Users who want a touchscreen functionality for their laptops should check out the new Neonode AirBar, a plug-and-touch bar that attaches magnetically beneath the machine’s display.
The Neonode AirBar will start working after it is plugged into a USB port. This will allow the bar to emit invisible light in order to start tracking the user’s movements and gestures akin to the tracking that is achieved when one uses a touchscreen-enabled machine.
In other words, the bar will transform any non-touchscreen model into a fully functioning, touch-interactive device. Moreover, it is so sensitive that it continues to track movements even if the user touches the screen with his bare finger, wears gloves, or uses chopsticks.
“AirBar projects an invisible light field on the surface of your display that makes it possible to touch the screen and interact with Windows 8 and 10 gestures,” said the company on its official site. “This is all thanks to Neonode’s zForce AIR technology, which can be used for all sorts of cool stuff. The reason you can use anything to touch is that the light field reacts to any disturbance.”
Initially, the plug-and-touch bar will be available in a 15.6-inch version. The bar is designed with a magnetic strip, making it easy to be attached and detached anytime. Users can even opt to keep the bar attached without having to worry about battery drain.
However, keeping the bar attached to the display may affect the mechanism in closing the laptop, as the bar will also use up some space. Users are therefore advised to detach the bar if this is the case.
While the Neonode Air Bar works well with any device that runs Windows 8 or 10 or even with a Chromebook, it still needs to have proper OS X support.
“At this point there’s only limited functionality on OS X meaning there’s no official support for AirBar. But if you have a MacBook lying around, you can try it out,” said AirBar.
The Neonode AirBar, featuring a matte black finish, is now available for pre-order at $49. Check out the video below to learn more.
[“source-techtimes”]
