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| Image from Xbox.com |
Just few days after Microsoft launched Kinect, the motion sensor add-on for Xbox 360 became an instant fame. Microsoft has made a bold prediction that Kinect could sell anywhere from 3 million up to 5 million units before the end of the year. I think that it is reasonable considering the more than 30,000 retail locations selling the system including giants such as Walmart, Target, Bestbuy, and Amazon.com.
How Kinect works
Kinect is a horizontal bar camera sensor that can be installed in front of your flat screen or TV monitor in the same manner how you install a Wii or PlayStation Move Bundle
sensors. Kinect can be bundled with Xbox 360
OR as a separate purchase with Kinect Adventures!
if you already have the Xbox system.
What makes Kinect differ from other systems such as Wii and PlayStation Move is its radical departure from the traditional controller-based to a hands-free gaming environment. Kinect is a motion or voice-activated gaming environment where your moves or your voice acts as the interface. No more remote, no more buttons, no more workout pads, no more nunchucks, no more faus steering wheels, or the wand-like controller that you hold in your hands.
To better understand and appreciate this technology, consider watching the following video.
Duration: 6.2 minutes. (Won't take long, I promise)
Source: YouTube videos
The Kinect's camera does two things: it has a motion sensor which generates a moving 3 dimensional image of objects within its view and recognize human beings from those objects. There is no need for external controlers since the camera can accurately measures the "depth" or how far away your body movements (or coordinates), including head, torso, legs, arms at. Then the sensor chip processes those information in the near IR light making it a remote control-less gaming environment.
What makes the gadget more enviable is its ability to accept voice prompts from the user with its built in voice-activated functionalities. In fact, due to the great potential applications of the Kinect's software such as in robotics, educational research, and open source applications, a website is currently offering $3000 to anybody who could reverse engineer er... hack the drivers built into the Kinect system.
Now, Kinect systems rank 8th and 9th in Amazon under videogame category
.
Microsoft's product launches compared
I am not promoting Kinect system here, although I have been an Xbox user for couple of years now. The product looks very promising based on the avalanche of good reviews it earned for the last 7 days. In fact, I intend to buy one for my family this Christmas. But until I can personally test the new gadget myself, only then can I make an objective review of the company's latest product launch.
Remember 5 months ago when Apple launched iPhone 4 in June? The company took only 3 days to reached 1.7 million unit sales and it was touted as the most successful product launch in Apple's history. You can also read the story from here. Although it maybe unfair to compare between an entertainment phone with a gaming device, the question remains to be answered: Can Microsoft duplicate Apple's feat? Both companies are giants in spearheading great ideas in personal electronics where consumers like you and me shall judge which technology can better address our needs.
As most of us knew, Microsoft has been unsuccessful in product launches in the last 6 years. It failed with Zune. Then there was Windows Vista, a transitional fossil from Windows XP and Windows 7. And the belated launching of Windows Mobile 7 to an already saturated mobile systems world. But if Microsoft succeeds this time with Kinect, then the company remains a force to reckon in small electronics ingenuity at par with Apple, Sony, and Nintendo. And if that happens, maybe we can expect Steve Ballmer and his investors dance one more time with gusto.
For now, let's keep our fingers crossed and wait for results.
You may also like:
sensors. Kinect can be bundled with Xbox 360 OR as a separate purchase with Kinect Adventures! if you already have the Xbox system.What makes Kinect differ from other systems such as Wii and PlayStation Move is its radical departure from the traditional controller-based to a hands-free gaming environment. Kinect is a motion or voice-activated gaming environment where your moves or your voice acts as the interface. No more remote, no more buttons, no more workout pads, no more nunchucks, no more faus steering wheels, or the wand-like controller that you hold in your hands.
To better understand and appreciate this technology, consider watching the following video.
Duration: 6.2 minutes. (Won't take long, I promise)
Source: YouTube videos
The Kinect's camera does two things: it has a motion sensor which generates a moving 3 dimensional image of objects within its view and recognize human beings from those objects. There is no need for external controlers since the camera can accurately measures the "depth" or how far away your body movements (or coordinates), including head, torso, legs, arms at. Then the sensor chip processes those information in the near IR light making it a remote control-less gaming environment.
What makes the gadget more enviable is its ability to accept voice prompts from the user with its built in voice-activated functionalities. In fact, due to the great potential applications of the Kinect's software such as in robotics, educational research, and open source applications, a website is currently offering $3000 to anybody who could reverse engineer er... hack the drivers built into the Kinect system.
Now, Kinect systems rank 8th and 9th in Amazon under videogame category
.Microsoft's product launches compared
I am not promoting Kinect system here, although I have been an Xbox user for couple of years now. The product looks very promising based on the avalanche of good reviews it earned for the last 7 days. In fact, I intend to buy one for my family this Christmas. But until I can personally test the new gadget myself, only then can I make an objective review of the company's latest product launch.
Remember 5 months ago when Apple launched iPhone 4 in June? The company took only 3 days to reached 1.7 million unit sales and it was touted as the most successful product launch in Apple's history. You can also read the story from here. Although it maybe unfair to compare between an entertainment phone with a gaming device, the question remains to be answered: Can Microsoft duplicate Apple's feat? Both companies are giants in spearheading great ideas in personal electronics where consumers like you and me shall judge which technology can better address our needs.
As most of us knew, Microsoft has been unsuccessful in product launches in the last 6 years. It failed with Zune. Then there was Windows Vista, a transitional fossil from Windows XP and Windows 7. And the belated launching of Windows Mobile 7 to an already saturated mobile systems world. But if Microsoft succeeds this time with Kinect, then the company remains a force to reckon in small electronics ingenuity at par with Apple, Sony, and Nintendo. And if that happens, maybe we can expect Steve Ballmer and his investors dance one more time with gusto.
For now, let's keep our fingers crossed and wait for results.
You may also like:
- Read in details how Kinect works from the company that develops it.
- Did somebody hack the Kinect system yet?
I think Microsoft got it right this time. Kinect is awesome!
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