Before Microsoft's Surface was a tablet running Windows 8, it was a touchscreen table PC. Microsoft eventually decided to transfer the Surface name to a more popular type of product. Though the product previously known as Surface lives on, Microsoft isn't exactly pushing its touch table. One company that is pushing a table PC rather aggressively is Lenovo.
The company made a splash when it announced the IdeaCentre Horizon at CES this week. The Horizon can lie flat on the table, allowing for input from multiple people in a collaborative situation thanks to 10-finger touch. The machine makes use of the touch functionality in Windows 8 touch functionality and customized games from Electronic Arts and Ubisoft for a pretty unique multiplayer experience. The system actually comes with an e-dice and four joysticks, so Lenovo is really pushing the gaming angle on this one.
We got a chance to check out the Horizon earlier this week, and were able to play a game of air hockey. The screen itself is quite responsive as far as touch is concerned. We were able to scoot our paddle around the screen very easily and though some of our air hockey play was sans partner, we still had a lot of fun with it.
Specswise, you're looking at a 27-inch 1080p display, Intel's Core i-series of CPUs up to 8GB of RAM, Nvidia GeForce GT 620M 1GB graphics, a terabyte of storage (with optional 64GB SSD), a 720p webcam, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth, USB 3.0 and
Set for availability sometime this summer, prices will start at $1,699.
