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SUR40 Touchscreen Table Computer

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Touchscreen table computer

SUR40

Remember that awesome table (cum computer) that Tony Stark had? I bet you’ve wanted one ever since you saw the movie. I know I have been lusting after it. Then again, the same can be said of Iron Man himself. But I digress.

Your dreams of a touchscreen table computer is becoming reality, albeit falling way short of what Iron Man had at his disposal. We have heard of surface computers before, but the result of the collaboration between Samsung and Microsoft might just blow everything out of the water![Read More]

Reality Touchscreen: The World’s Largest?

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Touchscreen
And you thought the iPad 2 is at the top of the list for huge screens…

Think again, folks. The Reality Touchscreen developed by engineers at the University of Groningen is the real thing. This screen measures in at 10 meters wide by 2.8 meters high. For those of you who speak/think/count in feet, that’s 32.8 feet wide by 9.2 feet high. Every other touchscreen display is suddenly paling in comparison, isn’t it?

So how did the engineers create the screen? In the news report published by the university on their web site, they made use of hardware that can be bought off the shelves and public domain software. All they needed was a splash of creativity – and engineering know-how – and they got themselves a nice big toy.

After you watch this touchscreen in action – see the video below – you will most certainly want to play with it, but it is no mere toy. This touchscreen can take more than a hundred simultaneous touches. More so, the screen itself is transparent – something which reminds me of those cool computer screens in sci-fi movies and TV shows. For those who put a lot of weight on design, you will appreciate the curvature of the screen.

On the technical side, this baby is powered by 6 HD projectors, 16 IR lights, and 6 cameras. These make the immense multi-touch capacity possible. The display has a 4900 x 1700 resolution and has a 120Hz refresh rate.

Now see for yourself what a little do-it-yourself can do.

Awe-inspiring is an understatement. I want one of these!

Nokia Readies iPhone Killer, Code-named ‘Tube’

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Certain details are available on the internet about a possible iPhone-killer that Nokia is planning to bring out this year. The phone will run on Symbian S60 operating system and will have several features that were seen on the iPhone including the touchscreen, accelerometer and gesture as interface.

An excerpt from NewsFactor:

The key for both companies is innovation. If Nokia, for example, merely takes the 12-button experience and moves it to a touchscreen, then the paradigm doesn’t change much. Users want a different experience, Greengart insisted.

“The real challenge and the real benefit of using the touchscreen is that it gives you the ability to create a differentiated experience,” Greengart said. “We are starting to see some stuff come out of Nokia’s labs that is quite exciting in the realm of using touchscreens, accelerometers and sensors.”

The device will support Java, which may be giving it one advantage as opposed to the iPhone. Perhaps it will be the developer community that will see Nokia really give Apple a run for their phones. As of now the Cupertino, California company is getting ready to bring out a 3G version of the iPhone.

Nokia did mention that the efforts from its R&D labs have brought about lot of interesting applications for a touch based phone. Having always been based on the stylus with navigation button based browsing, perhaps touch is one lesson learnt well from Apple.

But differentiation is what people will be looking for. Apple has won its awe with the splendor of its gesture centric device. Nokia will have to conjure more than just an iPhone clone if it has to get a serious challenger out. Its market share in Europe and the plans to support DVB-H for mobile TV .