Cirque adds its GlidePoint NFC trackpads to laptops at NXP’s CES booth

Cirque to show NFC laptop at CES NXP booth that uses an NFC antenna built into a trackpad

We have been following Cirque and their NFC products built into innovative form factors for sometime. The firm has built NFC antennas into screens and trackpads, but until now we haven’t seen an actual working prototype outside of a YouTube video – that looks set to change at this year’s CES. NFC has the ability to share information effortlessly, and building NFC antennas into screens and trackpads really starts to show how useful Near Field Communication is likely to be this next year when it is build into laptops, PCs and tablets.

Cirque owns patents on its products and we tipped the firm for the top when we first reported on their innovative combination of peripherals and NFC antennas last year. NXP obviously thinks Cirque is on to something also because they are teaming with Cirque to give them some space inside their booth at CES. If you are heading over to CES, and want to see the Cirque GlidePoint in action, you can find them at CES Central Plaza, Booth CP8.

Cirque GlidePoint NFC trackpad in action video

We have all seen Android Beam in action. It is really cool to see the transfer of information made so effortlessly between two devices, and now we are likely to see the humble laptop join that elite crew that can handle Android Beam type NFC transactions. In the video below you will see how a Galaxy Nexus frictionlessly transfers web pages, contacts and other information between the NFC smartphone and the laptop that is rocking a Cirque GlidePoint trackpad. How often have you found a cool URL on your phone and wanted to transfer it over to your big screen? We know we would use that feature all the time.

Also think of the applications for this technology in terms of NFC payments with your NFC wallet on your smartphone. To make a payment on your PC, simply move the wallet over the trackpad.

“The demand for NFC capability is rapidly increasing. Native support in Windows 8 and new applications for data sharing and device pairing make NFC a necessity for future computing platforms. The trackpad, already a natural user input device, is the perfect place for adding NFC to a portable computer, especially for designs using metal enclosures. Cirque’s patented methods for combining an NFC antenna with a touch sensor, and ensuring the two systems do not interfere with each other, enables PC OEMs to easily add NFC to their devices.”

We can also envisage iMacs using the screen technology in the future, or even just regular monitors. We expect Cirque to have all manner of announcements during 2012 for its NFC antennas built into obvious and yet clever pieces of technology we use everyday, and the GlidePoint trackpad is just the start. We plan to grab some video of the Cirque GlidePoint NFC trackpads in action and will post it for you to see sometime during next week while we are at CES.