The Xbox 360 Kinect Review

Kinect? Great! I have read countless reviews on the Xbox 360 Kinect. And the more I read, the closer I was getting to my pre-order. Most of the reviews complained about delays, or space requirement, or that the games were just regurgitated Wii games, and how each of name of the game was never developed.

After reading some of the preliminary assessments, I was intrigued enough that I pre-ordered almost immediately. Being a gadget geek, I ordered this set, despite already a Xbox360. I wanted a bigger hard drive, silence in the new console (!!!!!), and integrated wireless. The new design is pretty sweet too. Overall a great console. I recommend the upgrade.

Unplugged the old Xbox360, plugged in the power supply to the new 360, plugged in the HDMI cable (no more adapter required), plugged in the digital audio cable set the Kinect under my tv, plugged it into the Xbox, turned it on and it's go time. A few minutes of setup was all it took, setting up the wireless connection, entering your Xbox Live info, and a few download updates.

I was playing an adventure game that comes in the box. Wii-like? Yes. Fun? Much! It can track your movements - hands, head, arms, legs, hips, everything - is just incredible. Can detect when a driver moves from side to side or front to back, or crouching or jumping while moving the arm itself.

Many commentators have complained about the delays, which means it takes a bit of time to detect their movements and put them on the screen. Is there a delay? Yes, as measured in fractions of a second. Is it sensible? Yes, but only if specifically focusing on it. But it is not apparent during the actual game, since we are concentrating on the game And as with the Wii, quickly learn to compensate for that split second difference. It is totally irrelevant!

There is an infrared replication of yourself on the screen. The shape of my body was accurate (unfortunately) and has even taken the logo on the shirt I was wearing. There are many exercises you can do and you follow with an instructor. You need to be synchronized with instructor to earn points and advance to higher levels and KINECT did an excellent job following your every move and compare it with the instructor. Not spreading your feet far enough apart? He will tell you. Do not keep the pace? He will tell you. It's so much more intense than anything I played on the Wii and I can now see how your form instead of going to the gym. It is really amazing. KINECT is the future of games.

Mark Orman is known as "The Game Guy." Here you will learn the latest that Xbox has to offer and the best offers on Amazon.

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Kinect bringing interactive ads to Xbox 360 (AFP)

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Microsoft announced Tuesday it will bring interactive ads to Xbox360 consoles using the voice- and gesture-recognizing capabilities of Kinect controllers.

The US technology titan unveiled "NUads" technology that it heralded as the future of television advertising.

"I believe that the Kinect platform, and NUads, will unlock the incredible potential of interactive TV, and interactive TV advertising," Microsoft advertising business group general manager Mark Kroese said in a blog post.

Microsoft has been beefing up film and television show content at its Xbox Live service that consoles connect with using the Internet.

Kinect controllers allow people to tell a console to post a video ad in a Twitter update or ask it for more information about a product.

Viewers can use waves of hands to share opinions in polls or send material to themselves by email.

"Simply put, NUads break down the barriers between consumers and content on the TV screen," Kroese said.

"NUads make traditional linear content -- like a 30-second TV spot -- irresistibly interactive," he continued.

Early in June, Microsoft added YouTube, voice commands, television shows and more to Xbox 360 with Kinect as the hot-selling videogame console matures into an entertainment center for all.

Microsoft ramped up voice capabilities in Kinect to allow Xbox users not only to give commands to in-game characters but also to speak Bing searches for games, movies, television shows, music and other entertainment content.

Microsoft has sold more than 10 million of the gesture-sensing Kinect accessories for the Xbox 360 worldwide since they hit the market in November.

Kinect uses a 3D camera and motion recognition software to let people play videogames on the Xbox 360 using natural body movements and voice commands instead of hand-held controllers.

Microsoft has expressed a vision of Kinect moving beyond the living room to medical centers, schools and other places where technology to track skeletal movement and recognize voices could be useful.

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Xbox Kinect Will Put Ads in Video Games and TV Content (NewsFactor)

Microsoft announced a new option for advertisers at the Cannes International Advertising Festival this week. The Xbox Kinect gaming console is going to use voice and motion commands to let consumers interact with ads while they are playing their favorite video game or watching online content.

Dubbed NUAds, short for natural-interface ads, the new suite of advertising tools will let users interact with advertising right from their Xbox Kinect video-game console dashboard. Users can also interact with ads embedded in games or other video content. It's a move to take advertising a few steps beyond the old-fashioned boob tube.

"When you have highly interactive people and a passive medium, they are interacting with their phone or their laptop while watching TV," Mark Kroese, the general manager of the advertising business group at Microsoft, told The New York Times. Kroese introduced the ability to use voice- and gesture-controlled interaction with advertisements and other content on Xbox. He said the ads "create a natural way for the user to engage with the TV."

In-Game Ad Action

What does all this mean to Xbox Kinect gamers? It means that soon, they'll be able to say "Xbox tweet" and have the content shared online with your friends.

Here's another example. Say you're watching a TV show. You'll be able to interact using your voice to do things like schedule a reminder to be sent to your phone of shows that you don't want to miss this summer.

NUAds also offers some interesting location-based interaction services for advertisers. For example, if you say "Xbox Near Me" when watching an advertisement for cars, Xbox Kinect will serve up a map with local dealerships. In another example, Microsoft's Steve Clayton asks you to imagine an ad for pizzas or a movie ad that takes you to cinemas that show the film locally.

"This represents a great opportunity for agencies and advertisers to generate new kinds of ads and ad creative. They have to rise to the challenge, however," said Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence. "It will take some time for them to figure out how to effectively leverage what is a completely new ad platform. It's really all about whether they can truly take advantage of the capabilities of the Xbox platform."

Will Wii Compete?

Kinect for Xbox 360 lets players use their body and voice to control games and entertainment. Essentially, the body becomes the controller. The high-tech sensors learn how players move, how they play, hears their voice, and makes them one with the game.

The all-in-one Xbox 360 4GB Console with Kinect includes the new Xbox 360 4GB console, a Kinect sensor, and Kinect Adventures for $299.99. Consumers who already have an Xbox 360 console can buy the stand-alone Kinect for $149.99. That includes the Kinect sensor and Kinect Adventures.

Wii hopes to compete with the Kinect with the Wii U, whose controller with a 6.2-inch screen promises to drive new gaming experiences and the ability to customize entertainment. Nintendo hasn't announced any plans for in-game advertising with its new system.

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