Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) says it will acquire Perceptive Pixel Inc., maker of large touch-screen display monitors that can be used simultaneously by multiple people.
Microsoft will use Perceptive Pixel for large devices running its latest operating system, Windows 8, the Redmond, Washington-based software company said at a conference in Toronto today. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Perceptive Pixel’s 82-inch multi-touch screen responds to finger movements and can also work with a stylus, according to the company’s website. The displays are intended for corporate and educational use, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said in a presentation Monday.
“In a sense you can say it’s just a very big Windows 8 tablet but people ooh and ah at it,” said Ballmer. “Our challenge is to make that technology more affordable.” He said the displays currently sell for about $80,000.
Windows 8 will be shipped to manufacturers the first week in August and go on sale by the end of October, the company said today.
