While the software giant has hinted at Surface blades accessories in the past, this new concept comes directly from Microsoft‘s applied sciences group that is responsible for the current Surface display and keyboards.
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DisplayCover supports dynamic UI manipulation, concurrent access to multiple applications, stylus annotation, gestures and trackpad interactions on the horizontal plane.
“DisplayCover is a peripheral cover designed for compact touch-enabled laptops”.
Unfortunately, it’s just a prototype device so we can’t be sure if it will ever hit the market. With a resolution of 1,280×305, the secondary display offers an eight per cent increase in display area when paired with a Surface tablet with Full HD 1080p display panel. That being said, it looks like Microsoft might have something new up their sleeves. In the meantime, you can check out the videos of the DisplayCover in action above.
I’d love to see a e-ink display on the opposite side of the cover, so that the Surface can keep calendar, messages and other information up to date on live tiles without draining the battery. Since it is touch-sensitive, users can easily interact with it. It’s a flawless solution to those who are looking for ways on how they can de-clutter their desktop or taskbar. As you can see, it can do all sorts of clever things, from simple app shortcuts (using Microsoft’s boxy Start Menu-style buttons), to moving the Photoshop toolbar off the screen giving you more room to draw.
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Microsoft’s ASG demonstrated the e-ink display being used as an image thumbnail selector and slider where the selected image is put onto the big colour display. The current keyboard covers allow users to use a tablet as a laptop and perform a variety of tasks.
