New Sony Vaio Notebook Comes with Gesture Control
Sony is one of the first major notebook manufacturers to update the overall UI of its notebooks with a gesture interface.
Thanks to a front-acing 1.31 megapixel camera, the user of a Vaio E Series 14P can control basic features of the notebook and software via hand movements. However, it is a very careful and basic implementation as only Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer 9, PowerPoint and PowerDVD support gestures at this time.
On the hardware side, the 14P comes with n Intel Core i3-2350M (2.3GHz) that is combined with the HM76 chipset. There is 4GB DDR3 1333MHz memory, a 500GB HDD storage, AMD Radeon HD 7670M graphics and integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 as well as a 14-inch display that delivers a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixel. The notebook is currently on sale in Europe.
Gesture control is an intriguing new way that could be an evolutionary step above a touchscreen and by far more useful on notebooks that touch or audio-input. However, gesture interfaces are currently way too crippled to make sense for most users beyond a nice-to-have feature. Gestures require, just like touch, a system-wide integration and they need plenty of app support to become an appealing feature.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Douglas Perry was a freelance writer for Tom's Hardware covering semiconductors, storage technology, quantum computing, and processor power delivery. He has authored several books and is currently an editor for The Oregonian/OregonLive.
-
drwho1 Useless gimmick.Reply
I have always used "gestures" over the Keyboard and even over the mouse pad.
They work for me. -
allenpan intresting, so webcam is on 24/7? inorder to use the guester right? i can see "NO HARM"...Reply -
Sonny73N No, it's not like Apple. Apple is much better than Sony. I've owned many Sony products but I'd decided to ditch them simply because there's many other who can make better products and offer them with much better price.Reply -
halcyon greghomeWhat sort of advantages does a Mac have?and you do know that prices in Europe and the rest of the world will be higher than the US prices due to sales and import tax rite?Well, at least a MacBook Pro isn't made out of plastic. Most people would agree a computer chassis made from metal is higher quality than one made from plastic. ...other than that... no advantages I can think of.Reply