Introducing Microsoft Surface Hub: The first team device designed to unlock the power of...

[Guest Mike Angiulo]

Some of the most productive work happens when you can harness the collective knowledge and skills of a group. When you bring the right backgrounds and experience together, suddenly the most challenging problems feel like they can be solved.

 

We want every meeting to be great, where things just click. Where ideas flow and work gets done. The problem is, technology hasn’t been designed for the way we want to work together.

 

That all changes, starting today.

 

 

Helping People Create their Best Work Together

 

Leveraging our core strengths in productivity from our Office and Skype divisions, we set out to create a new Windows 10 experience that would re-imagine meetings and help groups of people be more productive together. We’ve created the world’s first team device – a simple, intuitive Windows interface designed for groups, with ink and touch at its core.

 

• Microsoft Surface Hub provides workers a complete device that includes the best digital tools to brainstorm and create together. The OneNote-based Whiteboard tool feels as natural to write on as traditional whiteboard. But it also lets you bring rich, multimedia data into the conversation, makes it easy to share work and ideas when the meeting is over and lets you quickly start where you left off in future conversations.
  
• It’s engineered to be inviting and engaging, making meetings more productive. Built in sensors help the device to wake up when you’re near and track your movement so cameras can follow you. Meetings start instantly with a single touch. Meeting participants can share content wirelessly from Miracast capable devices, making meetings engaging and productive. By removing the points of friction throughout the meeting process, the process of starting and ending meetings, sharing content and collaborating as a remote participant is simple and natural.
  
• And with Windows 10, Surface Hub provides a platform to build amazing large-screen apps for group productivity. Microsoft productivity apps like Office and Skype for Business are built in. And with native support for touch, ink and sensors, the hardware will also enable third party developers to develop beautiful, powerful, immersive applications that light up on the big screen and enable groups to be productive together.
  
• With advanced technology for the modern workplace, and the flexibility to turn any room into a collaboration space, Surface Hub integrates beautifully into the modern workplace, enabling productivity in any kind of space where people come together to get things done, from large conference rooms to informal huddle spaces. The interface is simple and consistent from room to room, making it easy for anyone to walk up and start using, even if they are visiting from another office or another company.
  
• The integrated design means it’s as easy to deploy as it is to use. You only need to plug in power, connect to Wi-Fi and you’re up and running. And carts and stands will make it easy to move from room to room.
  

 

 

A Canvas as Big as Your Imagination

 

When Surface Hub’s 84-inch 4k display comes alive, you’ll notice instantly that this is unlike any touch display you’ve ever experienced. We’ve designed it from the ground up to offer a large-format pen and touch experience that is unsurpassed by any other device available today. The display and touch sensor are phase locked at 120Hz – so the display refreshes every 8.33 milliseconds.

 

By effectively doubling the frame rate on the touch panel, and doubling the frame rate on the display, we’re cutting latency in half. What that means is there is virtually no lag – the display is literally refreshing faster than the human eye can perceive. It feels and appears as responsive as its analog counterparts – but is instantly more productive.

 

The hardware is also designed to completely transform meeting experiences for remote participants. Fourth Generation Intel i5 and i7 processors power the experience so apps and video are smooth and responsive. Full 1080p cameras on each side with wide field of view help ensure those joining from afar will benefit from a view of virtually the entire room. The built-in mic array leverages technology from Xbox Kinect to detect and follow voices in the room while eliminating background noise.

 

New Category Only Possible from Microsoft

 

Surface Hub is about unlocking new capabilities that will address untapped scenarios for our customers and demonstrates the flexibility of the Windows 10 platform scaling to the biggest of screens. With this new experience, Windows 10 will unlock the power of the group for our customers.

 

Surface Hub a fantastic illustration of the core strengths of Microsoft coming together to transform team productivity via a completely new type of device. We’re combining the power of Windows 10, Skype for Business and Office with innovative hardware from our Microsoft Devices Group.

We could not be more excited to introduce Microsoft Surface Hub, and we look forward to sharing more details in the coming months.

 

Thank you,

Mike Angiulo

Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Devices Group

 

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