Two days from now, the PC-tailored and "close view"-supportive variant of Microsoft's Kinect will reportedly be available for sale. I've suspected ever since hearing the initial news of Microsoft's PC aspirations that the company's plans included not only a USB-tethered peripheral for existing systems but also a bezel-embedded Kinect version licensed to computer OEMs for use in new system designs. And a pair of prototype laptops recently previewed by The Daily suggest that my suspicion wasn't off-base. From the writeup:
The devices, which at first glance appear to be Asus netbooks running Windows 8, feature an array of small sensors stretching over the top of the screen where the webcam would normally be. At the bottom of the display is a set of what appear to be LEDs. A source at Microsoft has confirmed that the devices are indeed official prototypes of laptops featuring a Kinect sensor.
For more coverage of the Daily-sourced news, see the following writeups:
