Lots of people developed similar touch tech

Samsung introduced a paper written in October 2005 by Mitsubishi Research Laboratories about "Direct-Touch Tabletops."

Apple didn't launch the iPhone until January 2007.

The Mitsubishi researchers noted in the report that the company installed a "DiamondTouch" table, which is similar to the original Microsoft "Surface" table in 2003. They also said the next year Wired magazine hosted a three-day conference on table technology called NextFest 2004.

Below are some of the photos they included to show the different touch technology at the conference. The technology included photo browsing and annotation software.