HP Labs meets GamePro Labs
- April 11, 2007 15:41 PM PST
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Misto
Picture a coffee table that you can use to surf the web, talk to your friends on webcam, or use any computer application you wish simply by touching the surface of the table, and you've got the Misto. This new product from HP acts as both furniture, since you can power the unit off, and a touch screen monitor.
Demonstrated were some of uses for the Misto, such as being able to share photographs with others while sitting on a couch and solving a huge jigsaw puzzle. The bright display was certainly eye catching, but how feasible it would be as a piece of consumer tech is still unknown. Touchscreens are notoriously susceptible to damage and the coffee table aspect makes us leery--one GamePro editor who will go nameless thoughtlessly placed his beer on the table. Thankfully, it didn't spill, but it was easy to imagine the horrific possibilities of such a common living room event.
Still, it was an interesting demonstration and we could easily imagine some real-world applications, such as a scaled down version for digital tabletop games. Next-gen Monopoly, anyone?
