Microsoft Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. unveiled the next generation of Microsoft Surface, version 2.0, at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Microsoft Surface, combining Microsoft software and Samsung display technology, enables people to share, collaborate, and explore together using a large, thin display that recognizes fingers, hands, and other objects placed on the screen.
PixelSense technology reportedly infuses the LCD panels with the power to recognize fingers, hands, and objects placed on the screen, without the use of cameras. “With PixelSense, pixels in the display see what’s touching the screen and that information is immediately processed and interpreted,” says a company representative.
Commercial application developers can use a new version of the Microsoft Surface software development kit (SDK) and Microsoft development tools to take advantage of PixelSense’s multi-touch and object recognition capabilities, and deliver unique experiences not possible on other platforms.
“Microsoft continues to innovate in vision-based interaction and software designed for touch. With the introduction of the next generation of Surface, using PixelSense technology, we’ll bring more tables and walls to life with amazing natural experiences for people to enjoy together,” says Panos Panay, general manager, Microsoft Surface. “We partnered with Samsung because of its strengths in LCD technology, hardware design and manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of large-format displays. The companies have built an incredibly successful collaboration that moved from invention to development to manufacturing and sales of a high-quality, industrialized commercial product.”
“With Samsung’s interactive LCD technology and Microsoft’s innovation in vision-based systems, together we were able to define a new LCD architecture,” explains HyungGuel Kim, senior vice president of Samsung Electronics LCD Business. “This brand-new concept of LCD provides image-sensing technology along with massive multi-touch capability and enhanced horizontal durability, which are specialized for the Microsoft Surface experience.”
Samsung’s SUR40 boasts a 40-inch, high-definition (HD), 1080p screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio and 1920×1080 resolution. An embedded AMD Athlon II X2 dual-core processor (2.9GHz) paired with the AMD Radeon HD 6700M Series GPU with DirectX 11 support help deliver considerable processing horsepower and graphics capability, helping deliver multi-user experiences in full HD.
“The next generation of Microsoft Surface will continue to excite customers and partners alike, through innovation in both hardware and software,” says Brad Carpenter, general manager, Surface Engineering, Microsoft. “An important element is AMD’s embedded processor and graphics technology providing great performance and stability for Surface, which recognizes fingers, hands, and objects, including more than 50 simultaneous contacts.”
“Samsung collaborated with Microsoft to bring the Surface experience to a new, thin design with powerful vision-based capabilities in the LCD market. The Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface delivers an interactive experience not available anywhere else and will change the way companies engage with their customers,” adds Jeong-Hwan Kim, senior vice president of Display Sales & Marketing team at Samsung Electronics.
The Samsung SUR40 will be sold to business customers in 23 countries later this year. Pricing starts at $7,600 (U.S.).