Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq "MSFT") unveiled the next generation of the Microsoft Surface experience featuring PixelSense technology, which gives LCD panels the power to see without the use of cameras. Building from the innovation of the first version of Microsoft Surface and Samsung's leading display technology, it is now possible for people to share, collaborate and explore together using a large, thin display that recognizes fingers, hands and other objects placed on the screen. This experience will come to life in the Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface for business customers later in 2011 in 23 countries.

"Microsoft continues to innovate in vision-based interaction and software designed for touch. With the introduction of the next generation of Surface, using PixelSense technology, we'll bring more tables and walls to life with amazing natural experiences for people to enjoy together," said Panos Panay, general manager, Microsoft Surface. "We partnered with Samsung because of its strengths in LCD technology, hardware design and manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of large-format displays. The companies have built an incredibly successful collaboration that moved from invention to development to manufacturing and sales of a high-quality, industrialized commercial product."

"Samsung collaborated with Microsoft to bring the Surface experience to a new, thin design with powerful vision-based capabilities in the LCD market. The Samsung SUR40 for Microsoft Surface delivers an interactive experience not available anywhere else and will change the way companies engage with their customers," said Jeong-Hwan Kim, senior vice president of Display Sales & Marketing team at Samsung Electronics.

Microsoft and Samsung worked closely to develop the LCD panel and the new hardware product, which is being manufactured by Samsung and will be sold to business customers through its broad distribution and reseller network.

"With Samsung's cutting-edge interactive LCD technology and Microsoft's innovation in vision-based systems, together we were able to define a new LCD architecture," said HyungGuel Kim, senior vice president of Samsung Electronics LCD Business. "This brand-new concept of LCD provides image-sensing technology along with massive multitouch capability and enhanced horizontal durability, which are specialized for the Microsoft Surface experience."

Product Details
Samsung SUR40 will bring companies around the world new ways to help drive sales, showcase their brand, and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. The product features include these:

• PixelSense. PixelSense gives an LCD display the power to recognize fingers, hands and objects placed on the screen, including more than 50 simultaneous touch points. With PixelSense, pixels in the display see what’s touching the screen and that information is immediately processed and interpreted.
• Microsoft Surface software. Microsoft Surface software provides business customers with a premier touch-first experience for their end users, built on the principles of direct interaction and together computing, with a new look and feel. It also allows commercial application developers to use a new version of the Microsoft Surface SDK and familiar Microsoft development tools to take full advantage of the massive multitouch and object recognition capabilities of PixelSense and deliver experiences not possible on any other platform.
• Designed for commercial environments. The product is designed to meet the challenges of active usage in demanding locations such as retail, hospitality and education.
• Thin form factor with multiple configuration options. The product is four inches thin, which makes it easy to use horizontally, hang vertically with the VESA mount, or embed in walls or custom enclosures. Standard legs are available or customers can design and attach their own.
• Forty-inch full high-definition (HD) 1080p screen. The 40-inch screen enables unparalleled multi-user experiences in full HD 1080p, with a 16:9 aspect ratio and 1920x1080 resolution.
• Powerful embedded system. The product uses the embedded AMD Athlon™ II X2 Dual-Core Processor 2.9GHz paired with the AMD Radeon HD 6700M Series GPU featuring DirectX 11 support to deliver significant processing horsepower and outstanding graphics capability.

Microsoft Surface provides a new way to experience and use information and digital content, engaging the senses, improving collaboration and empowering people to interact. Microsoft Surface is at the forefront of developing software and hardware that uses vision-based technology to fundamentally change the way people use computing devices.

For further information, please visit:
http://www.surface.com

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About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2009 consolidated sales of US$116.8 billion. Employing approximately 174,000 people in 193 offices across 66 countries, the company consists of eight independently operated business units: Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, Digital Imaging, Semiconductor and LCD. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.