Microsoft’s Windows 10 press event was pretty packed with everything from Xbox streaming on your PC to holographic vision, but a new Surface was also unveiled yesterday and if you weren’t paying attention, you might have missed it.
Despite the fragmentation, Windows is a pretty versatile platform in its current state, working on everything from 8-inch tablets up to huge displays and at first glance, that’s what the new Microsoft Surface is – an 84-inch 4K display that looks purpose-built for the boardroom, but there’s more to it than that.
Dubbed the Surface Hub, this big display is packed with computational power (no details on what that exactly translates to) and runs what appears to be a stylised version of Windows 10. Sensors around the edge of the display detect when a user is nearby to wake the Hub up and similarly to double-tapping the end of the stylus on the Surface Pro 3, picking the stylus up with the Hub quick-launches OneNote.
Drawing and annotating on the display appears to offer a near zero-lag experience so you don’t have to sacrifice fluidity as you doodle in order to compensate for the hardware. It’s even powerful enough to display 3D model data, supports multiple touch or stylus inputs simultaneously.
Being a Microsoft device also brings Skype integration into the mix too, naturally. Business users will appreciate the ability to dial into meetings via Skype with one touch and share screens, presentations and annotated OneNote files in real-time.
Microsoft appears to be aiming the Surface Hub at businesses, hoping to shave off precious minutes waiting for meetings to kick off thanks to the increased productivity it offers. Whilst it’s entering a market where plenty of solutions already exist, having the best support for Microsoft systems around might give the hub the edge.
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