The Little Extras That Will Help Make the Xbox 360 Kinect Worth Its Weight In Gold

The first thing anyone thinks of when they think of the Kinect is simply the motion capturing interface technology. But this is only one piece, albeit a large one, of the overall puzzle.

And even an otherwise informative Xbox 360 Kinect trailer may not bother to mention those little side features that can help push someone over from ‘might buy’ to ‘definitely will buy.’ Keep reading along and you’ll see no stone left unturned in this straightforward list of what ELSE this still sizzling-hot product offers to the public.

The similarities to a webcam are truly undeniable and an important part of the appeal once noticed. One can leverage the camera and microphone equipment on the Xbox 360 Kinect to hold chats and video conferences with friends.

This is, however, more limited than a standard webcam, since currently only Xbox’s Live service and the Windows Messenger can be used for this purpose. On the other hand, if you’re in the middle of using your Kinect and not your computer to begin with, this is likely to be ample enough connectivity to friends anyway.

That mic comes in handy for other things, too, such as generally interfacing with your Xbox. While the linguistics aren’t as fully fleshed out as they could be, general audio commands should be easy to use whether you’re calling your new Kinect a nuevo Xbox 360 Kinect or just plain ‘that new doohicky.’ Expect basic navigation features with just a voice, instead of having to fumble for a remote control or game controller.

Interestingly, this also applies to other forms of media. Want to watch a movie? You can tell it to stop or start, pause or go to a particular scene, with either your voice or a hand wave. This is clearly the first cresting wave of the future – a future where your Xbox 360 Slim Kinect, your movie-viewing system, and other television-based peripherals are all working through wireless communication. And it’s an unmissably beautiful sight for those interested in the bleeding edge of the evolution of tech in the home.

The Xbox 360 Kinect price, even with these features, is a far from negligible one. But knowing how much you value these extras will hopefully help you determine whether to buy now, wait for a price drop, or avoid it entirely. Don’t forget to look up a Xbox 360 Kinect review or two if you’re still having trouble deciding!