Better than a iPad? Mobile Surface could reshape mobile tech landscape

This week, Microsoft will show off some projects in development to employees at the Microsoft Research showcase in Redmond. The employee-only event will show off new directions for the company that the rest of us may see in the years to come. One such project involves Microsoft’s fun Surface product and making it mobile.

We’ve all seen those giant pressure sensitive Surface tables capable of recognizing objects that are placed on it and take appropriate actions such as downloading images off a camera or syncing a mobile phone. You can find these fun tables in hotels (like the Hard Rock in Vegas), and in stores (like AT&T retail shops). Now it looks like Microsoft is working on a way to remove the table while perserving the Surface experience.

Mary Jo Foley over at ZD Net found a Microsoft web page with these details:

“Our goal is to bring Microsoft Surface experience to mobile scenarios, and more importantly, to enable 3D interaction with mobile devices. We do research on how to transform any surface (e.g., a coffee table or a piece of paper) to Mobile Surface with a mobile device and a camera-projector system. Besides this, our work also includes how to get 3D object model in real-time, augmented reality and multiple-layer 3D information presentation.”

Unfortunately, the link is broken now but shows that Microsoft is paying attention to arguably it’s most exciting project in a long time. The Surface has always shown such promise and bringing that experience to any flat surface would be a compelling offering. We’ve seen attempts that promise almost hardware-free computers but the tech always seems distant. Perhaps Microsoft can be the one to shepherd this through to consumers.

I’ve been calling for a Surface Phone for years based on the chord that Microsoft hit with Surface. Maybe a tablet based on Surface wouldn’t be too bad either.

Read [ZD Net]