It’s official: Microsoft Kinect for Windows goes live on February 1. Announced by Steve Ballmer at Microsoft’s final CES keynote, the technology is coming with the official Microsoft Kinect SDK, which has been in beta testing since June 2011, and includes Near Mode, a setting to focus and trail objects as close as 50cm away — perfect for at-the-desk use. Available for pre-order at Amazon for $249.99, Kinect for Windows is going to open the door to all kinds of new experiences in Windows, from gaming to virtual keyboards and recognition software.
An unanswered question at this time, though, is whether or not the new hardware will work with the open-sourced drivers currently fueling so much innovation in the developer community. The new hardware appears to have updated firmware and perhaps new hardware, so further hacking may be necessary to make it work. The box appearing on Amazon says “FOR COMMERCIAL USE ONLY” and is labeled as a “Kinect for Windows Commercial Software Developer Kit (SDK).” Microsoft is stating that they will not be charging for the SDK, which is a good thing for developers looking to innovate the motion technology, though it appears they will need to purchase this new Kinect in order to continue to be supported by Microsoft.
And you need Xbox why?
One of the things that seemed to get buried in Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s performance was the news that the gesture and voice-recognition sensor Kinect will be moving to the PC.
The device is currently used in the Xbox 360 game console and Vole is apparently working with 200 companies on unique Kinect for Windows software to run it. He named and shamed American Express, Mattel, Telefonica, Toyota and the United Health Group but we are also hoping that he included a few games companies. Microsoft has shipped more than 18 million Kinects since the Xbox peripheral went on sale just a little over a year ago and it is fair to say that the device breathed new life into the Microsoft game gear.
Sticking the Kinect onto the PC is brilliant, at least for those who own one. It could also allow the PC back into the entertainment market. We can see that Microsoft has plans to use the connect in businesses which means that shaking your fist at your PC might stop being a good idea. But it does do something that Microsoft probably would not wish to do.
If you have a Kinect on a mini-PC you can build your own entertainment centre and plug it into your PC. You could have your own Internet connection and do what ever you like without having to enter Vole’s X-Box universe. Suddenly people like me who were considering buying an X-Box because of the Kinect functions do not have too. Armed with a mini-PC with a decent graphics card I can create a real entertainment hub for live TV, on demand videos, movies and news, social (networking), music and of course still games.
And about that pricing?
Anticipating pricing backlash, Microsoft writes on its Kinect for Windows blog that it’s “proud to bring technology priced in the tens of thousands of dollars just a few years ago to the mainstream at extremely low consumer prices,” adding that “[Although] Kinect for Windows is still value-priced for the technology, some will ask us why it isn’t the same price as Kinect for Xbox.”
And the answer:
The ability to sell Kinect for Xbox 360 at its current price point is in large part subsidized by consumers buying a number of Kinect games, subscribing to Xbox LIVE, and making other transactions associated with the Xbox 360 ecosystem. In addition, the Kinect for Xbox 360 was built for and tested with the Xbox 360 console only, which is why it is not licensed for general commercial use, supported or under warranty when used on any other platform.
The first part makes sense, but without seeing the actual balance sheets, I’m skeptical — I’m not against Microsoft turning a profit, but we’re talking a company that’s repeatedly bilked its Xbox 360 customers. Remember the $100 wireless Xbox 360 USB adapter? The (still) ridiculously overpriced Xbox 360 hard drives?
