Over at the PQ Labs stand at CES the company has been demonstrating a product that"s very similar to the Microsoft Surface. PQ labs have named it the "iTable".
The iTable has some very nifty features starting with the development side, it has a SDK which like the Surface you can adapt to make your own. The touch screen itself can have only a limited amount of fingers on it at once but the hardware can have as many as you like as its customisable. PQ labs currently manufacture several touch screen technologies.
You see the name and you think iMac or iPod but it actually runs Windows XP and there"s no OSX in sight If you have some application you want to run on your iTable you can because it can run it straight away as long as you map the correct API"s. It"s clear with the name being iTable and the compatibility of applications means PQ labs are modelling this as a mega sized iPhone or iPod touch.
Now you"re all wondering how much this will cost? There"s several prices for different models but if you want the economic version then its going to set you back nearly $10,000. You will need to purchase the equipment, which includes Multi-Touch G2 and a 32" LCD Overlay, and then the iTable itself which is $7000. The official 30" version is $12,000 so you are saving money if you go for the 32" overlay. When you look at the pictures and the videos in the demo below you can see the potential is there for this device. It"s always good to have competition because it brings the out the best in the companies competing in that market and pushes prices down for the consumer.
Video Courtesy of Crunchgear