Microsoft Goes Into Huge Touch Display Market

Large computer screens are not exactly new.  Still, it is amazing just how big some of these can get.  Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) once demonstrated a large tabletop touchscreen PC unit, and we already recently found out about its coming tablets called Surface.  Now we have Microsoft acquiring a small company called Perceptive Pixel.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but this outfit makes large-scale, multi-touch hardware and software technology.  It is referred to as having pioneered the development of large-scale and unlimited multi-touch devices. The company was founded in 2006. Microsoft claims that PPI’s large touch displays will be combined with hardware from its OEMs and also claims that these will become powerful Windows 8-based PCs.

This deal is likely too small to even make a dent on Microsoft’s earnings.  Still, we would caution that the company just recently took more than a $6 billion non-cash accounting charge tied to prior acquisitions including aQuantive.  That news was released on a week when many investors were out of the office and not paying attention. What matters is that Microsoft snuck in that the growth in online services is not growing as fast as it hoped:

• “Bing search share in the U.S. has been increasing, revenue per search (RPS) has been growing, MSN is the No. 1 portal in 29 markets worldwide and the company’s partnership with Yahoo! has continued to expand geographically. While the Online Services Division business has been improving, the company’s expectations for future growth and profitability are lower than previous estimates.“

Microsoft needs for this effort from Perceptive Pixel to grow into more than political coverage from news desks and in rooms for presentations.  The company said, “PPI’s patented technologies are used across a wide variety of industries such as government, defense, broadcast, energy exploration, engineering and higher education…”

JON C. OGG