Picture this a touch tone mirror telling you what to wear, or a touch tone table in a restaurant telling indicating what tonight's specials are... sound interesting? Well this touch tone or surface computing as it is being called may just be a finger touch away. Microsoft (MSFT) has unveiled some new surface computing technology that may just be what the doctors ordered to communicate to industry analysts that Microsoft still knows how to innovate with new business ventures.
Microsoft Surface is essentially a Windows Vista PC tucked inside a shiny black table base, topped with a 30-inch touchscreen in a clear acrylic frame. Five cameras that can sense nearby objects are mounted beneath the screen. Initial users of the technology include:
- Harrah’s Entertainment - Guests at Harrah’s Entertainment’s Las Vegas properties, including Caesars Palace and the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, can explore the wide variety of dining, entertainment, night life and gaming experiences available at its network of area casinos.
- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide - Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. will initially launch Surface at Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, Starwood’s largest and most global brand. Surface will help bring interaction, connectivity and play to Sheraton hotels’ new lobby experience, currently being rolled out in key cities worldwide.
- T-Mobile USA - Customers in T-Mobile retail stores might place different cell phones on Surface’s interactive surface where product features, prices and phone plans would appear so they could be easily compared.
This is pretty big news from Microsoft. It's about time. More information can be found at http://www.surface.com.
Official Microsoft Press Release on "Surface"
Labels: Microsoft Surface
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