Microsoft and Furniture?

June 10, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on June 2007 Furniture industry, take note--Microsoft is rapping on the table to get your attention.

At the Wall Street Journal’s recent D: All Things Digital conference, Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled Surface, a 30-inch table-like computer interface that works without a traditional mouse or keyboard. By the end of this year, consumers will be able to test out Surface for themselves in hotels, retail establishments, restaurants and public entertainment venues.

Surface offers a lot of potential in furniture, especially as manufacturers explore the convergence of technology and furnishings.

“With Surface, we are creating more intuitive ways for people to interact with technology,” Ballmer said. “We see this as a multibillion dollar category, and we envision a time when surface computing technologies will be pervasive, from tabletops and counters to the hallway mirror. Surface is the first step in realizing that vision.”

Through a simple touch-screen interface, Microsoft says Surface will make everyday tasks entertaining, enjoyable and efficient. For example: ordering a beverage during a meal with the tap of a finger; browsing through music and dragging favorite songs onto a personal playlist by moving a finger across the screen; or creating and sending a personal postcard of vacation pictures instantly to friends and family.

Surface also has the ability to recognize physical objects that have identification tags similar to bar codes. This means that when a customer simply sets a wine glass on the surface of a table, a restaurant could provide them with information about the wine they’re ordering, pictures of the vineyard it came from and suggested food pairings tailored to that evening’s menu. The experience could become completely immersive, letting users access information on the wine-growing region and even look at recommended hotels and plan a trip without leaving the table.

Surface will be shipped to partners with a portfolio of basic applications, including photos, music and virtual concierge applications that can be customized to provide their customers with unique experiences. Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., and T-Mobile USA Inc. will be some of the first companies to provide unique Surface experiences for their customers.