The Shape of Computers to Come?

The Shape of Computers to Come?

The Latest Products Seek
To Explore New Forms, Uses
By ROBERT A. GUTH and DON CLARK
May 30, 2007; Page B1

It's time for computer designers to think outside the box. From Microsoft Corp. to Silicon Valley start-ups, technology companies are introducing computers with fundamentally new forms.

At a technology conference sponsored by The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft today unveiled the fruits of six years of research pushed by Chairman Bill Gates -- a computer designed like a table with a touch-screen. The system, called Surface and aimed initially for use in hotels and casinos, includes features that allow users to buy tickets to events, wirelessly retrieve and display photos and play games. It goes on sale later this year.
[Microsoft Corp.'s new Surface computer is a table with a touch-screen.]
Microsoft Corp.'s new Surface computer is a table with a touch-screen.

At the same event today, an Oakland, Calif., start-up called Livescribe Inc. will introduce a pen-shaped computer that can make audio recordings and link them to written notes.

And Palm Inc. co-founder Jeff Hawkins, who helped lead the design of the Silicon Valley company's pocket computers and Treo smartphone, plans to disclose what Palm calls a "new category" of mobile device. Though few details are known, one industry executive expects the gadget to be somewhat larger than Palm's existing products and to include wireless networking.

The new products, to be shown at the "D: All Things Digital" conference in Carlsbad, Calif., are just a few examples of the quest by large and small technology companies to change the shape of computers. After an initial innovation boom, most PC makers for years have churned out cookie-cutter desktops and laptops. Though they have on the whole become less expensive and smaller, other major changes have been rare.

But the picture is changing, inspired by innovations such as Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod and other stylish products. Besides working on esthetics, companies are experimenting with new uses for computers and new ways for people to interact with them -- including wider use of voice input, styluses and touch-screens. Hewlett-Packard Co., for instance, sells a PC called TouchSmart, at $1,800, that is designed for a kitchen counter and tasks such as looking up a recipe or a phone number without using a keyboard.
[Clockwise from top left: Hewlett-Packard's TouchSmart; and two prototypes in Intel's contest to design living-room PCs -- the Argon skull by NS Optimum, and a model by Slipperyskip Computers]
Clockwise from top left: Hewlett-Packard's TouchSmart; and two prototypes in Intel's contest to design living-room PCs -- the Argon skull by NS Optimum, and a model by Slipperyskip Computers

"The PC is running away as fast as it can from what it used to be," says Mark Rolston, a senior vice president at frog design inc., a consultancy that has helped Hewlett-Packard and other companies develop hardware and software designs.

Which new variations will catch on widely remains to be seen. Many of the new items require big changes in the way people use computers, and are often pricey. At the same time, their success depends on a critical mass of software companies building applications that consumers find useful.

One reason PC makers haven't taken more creative risks in the past is the narrow profit margins in the fiercely competitive business, which leave manufacturers little money to spend on product design. Microsoft and Intel Corp. -- which have healthier profit margins from their near-exclusive positions in PC operating systems and microprocessors, respectively -- have been among the leaders in trying to spur new uses and designs for PCs.

Intel, as part of a branding effort called Viiv, this spring held a contest to encourage innovative designs by companies that make the living-room PCs that allow TVs to play digital movies and other Internet content. Trigem Computer Inc., a South Korean company, won a $700,000 first prize for a stylish system called the Black Crystal that looks like a piece of high-end stereo equipment. NS Optimum Ltd., a British company, developed a PC called Argon that looks like a metallic skull with glowing red eyes. Both Trigem Computer and NS Optimum are expected to sell the items, but have not disclosed the timing or pricing.

Genevieve Bell, an Intel senior researcher and anthropologist who studies how different cultures view technology, says many designers haven't caught up to the way PCs are increasingly used for entertainment and networking. "People are inherently quite social," she says. "The challenge is, how do we make designs that echo that."
[A rendering of the Smartpen by Livescribe Inc.]
A rendering of the Smartpen by Livescribe Inc.

Building a computer into a table that several users can gather around is one way that researchers are tackling that challenge. Hewlett-Packard, for example, is using the approach in a research prototype called Misto.

For Mr. Gates, Surface is part of a quest to expand the definition of the PC. "I've been saying the last few years that the thing people are underestimating the most is how 'natural interface' will change computing," he said in an interview. For many years, he has promoted speech input, stylus-based computing and, with Surface, visual recognition.

So far, those variations on the keyboard have been slow to catch on. Microsoft five years ago introduced the Tablet PC, which features a large screen that can be controlled with a stylus rather than a keyboard. While some companies use them as portable computers, they still haven't caught on widely.

Surface, a table with a square acrylic top measuring 30 inches on the diagonal, combines five cameras with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking to detect objects and movement. It uses a version of the Windows Vista operating system with additional Microsoft software. As users move their hands on the table top, cameras help translate the motions into commands. For instance, users can select a color by touching a virtual palette and then "paint" images on the screen with fingers or a brush.

Wireless technology transfers stored photos from a digital camera or cellphone placed on the table to the Surface screen. A motion of the hand on the touch-screen can make the images larger or smaller. They can be moved to another camera or a hard drive by sliding the images across the table -- much as one would slide a picture across a regular table.

In a recent demonstration, Microsoft executives showed how the object-recognition feature could work for Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Placing a loyalty card for the casino operator on the table summons a map of Caesar's Palace. Tapping on the casino's different venues reveals show times, menus, descriptions of nightclubs and other information, allowing a guest to book tickets, make reservations or even gamble. The executives see new ways for establishments to interact with customers. Placing a wine glass with a tag similar to a bar code on the table, for example, could call up details about the wine and its vineyard.

Harrah's, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and T-Mobile USA Inc., a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG, expect to use the system, the companies say. (T-mobile would use it at its stores to give customers information on new products and services.) International Game Technology, a distributor of gaming machines, will distribute Surface. Starting at $5,000 to $10,000, and needing considerable customization, Surface isn't suited for individual consumers now. But Microsoft expects high-profile hotel and restaurant operators to bring exposure.
From the D Conference in Carlsbad, Calif., Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer tells WSJ's Rob Guth that it's important for the health and growth of company to be both an enterprise and consumer entity. (May 30)

"Literally millions of people will see it through the different partners we have," Mr. Gates says. "But the big numbers come when our hardware partners pick it up and build devices for the office and home environments." Mr. Gates expects that in three to five years greater sales volumes will help drive down the cost of the Surface technology, enabling the company to "get to price points that are under a thousand dollars for broad usage," he says.

Livescribe's pen-shaped computer, meanwhile, is initially aimed at college students. It builds on technology that was invented by Sweden's Anoto Group AB and used in the popular Fly Pentop Computer from LeapFrog Enterprises Inc.

Livescribe's founder and chief executive, Jim Marggraff, previously worked at LeapFrog and for Anoto. The approach relies on special paper with tiny dots that help a sensor in the pen distinguish locations on a page, and assign them special functions. With The Fly, for example, users can draw a calculator and then touch the numbers to trigger a calculation heard through a speaker or ear phones.

Livescribe's "Smartpen" adds a microphone and a small display on the side of the pen. A user can tap on a section of written notes, for example, and call up a recording in the pen of what an instructor was saying when those words were written. Mr. Marggraff, who expects to deliver the device in October for less than $200, plans to create a community of programmers to write exchange applications for the Smartpen. "I believe this will affect the way people think," he says.

Write to Robert A. Guth at rob.guth@wsj.com and Don Clark at don.clark@wsj.com