Kinect Sensing Technology Rumored To Hit Notebooks

It didn't take Microsoft long to realize that they had more than they bargained for with Kinect. While originally intended only for use with the Xbox 360, the motion sensing device soon found a home with PC hackers. After first rejecting the notion, Microsoft soon changed their tune and began to embrace the hackerspace. Earlier this month at the company's CES keynote, Steve Ballmer officially unveiled the Kinect for Windows package, which will be fully compatible with Windows PCs and enable hackers to do nearly anything with their Kinect, so long as there's a PC and USB port nearby. Now, The Daily is reporting that the Kinect could soon be coming to notebooks and other portable computers.

It's a natural leap, really. Webcams are already commonplace in laptops, so why not step things up a bit and enable motion sensing? Reportedly, there are Asus prototypes already floating around with Kinect sensors embedded in them, and while it's not clear if this type of integration will pause and wait for Windows 8, we wouldn't be surprised if this is indeed the case. Metro could benefit greatly from a motion sensing device in the bezel; think about gesturing with your hands or even eyes in order to slide past a tile or open an application. The uses are nearly endless, and productivity would almost certainly see a boost.

It's reported that Microsoft will likely enable their partners to embed the Kinect technology and tweak as they see fit, much like they do with Windows today. It's also highly unlikely that innovation in the space will come from Microsoft. But really, that's okay -- partners have been looking for ways to differentiate for years, and having the best Kinect interface could easily convince someone to choose an HP laptop (for example) over another brand. CES 2013, you getting all of this?