Table top touch screens

Hand-held devices and laptops have been able to allow customers to use their fingers to control what is on their screen, now Microsoft has taken touch screen devices to a new level and they have created a table top touch screen.

Microsoft has created "Surface", a 30-inch table top touch screen device that allows users to control what is on the screen with their hands. Surface is a shiny black coffee table with 5 cameras mounted beneath the screen. The cameras can sense nearby objects and allow you to control the entire screen with your fingers. You can touch or drag your finger across the screen to interact with objects like paintbrushes or photographs.

What makes Surface so unique is its ability to respond to more than one touch at a time. Because Surface is the only device of its kind on the market, the price tag is still pretty high, between $5,000 and $10,000. If you wait about 3-5 years, you can probably get Surface for half the cost. Microsoft has stated they expect the price to drop in order to be feasible for consumers to purchase.

The current version of Surface is being used by hotels and other companies. Some hotel lobbies allow guests to use Surface to play music and buy songs with their credit card. You can also use it to order food and drinks and simply scan your door key barcode over the screen to pay the bill. Other companies are using Touch for their clients to learn about nearby attractions or book show tickets to movies or plays.

Digital photography is one of the biggest revenue-producing ventures right now. Microsoft is working on digital photography sharing software to communicate with Surface. Right now, Microsoft's goal is to place a card onto the screen of Surface and allow all your digital photographs to appear on the screen. From here, you are able to bend, flip, stretch, or do literally anything to your photographs.

At the current time, only 6 software development firms have been given permission by Microsoft to work on Surface. Most everyone has been impressed by Surface and it has opened a new door for technology savvy companies to expand upon.

So who is in competition with Microsoft and their new product? Researchers from the National Taiwan University have created a dual-resolution table top touch screen device called the "i-m-Top". Basically, it can take a desk and turn it into a 120x80cm touch screen device.

The i-m-Top has a number of infrared sensors that trace the motions of the user's hands to control the screen. There are 2 rear projectors installed in the device. One projector covers the entire table top and the other provides high-resolution detail.The i-m Top provides a cheaper touch screen alternative to make use of optical imaging technology.

The current cost of the i-m-Top is $3, 085.00. Volume production of the i-m-Top is still in the works and it is currently only available to professional workshops and high-level executives. In a few years, the i-m-Top price is expected to drop to the price of a regular personal computer.

Table top touch screen devices are pretty unique and exciting to play around with. If you haven't had a chance to view a table top touch screen device, you should connect to Microsoft's web site as soon as you have a free minute. Table top touch screen devices are fun to watch in action and if you ever get the chance to play around with one in person, you won't regret it! The onward progression of technology can only make one wonder what other touch-screen devices will be created next!