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Microsoft seals Perceptive Pixel deal, welcomes PPI team to the Office Division
In case you haven't noticed, Microsoft's been in a blissful shopping mood lately -- and while we already knew the company had snatched up the creator of that enormous 82-inch touchscreen, today's the day a more formal introduction is taking place. Via its Official Microsoft Blog, the Redmond-based outfit is suitably welcoming the Perceptive Pixel team aboard the Office Division, also announcing that PPI's Founder, Jeff Han, will be joining as a "general manager" and reporting to Kurt DelBene. Naturally, we're still wondering what exactly the acquisition will bring to the table, but if Perceptive Pixel's previous doings are any indication of what's to come, we can expect some more delightful novelties to come out of Microsoft's HQ in the hopefully-not-so-distant future.
Microsoft to acquire Perceptive Pixel, pair up with 82-inch touchscreen manufacturer
Microsoft has already expressed its fondness for Perceptive Pixel's gigantic capacitive touchscreens, which became apparent during a live demo at the company's Windows 8 presentation at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, but now that friendship has become a bit more official. During Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference keynote in Toronto this morning, Steve Ballmer announced that Perceptive Pixel would be coming in-house, with Microsoft acquiring the display maker. The move seems to be in line with the company's recent shift to hardware manufacturing, beginning with last month's Surface introduction and its reinforced commitment to the recently renamed PixelSense smart table solution -- MS has just seized an opportunity to get a bit more hands-on. Full (limited) details are in the press release after the break.
Microsoft Windows 8 on 82-inch touchscreen hands-on (video)
We don't have 100 fingers -- theoretically the supported limit of Windows 8 on the 82-inch capacitive touchscreen display we just had a chance to go hands-on with at the company's latest OS demo at Mobile World Congress -- but things looked pretty impressive even with just 10. The display we saw is manufactured by a company called Perceptive Pixel, and it may even look familiar -- it's the same glass screen used by television news networks like CNN. But, unlike the giant touchscreens you've seen on TV, this guy is connected to a standard off-the-shelf PC running Windows 8 Consumer Preview. The glass panel is constructed of optically-bonded Gorilla Glass, so there's very little space between the picture and your hand, making for a much more realistic user experience. Naturally, this monitor is all about the visuals, so you really need to see it in action to get an accurate impression of just how slick the experience can be. Jump past the break for our hands-on.
Perceptive Pixel shows world's largest projected capacitive display at SIGGRAPH, we go hands-on (video)
Perceptive Pixel wasn't kidding around when it launched the planet's biggest projected capacitive display here at SIGGRAPH -- all 82 inches of it were here on display, and naturally, we stopped by to give it a look. While 82-inch panels aren't anything new, this one's particularly special. You see, the company actually procures the panels from Samsung, and then it rips the guts out while bonding its own network of sensors directly to it; most large-screen touch devices simply pop a touch layer on top of whatever TV shows up in the labs, but this integrated approach takes sensitivity to a whole 'nother level. For those unfamiliar with the term 'projected capacitive,' we're surmising that it's actually far less foreign than you think -- it's a technology used in a handful of smartphones, from Samsung's Moment to Apple's iPhone. 3M was also showing off a PC tech preview back at CES, and after using it here on the show floor, there's no question that it's the future for larger-screen devices. To quote CEO Jeff Han: "once consumers get a taste of this on the mobile front, they start demanding it elsewhere." %Gallery-130284%
Perceptive Pixel unveils an 82-inch multi-touch LCD, TV news anchors overcome by giddy hands
Perceptive Pixel has been no stranger to massive multi-touch screens ever since it got over being so Frustrated. At this year's SIGGRAPH the company is showing off a whopping 82-inch projected capacitive LCD -- and you thought MondoPad was huge. Apparently, the "slim" 6-inch deep, optically bonded display is "the world's largest" of its type, although Perceptive does make an 88-inch DLP model if you need a bit more real estate. On-screen content is displayed in 1080p HD resolution at 120Hz, and with an unlimited multi-touch response time of less than 1ms, it's ready for all the situations Wolf Blitzer's digits can handle. We'll hopefully be checking it out on the show floor, but for now you'll find more details past the break.
Neiman Marcus to sell Perceptive Pixel's Interactive Media Wall: yours for $100k
You may know Jeff Han, you've probably seen his company Perceptive Pixel's Interactive Media Wall / Multi-touch Collaboration Wall (or whatever they're calling it these days -- if not, peep it here), but the missing link to this stuff is taking it home. Well, the wait is apparently over, and for once it's Neiman Marcus we've got to thank. While you're shopping for the latest must-have fall fashions, be sure to stop by the newly anointed Futuristic Displays That Don't Belong at Neiman Marcus Shop to pick up your 8 x 3-foot multi-touch display for a cool $100,000 US, only ten times the price of Microsoft's forthcoming Surface. Don't worry, your family will appreciate your investment; trust us, we really think they'd far prefer it to, say, Christmas presents, a home to live in, or dinner at some point in 2008.[Via thegadgetsite]
