Microsoft is gearing up to release the software development kit for the new version of the touch-centric Surface 2.0 system. Microsoft plans on releasing the SDK on July 12th.
For those that don’t know what the Surface is, just think of your coffee table as a giant touch-screen computer. The Surface can recognize 50 points of contact at any time and can recognize pre-tagged objects. The Surface can also be mounted onto the wall, as opposed to being a table.
Microsoft, in partnership with Samsung, debuted its new Surface 2.0 (Samsung SUR40) at the annual Consumer Electronics Show back in January. This Surface featured a 40-inch full HD display powered by an embedded 2.9GHz AMD Athlon II X2 dual-core processor and the AMD Radeon HD 6700M Series GPU with DirectX 11 support.
Microsoft plans on releasing the SDK so developers can create “write once, touch anywhere” applications. According to Mary Jo Foley, the new SDK will allow programmers to create applications targeting both touch-based Windows 7 PCs and Surface 2.0 systems.
The new Surface 2.0 will also utilize the same Metro user interface that is part of Windows Phone and Zune HD. Expect to see the SDK released during Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles next week.
