Microsoft to debut Surface 2.0 in Sept

NEW DELHI, INDIA: With an eye on niche market with apparently no competitor, software major Microsoft has tied up with display heavyweight Samsung for Surface 2.0, the giant touch-screen computer that looks like a small coffee table.

Microsoft said it would launch this touch-screen computer by September 2011. What makes it different is that it can recognize physical objects when placed on it.

The new product has 40-inch full HD display, five cameras and infrared sensor that blasts infrared from the touch base. An enhanced version of Surface 1.0, it has options like control box, data visualizer and photo paint among others.

Speaking to CIOL, Somanna Palacanda, director - Surface Marketing at Microsoft, said that the value proposition is that it is multi-touch, multiuser and also recognizes objects. “We are looking at eight industry verticals that include hospitality, banking and retail,” he said.

Available with customization

Surface 2.0 will be available with customization with rich video experience, said Microsoft. For the retail sector, it offers capabilities to compare products and facilitate cross-sale and up-sale. The price has not been decided yet for the Indian market.

Palacanda said that it removes traditional communication techniques with orientation of screen and engaging customer experience. The software is still at unfinished stage and the company is taking personalized software approach.

'India a strategic market'

Jonghee Kim, who is heading Samsung's display sales and marketing team, said that India is a strategic market and quick to adopt new technologies.

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“We will be launching Surface 2.0 in September in India as part of global launch but we are now working on modalities of importing it to India,” he said.

The complete specification of Surface 2.0 is not final yet and as it will be imported from Korea, the ambiguity over declaring it PC or display prevails.