X-Desk Surface clone launches in the UK

With dubious "first commercially available" claim

17 April 2009 12:18 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

What's claiming to be the first commercially available multitouch screen interactive tabletop - the X-Desk - has launched in the UK.

The "first" claim is a little off considering Microsoft's "coffee-table computer" the Surface, announced back in 2007, was launched in the UK in March this year and is available for purchase for any business with around £8.5k to spare.

Developed by Impressx and Engage and powered by Epson's 3LCD projectors, the 52-inch X-Desk is said to offer a "vibrant, multitouch interactive display".

The X-Desk lets multiple users physically interact with their digital content such as photos, videos, documents, maps and information.

And, like Microsoft's Surface, the X-Desk "recognises" physical objects such as mobile phones (the Surface is used in AT&T stores in the States) when they are placed on the surface, thanks to "smart tags".

The X-Desk appears to be angled towards the same business areas as the Surface - with suggested uses in sales-rooms, shops, hotels and restaurants as an interactive menu.

The X-Desk costs a little more than the Surface though, with a price tag of £13,800, but does offer a larger screen - 52 inches to the Surface's 30 inches, although Microsoft has told Pocket-lint a 46-inch Surface model could be in the works.