This is the box the Kinect Sensor comes in. It's a little smaller than I expected, and Microsoft is very careful to call it "Kinect Sensor," rather than just Kinect.
The back of the box shows some very happy people. My initial testing shows that the sensor won't actually work in a room the size depicted on the box. Instead, you need a much larger space.
Here's a zoom-in on the "how much space you need" image from the box back. Six feet won't cut it. In reality, you probably need a space at least about 12 feet by 8 feet, if not more.
The anticipation builds. There's the seal. Pretty soon, we'll cut it open and dive inside.
Here's the first view inside the box. The Kinect device itself is surprisingly elegant looking.
A closer look inside the box. The area in front with the labels will be removed first (gently). It contains two sets of wires.
So here we have the Kinect out of the box for the first time. It's a pretty robust unit, heavy enough to stay comfortably on whatever surface you put it on.
Here you can see the wire bundle, which is a power cord and a USB cable, connected together. The USB cable has a pretty good run, about 8 feet.
This is a close-up of the cable set. The plug is a thin-line, so it'll fit in most power strips.
This is the device itself. It's a very well-made unit, at least in terms of feel, fit, and finish. It's not Apple-seamless, but it's definitely got a good feel to it.
The back of the sensor is minimal, but elegant. One thing to note: this thing attracts dust instantly.
Once the sensor and wiring harness has been removed, you're left with the packing materials. You're not done, because there are goodies hiding below
There's a small cable and a stack of documents, manual, warranty, etc.
If you take off the document stack, you'll see the Kinect Adventures game, which isn't half-bad. We had some fun with it, but it does involve jumping. Your gallery author does not jump. Ever.
Here's another view of the supporting materials.
This is a (slightly out-of-focus) close-up ont he little cable. It's a USB jumper cable. Not sure when this will be used. It wasn't necessary when plugging into the original XBox model.
Here's everything that comes in the box. Oooh. Aaaaah