14 DAY TRIAL // There aren't many displays that can truly qualify as wall panels and, either way, none of them actually covers the space that HP's VantagePoint does.
HP has just revealed a so-called collaborative multitouch solution for corporations, public spaces and commercial venues like retail.
It is a wall-sized display whose diagonal is 132 inches and which can track up to 32 simultaneous touch inputs.
The number of touch points is not quite what the 40-inch Samsung SUR40 table with Microsoft Surface 2.0 boasts.
Then again, this is not just one display, but a set of six HP LD4730G 47-inch Ultra-Micro Bezel displays linked together.
Two systems make the whole setup work, one of them being a Z800 workstation while the other is an HP Pavilion Slimline desktop.
The former produces the resolution (4,098 x 1,536 pixels) and spreads it properly across the panels, while the latter processes the color and the audio.
The VantagePoint is supposed to be perfect for showrooms, offices and educational markets, though it can also receive satellite TV and cable TV broadcasts.
Naturally, online streaming or DVD/DVR/Blu-ray content is fully supported as well, so there really are many potential uses besides the ones HP is focusing on.
As one may guess, Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system handles the software side, though not on its own.
Custom apps coded in JavaScript, Flash, C++, C# and Microsoft Presentation Framework are supported as well, plus Total Immersion‘s augmented reality software.
Alas, with each 47-inch LD4730G display priced at $1,300 (1,021 Euro), it will not be affordable to set up one of these mammoth display solutions.
Then again, all the panels have Corning Gorilla Glass, so if a corporation or large store does make the investment, it can be sure that it will be a long time before any of the screens have to be replaced, since damage will be hard to inflict, by accident or otherwise.