This is how you can convert your non-touch screen laptop into a touchscreen one
In the age of touch-screen, using keypad sometimes becomes very difficult. Be it a smartphone or a tablet, everything has become touch-screen these days.
With touch-screen becoming such a popular feature these days, many companies are manufacturing laptops with touch-screen. However, not every laptop or desktop model comes with the feature.
So, for users who want a touchscreen functionality for their laptops can now convert their laptop or PC into a touch screen with the help of a new device called AirBar.
Swedish company Neonode brings to you a new device called AirBar, a plug-and-touch bar that attaches magnetically beneath the machine’s display and bring the touch technology to virtually any computer from your non-touch laptops to notebooks.
The movements and gestures are then translated into corresponding inputs, making you able to use all the gestures including poking, pinching, swiping, zooming and scrolling around with your hand, in the same way, like on a touchscreen PC.
Since the AirBar’s powered by light, rather than touch, you can use it to interact with your laptop in ways that traditional touchscreens don’t allow, such as with a glove or even chopsticks, as the video shows below.
“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.”
No additional software is required. Also, the only model available currently works with 15.6-inch laptops alone. Currently, the accessory is only compatible with Windows 7, 8, 10 device or a Chromebook, but 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 plug-and-touch 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.
You can now pre-order the Neonode AirBar, featuring a matte black finish on the AirBar website for $49. The AirBar is going to retail for $49 next month with its public launch in January 2016 at the CES event in Las Vegas.
Check out the video below to learn more.
