Play Minecraft on this Android-powered coffee table
Ideum ships a multitouch coffee table running Android so you can have the equivalent of a giant tablet in your living room.
If you enjoy playing Minecraft on your little portable tablet, imagine how much you would enjoy playing it on a 46-inch interactive coffee table. Ideum, maker of touch tables and walls, imagines it literally absorbing you into the blocky world in a promo video for the Android-running machine.
The Platform Multitouch Coffee Table starts at $6,950, so this isn't exactly an impulse buy. Ideum specializes in creating large-scale multitouch devices for museum and corporate uses, but it would be happy to sell you the coffee table version for your living room.
The tables are available in either a 32-inch or 46-inch size using 3M projected capacitive touch surfaces. The design is ruggedized to withstand the inevitable liquid spills. If the company's products can survive all the sticky fingers of children and adults in a museum environment, it's a good bet it will survive the demands of your home.
The coffee table runs Android KitKat, but it is also available with either Windows 7 or Windows 8. If you can't decide, there is a dual-boot Windows 8/KitKat upgrade available. There's just something extra-cool about the idea of having a giant Android tablet to play with. It will definitely dwarf your little 7-inch device and provide quite the conversation piece for guests.
The Android coffee tables have just started to ship. If you're not quite ready to plunk down the cash to own one of these coffee tables, the company also offers rentals in the US and Canada. You might try hosting your own massive Minecraft party and see how it goes. If you're really lucky, you'll get sucked in "Tron"-style.