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Your next laptop could have Microsoft's Kinect built into it

By | January 28, 2012, 10:48am PST

Summary: Microsoft is finally delivering on its promise to bring Kinect to the PC with official support, but most people would probably assume it would be most useful with a desktop. Nonetheless, it appears that the motion-control technology could also show up on portable systems,

Microsoft is finally delivering on its promise to bring Kinect to the PC with official support, but most people would probably assume it would be most useful with a desktop. Nonetheless, it appears that the motion-control technology could also show up on portable systems, according to a report in The Daily.

The Redmond giant recently showed off a couple of notebook prototypes from Asus that included Kinect sensors and ran Windows 8. The Daily speculates that use of the motion sensors makes sense for gaming as well as switching between apps or as a replacement for media controls.

While Kinect seems like a natural on, say a 27-inch all-in-one PC, it might be more a stretch on a smaller screen, especially the type of group gaming scenarios that work well with the Kinect and Xbox today. Then again, motion control may make more sense on a laptop than a multi-touch on-screen interface, which works better on a tablet that you can hold a foot away from your face.

Do you think Kinect makes sense on a laptop? If so, how would you envision using it? Let us know in the Talkback section.

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Topics

Microsoft Kinect, Microsoft Corp., Laptop Computer, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Sean Portnoy

Sean Portnoy is a freelance technology journalist.

Disclosure

Sean Portnoy

Sean Portnoy is a freelance technology journalist; currently, all work that Sean does is on a contractural basis. Sean has also written corporate communications documents for CA.

Sean does not accept gifts from companies he covers. All hardware products he writes about are purchased with his own funds or are review units covered under formal loan agreements and are returned after the review is complete.

Biography

Sean Portnoy

Sean Portnoy started his tech writing career at ZDNet nearly a decade ago. He then spent several years as an editor at Computer Shopper magazine, most recently serving as online executive editor. He received a B.A. from Brown University and an M.A. from the University of Southern California.

Talkback Most Recent of 22 Talkback(s)

  • RE: Your next laptop could have Microsoft's Kinect built into it
    I think it is useless unless you are disable might give people more ability to use the computer. I don't see a need for it myself other then that.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Randalllind
    28th Jan
  • RE: Your next laptop could have Microsoft's Kinect built into it
    @Randalllind
    I think tonymcs@... said it best below,
    This is going to open a whole lot of new Idea's for laptops and Tablets. It will be Great for people with disabilities.
    You can just flick your finger to move back and forth, Up and Down, etc.
    They could make the mouse for most common task's a thing of the past.
    Login into you device with you face and a gesture.
    Maybe even do away with on screen keyboards for tablet's.
    The possibilities will only be limited by the hate some people have for Microsoft.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    bates40
    29th Jan
  • Kinect makes as much sense as a multi-touch screen on a laptop.
    That would be...........none.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Userama
    28th Jan
  • RE: Your next laptop could have Microsoft's Kinect built into it
    @Userama
    I guess "...........none" is the amount of imagination you have. I think allot of it will have to do with how easy they make it to integrate the Kinect APIs with WinRT.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    sharkboyjohn
    2nd Feb
  • RE: Your next laptop could have Microsoft's Kinect built into it
    I do think it will help in the disability space
    ZDNet Gravatar
    PriMinister
    28th Jan
  • RE: Your next laptop could have Microsoft's Kinect built into it
    Short comment:
    I think it will be useful to other areas than the disability space only. Some versions away but; what if you could multi task with hand, eye and face?! And when doing presentations - no presentation device/mouse or keyboard push necessary? Also remember that a lot of people are having problems with hands, elbows and shoulders without qualifying in to the disability space. Sure I can think about a lot of more activities and areas.

    On tablets? Naeee...not really, for the moment...

    @maxbuchler
    ZDNet Gravatar
    maxbuchler
    28th Jan
  • It probably does make sense for presentations.
    Since Kinect was first revealed, one potential use outlines has always been to direct presentations through voice and gesture, which could certainly be made to work using a Kinect enabled laptop. Hmm, actually just about any usage where the laptop was connected to a projector or large screen TV could be dramatically impacted by kinect sensors as a control mechanism.
    In general, I don't see it adding much to what's currently normal use for a Laptop, except perhaps enhanced Voice recognition and more options for using facial recognition software. The key question of weather or not Kinect on a laptop takes off is what sort of software can be made to take advantage of the extra features it offers.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    brendan@...
    28th Jan
  • better they fix Windows for a change
    instead that adding & changing stuff just to pretend they are improving the product.
    Whats happens when you press lock caps? you get an icon of an open lock. And when you unlock caps? then you get a closed lock. Brilliant. Is called reverse psycology, where locked is unlocked, and evil is good (like in Ed Bott fantasy world). And if they want to improve the product, why they try to make the damn thing to keep the keyboard language you choose, instead of randomly changing to French, or Spanish?
    ZDNet Gravatar
    theo_durcan
    28th Jan
  • RE: Your next laptop could have Microsoft's Kinect built into it
    @theo_durcan This has to be de pettiest comment I have ever read. Congrats, just when I thought I had heard every type of fallacy there is, you come up with a new one: the petty side step smoke screen fallacy with a dash of ad hominem.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    willfordcr
    29th Jan
  • I see you are attempting some psycology of your own.
    @theo_durcan

    By fabricating a scenerio in which the software does not function.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Mister Spock
    29th Jan
  • It does not function
    @Mister Spock
    I though it was the machine at work, that for a mysterious reason randomly switch keyboard languages, but went to a client were he was experiencing the same behavior; that makes 2 on 2, of the last W7 computers I faced. So I'm pretty confident many other people experience the same behavior. It must be the same dynamics that happens with the disappearing keyboard in WP7. Most fanboys were in denial, until MS acknowledged the problem exists.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    theo_durcan
    29th Jan
  • 2 people who have a problem?!
    @Mister Spock

    Yeah, 2 people who report a problem mean everyone is having it...
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Michael Alan Goff
    30th Jan
  • Where would it be useful on a laptop?
    On a laptop with a decent GPU built for playing Mass Effect 3. Not that I'm entirely convinced that I'd like to PLAY Mass Effect 3 with a Kinect sensor, but in theory it could work well for some.

    Joey
    ZDNet Gravatar
    voyager529
    28th Jan
  • RE: Your next laptop could have Microsoft's Kinect built into it
    IBM Kinect: They sold it off to a little known company that nobody heard of.

    HP Kinect: After performing an action, it changes its mind.

    Apple iKinect: It just works, but has only half the features at twice the price.

    Linux Knct: You have to manually install the drivers, because the hardware manufacturer doesn't use open source.

    Acer Kinect: It records video at 5 fps, but it's solid.

    Alienware Kinect: It's double the price, big and heavy, but is great for gaming. Your office workers remark that it reminds them of Darth Vader.

    Nintendo Kinect: You wave the Kinect around instead of placing it on the laptop.

    ------------------------------------

    On a more serious note, IMO the voice recognition part of Kinect would be a lot more useful than the camera part of kinect.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    CobraA1
    29th Jan
  • RE: Your next laptop could have Microsoft's Kinect built into it
    While you may not be able to imagine waving, smiling and talking at your laptop (it helps if you've already used Kinect) you're really seeing the beginning of the end of touchscreens. Once again we'll have some precision and our pointer back and blocking half the screen with our hands and fingerprint oil will be a thing of the past.

    Time to move on from fingerpainting and as a WoW mage, I'm used to mysterious gestures wink
    ZDNet Gravatar
    tonymcs@...
    29th Jan
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