It's Finals Time...

It's happened! As of today we're officially into the finals for the 2014 Sydney Design Awards. Needless to say, we're looking forward to finding out whether we've been judged good enough to go one better and take the prize. For now though, we're enjoying the right to flash our "Finalist" graphics around.

Shortlisted for the 2014 Sydney Design Awards

As many of you will know, we've recently launched the nsquared digitable55.
We are excited to be working with a number of customers already but the bigger news for today is that the digitable55 has been officially shortlisted for the 2014 Sydney Design Awards!

You can view the entry (and vote) for the nsquared digitable55 here .

How it all works.

Once our entry was accepted it was open for rating along with the other entries. They will be rated
by the design100 judging panel, respected industry members and the marketplace. Once all ratings are in, the scores will be averaged across the three respective ratings to ensure that the Awards showcase the best entry as determined by all three panels.
Rating closes on 17 August, 2014 and we understand that the top five rated entries in each category will be named finalists. We're hoping to be on the podium with other winners at the Awards Presentation on 20 August 2014. Time will tell...

How Your Business Can Benefit from a Digital Table

Are you tired of attending the same boardroom and client meetings? Are you fed up with competing for attention and compelling customers to focus on the same projected screen? Perhaps you just can't quite see what your teammate is trying to share with you on their tablet or mobile screen.

Why not revolutionize your business meeting space with a digital table? Take your meetings to the 21st Century and present your digital content horizontally with a group of people around a 360 degree interface. Better yet, why not use software that integrates multiple devices to share that digital content?

For centuries tables have been used as a space for meetings, a place for sharing of ideas and discussion arenas for business development. Now, as modern society continues to focus on developing content and ideas on personal devices, it only makes sense that we share all our hard work with our colleagues in a more collaborative and open environment.

Everything we generate - our Office documents, images and videos, PDFs and Powerpoint presentations - can be placed on a digital table that is easier for everyone to see and review. Tables further support and enhance conversations by encouraging face-to-face communication and co-operation.

Benefits of a Digital Table

- Create strong engagement

- Keep attention focused

- Create a memorable experience 

- Enhance and enrich your conversations

- Increase productivity

- Easily share and annotate digital content

- Become green friendly, save on printing costs

For more information on digital tables and applications that can be used your business environment today , read our latest newsletter here: 

FREE Newsletter on Digital Tables

http://eepurl.com/AQf5D

Like what you've read? Let us know your thoughts by contacting us at enquiries@nsquaredsolutions.com 

What's new in digital tables

Here is a round up of some of the new things happening with digital tabletop technology.
As developers of software and resellers of digital tabletop hardware we are constantly on the look out for the latest technology and the changes happening in this space.
At the beginning of this year (2012) Samsung released the long awaited Samsung SUR40 with Microsoft PixelSense. The team at nsquared had been working with Microsoft and Samsung for over a year prior to this release and nsquared is acting as a reseller for the SUR40 in Australia. Many of our clients are buying the SUR40 preloaded with a number of the nsquared applications.

The nsquared meeting room table

Since the launch of the SUR40 several interesting tabletop solutions have started to emerge. Working with 3M, nsquared has embedded a multi-touch screen into meeting room tables, creating a totally flat (no bezel) tabletop solution that is easy to wipe down and keep clean as well as being very robust and usable from any side of the table. More good news is coming from our work with 3M later this year as this engadget article suggests.

We are expecting a number of far smaller form factors to emerge in the coming months, driven in part by the release of Microsoft Windows 8.  The team at Sony have demonstrated the Vaio Tap 20, a 20" multi-touch (10) screen that can morph between a vertical screen and a horizontal screen. Clearly smaller than most of the screens nsquared has been working with, but it offers an entry level digital table top experience for 2 people. We are hoping to see several more solutions like this from other hardware manufacturers in the coming months.

The Sony Vaio Tap 20

So what is next ? 

There are a lot of research projects happening in the field of table top computers and we hope some of these will lead to new exciting products we can use to help build rich experiences for our customers. One that has caught our eye is the BendDesk project in Germany, a touch surface that has a horizontal and a vertical component. While not the social experience that we love about true digital tables, it still represents and interesting look at how the interactive workspace might evolve.

Learning Money and Maths with nsquared coin swap

Money is a central theme in our society, and understanding it is a useful life-skill to acquire. To add to the nsquared education pack, we've now got nsquared coin swap, ready to go. It's accompanied by an updated teacher tool, too. The app supports different currencies including Australian, UK, US and European Union (euro) coins so that it can be used in a number of different countries. No doubt there will be content packs to follow that will add to the range of currencies in the future. The aim of the game is to teach players to recognise currency denominations and their relative values. Designed for up to four players, the game challenges you to increase your funds by either swapping their coins with the amount on offer in the centre of the game board, or by keeping the coins you've already got. Take a quick look at the video below to get a better idea of what the team here has done.

Surface 2.0 is here and we are Ready.

With today's joint announcement by Samsung and Microsoft that the next generation Surface device will be available this year, we can finally end our required silence on the topic of Surface 2.0.

It's been a privileged ride being part of the select group of Microsoft's Surface partners that have had access to early information as the product has gone through its development phases. It's also been a laughable one as we watched the rumour mill reach some dizzy heights with regards to some of the more outrageous claims around what Surface 2.0 would be.

The new form factor has a 40-inch screen, is only four inches thick and can be mounted vertically or horizontally. It employs Pixel Sense technology which is a camera-less vision system, and there is a major shift in pricing, at least in US dollars. We're hoping this shift transfers equitably around the globe, making it more viable for small businesses and education to benefit from the brilliant attributes of Surface that set it in a class all of its own.

The news from us for new and existing Surface customers around the world is that we're ready to provide advice and solutions for businesses that invest in themselves with purchases of Surface 2.0. We already have market-ready Surface 2.0 apps for the Business, Real Estate, Hospitality, Banking and Finance, Retail and Education markets, and look forward to delivering more amazing experiences for Surface 2.0. Microsoft tells us that that the Samsung SUR40 will be ready for market launch later this year, and we’re looking forward to being able to announce our new product range.

In the mean time, our existing Microsoft Surface customers can continue to benefit from our in-depth understanding of Surface’s unique capabilities, and our long term continuing relationship with the Surface product team.