Hasta La Gadget!

In addition to trotting out a new Windows 8 Ultrabook and putting its Windows RT tablet up for pre-order, Dell just announced its first multi-touch display along with a wireless trackpad optimized for Win 8. Starting with the 23-inch S2340T, it has 1080p resolution and a 90-degree articulating stand that allows the display to lie nearly face-up. At the base, you’ll find various inputs, including USB 3.0, HDMI, DisplayPort and Ethernet. There’s also a webcam up top for those of you who plan on giving the new version of Skype a try. Meanwhile, the TP713 (pictured) is a Magic Trackpad-style touchpad designed to support Windows 8 gestures, such as swiping in from the left to toggle through applications. Both are up on Dell’s site now, with the monitor priced at $650 and the trackpad going for $70. Both are expected to begin shipping this week.

Filed under: Displays, Peripherals, Dell

Dell announces its first multi-touch monitor, the S2340T, and a wireless trackpad for Windows 8 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back during CES 2012, I had a chance to go hands-on with Vizio’s sexy new all-in-one PCs, and I was quite impressed with the industrial design, build quality and overall value at the time. With the impending release of Microsoft Windows 8, Vizio has announced two new AIO PCs with full 1080p touchscreen displays.

This only makes sense, given Microsoft’s touch-friendly user interface that’s the front doorway to Windows 8. What’s really cool is that these are actual capacitive-touch displays, allowing for full 10-finger input. I personally have an HP Touchsmart that used the older infrared sensing tech, and multitouch was limited to just 2 fingers – and not so good at that. This sort of display will provide the type of swiping, stretching and pinching interactions you’re used to on tablets and smartphones.

The systems are available with 3rd-generation Intel Core CPUs, and NVIDIA Kepler-Class GeForce GPUs for speedy graphic rendering. The 24″ comes with a Core i3-3110M running at 2.4GHz and 4GB RAM and a 500GB hard drive, while the 27″ comes with a speedy quad core i7-3630M, also at 2.4GHz and 8GB RAM. The 27″ system bumps up to a 1TB hard drive and has a small 32GB SSD built-in to cache OS and speed up the system even more. Both have GigE ports and 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi.

Each has dual HDMI inputs for connecting external devices like a PS3, Xbox 360 or a satellite receiver, and a 2.1 sound system with an included 6-watt subwoofer that doubles as the system’s power supply. Best of all, Vizio continues to ship their machines with Microsoft Signature – which ensures that you only get the core operating system and anti-virus software – with no pre-installed crapware you’d just have to remove anyway.

The Vizio All-in-One Touch PCs start at $999 and top out at $1539 (USD), and available in both 24″ and 27″ screen sizes. If you’re looking for an alternative to a pricey iMac, you should definitely check these out. They’re not yet available for pre-order, but should be in time for the 2012 holiday season. You’ll also be able to find select configurations at major retailers including Walmart, Sam’s Club, Amazon.com and MicrosoftStore.com.

Creating a truly multi-user, multi-touch display is a tricky prospect. How do you know who’s who short of turning the screen into one giant fingerprint reader? Chris Harrison, Ivan Poupyrev and Munehiko Sato at Disney Research have suggested in a paper that fingerprinting on a capacitive touchscreen isn’t far off — it’s just what we need to fingerprint that matters. Rather than look for physical ridges, the scientists’ method sweeps through AC frequencies to find the exact electrical impedances of fingertips in contact with the screen. Different bodies, different clothes and even different shoes give everyone a unique signature that lets the screen identify specific people, even when they each have multiple fingers in play. The researchers propose that the technique would work well in collaborative workspaces, personalized devices and security, but let’s not forget that this is Disney we’re talking about: it’s placing a strong emphasis on the prospects for shared screen gaming without the limitations we know today. While any practical use is still some distance away, it’s easy to see future tablets and tables that are designed from the start to encourage a little socializing.

Continue reading Disney Research develops capacitive touch that detects multiple users through their fingertips (video)

Filed under: Gaming, Tablets, Science, Alt

Disney Research develops capacitive touch that detects multiple users through their fingertips (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Over the years we’ve come across a few signs that pointed to the possibility of touchscreen-enabled iMacs, but Steve Jobs had already dismissed this as a possibility for current Mac form factors. Quoting the man at the “Back to the Mac” keynote from two years ago: “It gives great demo, but after a while your arm feels like it’s going to fall off. Touch surfaces want to be horizontal.”

So perhaps our fantasy’s still stuck in the “research project” phase.

Luckily, the more adventurous touchscreen lovers can look to third-party solutions. For MacBooks you have Axiotron’s Modbook, except you lose the keyboard and you can’t perform the modification yourself. As for iMacs and Cinema Displays, we’ve been following Troll Touch for its resistive touchscreen replacement panels, but they aren’t exactly affordable and most of them have to be installed by the company. Even its user-installable SlipCover series starts from $899, anyway.

This leaves us with the Zorro Macsk, a cheekily named iMac accessory hailing from TMDtouch of Shenzhen, China. The 21.5-inch model is priced at just $199 on Amazon with no modifications required. Plus, it supports multitouch — a glaring omission from Troll Touch’s Mac lineup. So is this truly a bargain? Or is it just a case of “you get what you pay for?” Follow past the break to see how we got on with the Zorro Macsk.

Continue reading Zorro Macsk review: instantly add touchscreen functionality to your 21.5-inch iMac

Filed under: Peripherals

Zorro Macsk review: instantly add touchscreen functionality to your 21.5-inch iMac originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft has finalized its acquisition of multitouch-magic firm Perceptive Pixel, bringing the complex infinite-point touchscreen developer in-house with the Windows maker. Announced last month, the deal hasn’t been fleshed out with details as to exactly what Microsoft intends to do with Perceptive Pixel, but company founder, president and CTO Jeff Han will be reporting as part of the Office team.

“I’m excited to share that all closing conditions for Microsoft’s acquisition of Perceptive Pixel (PPI) have been met, and the deal is completed” Microsoft Office Division general manager Giovanni Mezgec said in a statement today. “We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome PPI to the Microsoft Office Division. PPI’s expertise in hardware, software and thought leadership will contribute to success in broad scenarios such as collaboration, meetings and presentations.”

Perceptive Pixel specializes in large-scale touchscreens that recognize huge numbers of contact points. The displays – which come in table-top and wall sizes – can also be used with special active styluses that can be tracked for latitude/ longitude, distance, time/depth, x/y/z coordinates and other information about the pen tip, even before it touches the surface of the display.

That could well be translated down into a smaller-scale display, such as a next-generation Microsoft Surface. “Our innovative controller technology flawlessly differentiates styluses from fingers while tracking input from each stylus separately and eliminating false touches” Perceptive Pixel says of its pen system. “You can easily annotate or draw on screen with one hand while repositioning on-screen objects with your other hand. And you can rest your wrist comfortably on the screen as you write or draw with the active stylus because our devices recognize and reject a palm or forearm touch input.”

There’s more on Perceptive Pixel in our hands-on with a vast 82-inch model back in January. Terms of the Microsoft acquisition are still to be revealed.

Microsoft finalizes Perceptive Pixel buy for huge-screen touchscreen tech is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
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