CES 2012: Kinect for Windows launches Feb 1

From February 1 in New Zealand and eleven other countries, Microsoft’s motion-gaming peripheral Kinect will be sold for Windows, the company announced at the Consumer Electronics Show on Wednesday (NZ time).

US pricing for the Windows version is set at $249, higher than Kinect for Xbox 360’s US price of $150. Presumably New Zealanders can also expect the price of the Windows version to be higher.

The Windows version comes with updated software to improve tracking and voice commands, and Kinect’s software development kit.

Since Kinect’s launch in late 2010, hackers and techies have been using Kinect on devices other than the Xbox 360, for applications other than gaming, and the launch of Kinect for Windows will bring a host of new apps and options for the average consumer.

“We're already working with more than 200 companies on Kinect in Windows applications,” Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said in his keynote presentation.

Ballmer said that Kinect was changing the way people interact with their TVs. However, he thought the applications of the technology were more diverse.

“Just as Kinect revolutionised entertainment, we'll see it revolutionise other industries – education, healthcare, and many more,” Ballmer said.

Microsoft also showed off the Xbox dashboard’s Kinect integration, and used classic children’s show Sesame Street to demo the way kids can interact with live TV.

Ballmer’s presentation may have been the last Microsoft keynote at CES, after 14 years of keynotes by both Ballmer and former CEO Bill Gates.

The keynote was hosted by American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, and also featured a ‘Tweet Choir’, which sang the messages of those who were live tweeting the presentation.

•  
•