Kinect for PC is coming February 1
While Ballmer’s CES keynote was as lacking in excitement as expected, there was one interesting announcement from Microsoft for PC owners. Kinect for PC aka Kinect for Windows will be coming out February 1st of this year. While that may seem to be a boon for PC owners the world over, there is one little catch. Kinect for PC will require new hardware and not just software.
Microsoft announced the upcoming release of Kinect for PC at CES a few days ago. The system will be available for $249 which is surprising considering that you can purchase Kinect for the Xbox 360 for $149 from Best Buy. Just like the Xbox version, the PC version will require separate hardware. Still the system will work with computers running Windows 7 and eventually Windows 8.
Kinect for Xbox uses a variety of sensors, cameras and a microphone to translate gestures and words into commands. Those sensors were developed to work using the Xbox and a TV which meant that the user was further away than most people are from their PCs. Normal computers, even those with built in cameras and microphones, don’t contain the sensors necessary to translate words and gestures on a computer. For that reason, another piece of hardware had to be developed that would provide the sensors and allow them to work in much closer proximity to the person using the system.
One of the interesting aspects of this announcement is that as far back as last November of 2010, "AlexP" hacked the Kinect system so that it work with a Windows 7 computer. In January of 2011, ASUS claimed that it would be releasing a system, WAVI Xtion similar to Kinect for PCs. At that time Microsoft said that it didn’t have any plans to release it for any system except Xbox 360. Of course a year has come and gone, ASUS hasn’t really begun pushing the system in retail stores and Microsoft has changed it’s mind.
Both Asus and Microsoft say that their systems for PC hold commercial uses beyond the living room. The companies say that this technology will be transferable for use with any type of Windows based intelligent machinery. If so, companies may want to consider which system they really want to purchase. ASUS and Microsoft have each licensed much of the technology from PrimeSense.
ASUS sells its PC based system for $149, the same as Kinect for Xbox 360. Microsoft sells Kinect for PC for $100 more. Which system is better? Don’t know and we won’t know until both systems are released and compared.
This February 1st, you can purchase Kinect for PC online and from retail stores. ASUS’s product can be purchased now but only online. It looks as if Microsoft has more consumer friendly software packaged with Kinect than ASUS has with WAVI Xtion.
Will this be worth purchasing if you already own Kinect for Xbox? Probably not.
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