Table.Connect asserts that 58-inch iPhone Table is real (with video)

Parmy Olson reports for Forbes, “People said the iPad was just a giant iPhone – so what would they have made of this? Three technology whizzes from Austria have been tinkering on a sleek, 52-inch table with a working iPhone interface, including all the multi-touch capabilities. Have a look at their recently posted video demo of the impressive hardware hack, called Table.Connect, complete with subtitles, Sly Stallone photos and creaky floorboards.”

MacDailyNews Note: Table.Connect’s website claims it is a 58-inch capacitive multitouch surface, 52-inches.

Olson reports, “The three inventors are refusing to give their names–a tad suspicious–but they say that’s ‘due to legal issues and the massive media response we don’t want our identities to be published at this early stage.’ Too busy with all the media buzz to give an interview over the phone, one of the trio named only ‘Thomas’ responded to a few of my questions by e-mail.”

Olson asked about claims that the iPhone Table is a nicely-executed fake and “Thomas” responded: “We find it quite amusing and some of those fake-claims are really creative. It was clear to us that there would be many doubters but we leave them be. Rather than wasting our time on countless “fake-cries” we prefer bringing Table.Connect to a final stage.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Here’s the thing: If we made such a table, our video would show a heck of a lot more that these guys are showing. For that reason alone, we suspect this is fake. In a few weeks we’ll probably find out it was all a modern art project created by three students at Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

34 Comments

  1. This may be fake, but the concept of a Really Big Multitouch iOS Surface is something that would be truly interesting. Imagine an iWall – basically a wall-sized iPad screen – which would be controlled by an iPad acting as a remote, and would mirror everything done on the “iPad remote” screen by the operator. Of course if the home owner wanted to actually do the multi-touch gestures on the iWall itself, he/she would be able to do so, though that would be impractical in certain circumstances (such as trying to tap a photo thumbnail at the very top of the iWall). I’d love to entertain my guests with such a wall!

  2. Cool!

    I wouldn’t call fake yet…
    I did see his finger down near the lock button now, good catch.

    Doesnt MS have a table they were working on? Could this just be that table (or similar) with the video out from the iPhone?

  3. Maybe it’s just me, but the iPhone seeming to mimic the tables actions would lead me to believe this is real BUT I believe this to merely be an app which holds other apps. This mother app could connect to and be controlled by the table (wirelessly…..especially when I’ve NEVER heard of controlling iOS through the dock except for charging and syncing………which makes plugging up the phone non-essential ), thus giving the effect that your iOS is being controlled instead of an app that looks like your iOS. What do y’all think?

  4. The Truth is these things are closer and closer to consumer grade everyday.

    Look at ESPN, specifically the show: “SportsNation” they use a giant touch surface everyday. looks like a 42″. I’ve seen it in football analysis shows. Starting to see news using them for weather too.

    It won’t be long and these type of devices will absolutely be in the home.

  5. There is already a wall that does the multi touch thing. They use it on NCIS LA every week. I can’t remember the company that makes it but it’s pretty cool.

    Someone else makes a table too Like the big ass table.

  6. @Abdullah — Might be a bit much for home use, but the potential for business and education could be phenomenal. Ditch the old blackboards and whiteboards, go with a iWall for presentations and lectures.

  7. Ok I’m with @fatal…after looking at the link he posted, I’d say it’s a fake. Yeah, white the cable and connector are so badly photoshopped, lol. I caught that before reading more comments here, hehe.

    Isn’t there software that can take video from iPhone and use perspective shaping and transparency to make it look like it’s directly from the iPhone? All they’d have to do is mask it when the guys are “manipulating” it. Look at the image quality in the large projection. There are artifacts that would result from an image/video being upscaled. However, the iPhone 4 has resolution independent icons, etc now, so the icons and text in theory should really be sharp, no?

    I also agree that the icon placement should match the device.

  8. I haven’t been able to find this, but does anyone else remember the ‘iPad’ fake video from around 2000 that was almost exactly like this? All you saw was a white PDA type device with the thumbwheel, and you could hear voices off camera talking in German. I think this was just before the iPod first came out, or maybe right after.

    Anyway, because of that video, and other assorted fairy tales over the years, I’m skeptical about any spurious looking Apple products with German voiceovers.

  9. It would be easier to must make the thing than to make such a realistic looking fake video. All I see is them launching an app on the iPhone that sends video to the table-top version. I’m convinced.

  10. (correcting a misspelling…)

    It would be easier to just make the thing than to make such a realistic looking fake video. All I see is them launching an app on the iPhone that sends video to the table-top version. I’m convinced.

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