Crunchgear
iTable - better only on the Surface
Apparently one of the more popular booths at the CES expo was for PQ Labs where they were showing off their product the iTable. It was featured on Cruchgear as a surface killer.
I’m not convinced since I think they’re aiming at different markets. The iTable is a low cost, small (though for the version that fits over a HD TV I imagine there is a box running XP sitting somewhere behind it), multitouch device. It’s a big iPhone.
The surface isn’t. It’s a multi-touch table yes, but the touch is picked up by multiple near-infrared cameras and the screen is projected onto the surface. The fact that these cameras are used allows the cameras to pick up when your hand is an inch above the surface rather than only when you touch it. This means that when you touch the surface can know roughly where your hand is and know where you are positioned around the table (and then orient objects to face you). It also means the surface can pick up different coloured objects and recognise domino tags placed on its surface.
The surface price structure is certainly more expensive though it comes down rapidly if you are buying in bulk so favours large enterprises.
Finally the surface is a table. The iTable is not. The iTable is not designed for 360 degree interaction, there is a very clear up-down-left-right. You also can’t put things on it so it doesn’t interact with objects in it’s environment (it could potentially recognise a shape but little more). I’ve also seen people pour liquid over a surface machine, I’m not sure I’d like to tip a hot cup of coffee over the iTable.
While this may end up come across as an indictment of the iTable it shouln’t be seen that way. It should be seen as an indictment of the linkbaiting crunchgear headline “Look out, Microsoft Surface - the iTable might just trump you in every way“. The iTable is probably the best option for homes, small businesses or kiosks (if you’re only choosing between those two options) but it is a far less interesting piece of technology than the Microsoft product.
