrared LED strip to aid with input recognition and something called a "Blob Board," which serves as a dedicated hardware processor tasked with touch detection and connects to the computer via USB. A $350 pledge gets you a Blob Board alone, while $650 is matched with a table (sans computer and projector) and $1,250 will net you a full kit, less the computer. There's just shy of four weeks left to go to get your Playsurface pledge in -- hit up the source link to make it happen.
The Distro Interview: Microsoft Principal Researcher Bill Buxton
Bill Buxton has spent most of his career getting between humans and computers. While his initial focus was on music and digital instruments, that eventually led to an interest in human-computer interaction, and pioneering work with multitouch systems and other user interfaces. He worked with the famed hotbed of innovation Xerox PARC in the late 1980s and early 90s, and was later Chief Scientist for software firm Alias Wavefront before claiming the same title at SGI Inc. when that company acquired the former in 1995. After a time running his own Toronto-based design and consulting firm, he moved on to Microsoft Research in 2005, where he continues to serve as the organization's Principal Researcher. We recently had a chance to pick his brain and get his thoughts on a range of issues, including state of design at Microsoft, the future of natural user interfaces, and whether we're really entering a "post-PC" era.
Sifteo and Surface team up for magical marriage of meaninglessness
Sifteo and Surface are definitely two of the cooler, but more useless gadgets we've had the pleasure of handling over the years. So, what happens when you get these questionably useful toys (both literally and figuratively) together? Well, a whole lot of nothing particularly important. By combining the proximity sensors on the Cubes with the object recognition of the SUR40 the devs were able to whip up a simple game that has you recreating patterns of colored cubes. Sound a little dull? We won't lie, it's not the most thrilling thing on Earth, but there's a video of it none-the-less awaiting you after the break.
nSquared's seamless computing ties Windows, Surface and iPads (video)
Australian Surface developer nSquared is bringing its seamless computing ambitions to life with its new tool, Presenter 2.0. Using a Samsung SUR 40 as a hub, the software brings Windows, OS X and iOS users together to work in the same space without hiccup. The workspace can be controlled and contributed by all the users simultaneously across the spectrum of devices, as demonstrated in the video we've got for you after the break. Even better is that the software will shortly be available to order from the company's website so you and your colleagues can start making rude doodles on your spreadsheets from any device you've got to hand.
Surface 2.0 now shipping, packing PixelSense and Gorilla Glass
Samsung's SUR40 has been a long time coming. The 40-inch next-gen Surface was unveiled at CES 2011, but it's only just now starting to ship, following the 2012 edition of that gadget show. It finally went up for pre-order in mid-November for $8,400, but at the time we still had no clear date for shipments. Those of you waiting impatiently to get your table-PC can rest easy however, as the AMD-based Win7 machine should already be en route to your doorstep -- provided you coughed up the cash one of course. We guess it was just a matter of finally getting that sensor-in-pixel tech worked out. Head on after the break for the full PR.
Samsung 'Optical Sensor in Pixel' LCDs rolling out, ready for Surface 2.0
With Samsung's Microsoft Surface product, the SUR40, already available for pre-order, the company says its 1080p 40-inch "Optical Sensor in Pixel" LCD panels have gone into mass production. Those optical sensors help to more accurately interpret multi-touch input without interrupting display signals, offering a more fluid, interactive experience. Tempered glass overlaying the display supports 176 pounds of load and up to 50 touch points at once, which should be more than enough for a Pacific Giant Octopus or any jerk that leans on your $8K table. While the SUR40 is certainly a showcase device for these panels, it isn't the only practical application -- Samsung says it's thin enough and light enough to wall-mount, and hopes to see it used by stock brokers, financial analysts and schools.
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.
NEC 52-inch table disguised as boring office furniture
The problem with Microsoft Surface is that it looks too much like fun. NEC has the right idea: affix some trolley wheels, brush some aluminum, give it a sedate name like "X-info Table" and then maybe, just maybe, traditional businesses will start buying into the idea. The specs, however, are easily sufficient to handle a few rounds of office Pinball HD (as in the photo above): a Core i7 CPU running Windows 7 on the 52-inch full HD screen, 6GB of RAM, three USB ports, support for multiple sub-displays, and a scanning function. There's no price yet, but you can probably expect to pay more for the 350-pound frame than for the computer itself.
New York Times envisions Microsoft Surface kitchen table, just don't spill your OJ (video)
Long since gone are the days of sitting at the breakfast table, drinking a cup of coffee and sharing the Sunday paper... or are they? The New York Time's R&D Lab is developing a "kitchen table" based-on Microsoft Surface touchscreen technology, designed to take individuals that are normally face down in their iPads, back to the table for a more social way to consume and share content. The display gives multiple readers the opportunity to sit at the table and interact, with options to share across the surface by swiveling and enlarging images or articles. The Times envisions that it will also be a mode of discovery, where users could get more information on a certain product by placing it on the table to find prices and related NYT articles, which could also an interesting method for advertising -- just be careful where you put that Starbucks cup.
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.
