This week a fellow by the name of Tom Carter will show off a system by the name of UltraHaptics, one that will apparently take away the problems inherent with touchscreen displays requiring users to cover up the objects they touch. This system will be presented at the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and […]
The multi-form notebook with touchscreen abilities is a form factor that appears to be alive and well here in 2013, and Dell wants the world to know that they’re all about continuing to innovate with the 2-in-1 2013 edition of the Dell XPS 11 this morning. What we’re seeing here is what Dell calls the […]
Dell‘s XPS 13 and XPS 15 are getting a touchscreen refresh, the notebooks in line for Haswell processor upgrades and a jolt in graphics too. The updated 13.3-inch Dell XPS 13 now has a 1080p Full HD touchscreen with a Gorilla Glass NBT top-layer to keep it safe, while the new Dell XPS 15 steps […]
Following DoCoMo’s detailing of its 5G network ambitions, the company has displayed its smart glasses concept here at CEATEC 2013, something that is presently four different glasses concepts that will be unified into a single product offering when it heads into production. The smart glasses offer a variety of functionality, the most interesting of which […]
Okay so most of us have probably never had a clock we had to wind, but it seems like an appealing ritual. Calm and quiet. A connection to the passage of time. Or maybe it would be totally automatic like brushing your teeth. Whelp there’s only one way to find out.
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Earlier this week Valve teased the free, gaming-oriented and Linux-based SteamOS and the PC-console hybrid Steam Machine. It soon completed the establishment of the fundamentals of its living room invasion by unveiling the Steam Controller. As with the Steam Machine, the controller is Valve’s attempt at bringing the best of PC and console gaming together.
The Steam Controller doesn’t seem to have biometrics or gaze tracking capabilities – two features that Valve co-founder Gabe Newell has cited as desirable input options – but one look at it and you can see that it’s still quite different from most gamepads. For starters, instead of a d-pad or analog joysticks, the controller has two high-resolution trackpads. Valve added “super-precise haptic feedback” to trackpads in the form of weighted electro-magnets. The feedback will be used not only to add tactility to the trackpads, they can also be used to provide other in-game cues and can even function as speakers. How about that?
Chris Remo of developer Double Fine claims he was able to test a prototype of the controller a few months ago and said “…the cursor pads worked amazingly well.” When asked if the haptic feedback helps, Remo said, “Yes, it makes it feel like you’re actually operating a real physically mechanical device, not just a touchscreen.”
Perhaps Remo was actually referring to the trackpads in the second statement that I quoted, but the controller does have a high-resolution touchscreen. It’s the small square at the center of the controller. When you touch the screen, an overlay of the touchscreen’s display appears on your TV or monitor, so you won’t have to look down at the controller while playing. Makes you wonder why they even made it a screen right? Then again, it could be used to display data that should be kept hidden from other players. Take that Lambert!
Aside from its touch-friendly input options, the controller also has good old buttons. There are a total of 13 standard buttons – four face buttons at the corners of the touchscreen, three narrow rectangles below the touchscreen, four shoulder buttons and two rear buttons – but because the two trackpads and the touchscreen are also clickable, you have a total of 16 buttons. The image below shows a sample key binding setup for Portal 2. Note that the touchscreen is divided into four buttons in the setup.
What makes this controller extra special in my opinion is that it has a “legacy mode” that fools your Steam Machine or your desktop computer into thinking that the controller is a keyboard and mouse. This makes it compatible with all Steam games, which is why the diagram above indicates the mapped keyboard and mouse buttons and not just the functions. Finally, Valve promises that the controller will be hackable, and that they will provide tools to help people mod the controller.
If you’re interested in owning or building a Steam Machine but don’t want to use the Steam Controller, don’t worry. Valve says you’ll still be able to stick with your trusted keyboard and mouse combo.
Valve will pick 300 lucky Steam members to participate in a closed beta. The beta testers will be given both a prototype Steam Machine and Steam Controller. The prototype controller that Valve will distribute to the testers will be wired and have no touchscreen, but the final version will be wireless and have the aforementioned touchscreen. Check out the Steam Machine FAQ page if you want to know how to apply for the closed beta.
So you say you’ve seen every single different kind of Ultrabook there is to see, yes? Acer disagrees with you – here in the Acer TravelMate X313, you’ve got a tablet that works with a dock and a keyboard case as well as an 11.6-inch display with extreme scratch resistance. This device builds on the […]
The average work surface is covered in smart devices – laptop, smartphone, tablet, maybe a wearable or two like Fitbit or UP – but Stir’s Kinetic Desk asks could the desk itself be smarter? That’s the approach startup Stir is taking, founded by a former member of Apple’s iPod team, and promising great things from […]
Honeywell may not have the sort of geek-kudos Nest does, but it’s aiming to change that with a new voice-controlled touchscreen thermostat that hooks into the cloud. The Honeywell WiFi Smart Thermostat with Voice Control is fronted by a finger-friendly color display, but by saying “Hello, thermostat” it can also be controlled by naturally phrased […]
About three years ago, I talked about Table Connect, a 58″ touchscreen display that mirrors the screen of an iPhone. Or not. It turns out that the display we saw in the video wasn’t even a prototype; the “demo video” we saw was made using special effects. But now the same people behind that viral video claim they can make a real device.
Now called TableConnect – the lack of a space tells you they’re serious this time – is more or less the same idea, except now the final product will supposedly work with both iOS and Android devices. As with the fake product, you’ll be able to navigate and control your mobile device from the screen itself. The table can even be propped in an upright position to mimic the portrait mode of mobile devices.
TableConnect is expected to have an edge-to-edge 1080p LED touchscreen and come in two sizes: 60″ and 32″. It will also have several “Smart Areas” – i.e. home buttons on every corner and orientation buttons on the edges.
TableConnect will also supposedly support Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and HDMI connectivity, although this part is confusing because the prototype shown in the video below connects to an iPhone 4 using a 30-pin cable. TableConnect will also require a jailbroken iOS device, although the final product will supposedly come with a “pre-configured” iPhone or iPad. There’s currently no word on exactly which Android devices it will work with.
TableConnect is currently asking for money on Indiegogo to help with the development of the final product. Unlike most fundraising projects you cannot get a TableConnect as a reward, but even if they did offer one, most of us won’t be able to afford it anyway. The projected final cost for the 60″ version is a jaw-dropping €25,000 (~$33,000 USD) while the 32″ version will cost €15,000 (~$20,000 USD). There goes my dream of playing epic sessions of Spaceteam.
[via TableConnect]
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