Tag: xbox kinect

Categories
News Video Games

Microsoft to release the Xbox Kinect Accelerator; it registered the domains

Xbox Kinect

With the one year anniversary of the debut of the Kinect taking place earlier this month, a lot of news has been coming out on the motion sensing device for the Xbox 360.

One of the announcements is that the Kinect SDK for Windows, which enables developers to create new uses for the Kinect, will be available commercially in early 2012.

With all the activity and buzz, it also looks like other features for the Kinect will be available for developers called the “Xbox Kinect Accelerator”, according to two recent domain registrations by Microsoft.

On November 9th, the company registered XboxKinectAccelerator.com and XboxKinectAccelerator.net.

Nothing has been announced by Microsoft yet. 

It’s possible the Xbox Kinect Accelerator could be something similar to the Microsoft Research Accelerator which is used by programmers to help accelerate code execution. 

It could also be an accessory for the device or a Startup Camp to get developers up to speed on programming, but until Microsoft reveals more information, nothing will be known for sure.

[Update 2 November 18, 2011: Microsoft has officially launched the site.  “If you are a developer or existing team/startup focused on building a business that takes advantage of the Kinect and Natural User Interface technologies, then the Kinect Accelerator is where you need to be. Through this program, Microsoft is supporting entrepreneurs, engineers and innovators like you to bring to life a wide range of business ideas that leverage the limitless possibilities Kinect enables. Following a competitive screening process, ten finalists will be chosen for this unique three month incubation program running from March to May, 2012 in Seattle, WA. The Kinect Accelerator is “powered by TechStars” using the same mentor-driven methodology pioneered and proven in New York, Boulder, Seattle and Boston. Mentors for the Kinect Accelerator include a broad base of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists in the industry as well as executives from Microsoft Studios, XBOX, Microsoft Research and other Microsoft organizations.”  More here.]

[Update 1 November 15, 2011 at 3:17am EST:  Microsoft has now registered the domains KinectAccelerator.com, KinectAccelerator.net and KinectAccelerator.org.]

Discussion: Ubergizmo

(Photo of Kinect sensor as shown at the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo via flickr)

Categories
News Video Games

Nearly a month after acquiring domain name, Microsoft starts redirecting Kinect.com to Xbox web page

Xbox Kinect

Earlier this month, I was the first to report that Microsoft acquired the domain name Kinect.com for its controller-free add-on for the Xbox. 

However, if you typed the URL, kinect.com, into your browser’s address bar in the past 30 or so days, you were taken to Bing’s search engine results page for the keyword “Kinect.”.  The exact URL: http://www.bing.com/search?q=kinect&form=MSSRPD

Today, Microsoft released its second-quarter results which were helped by the success of its Kinect game device. 

“Sales at the company’s entertainment-and-devices division jumped 55% on the success of the company’s Kinect motion-based controller, which were a hit during the holiday season and boosted sales of Xbox 360 consoles. Operating profit for the division has surpassed $1 billion so far this fiscal year.”, writes The Wall Street Journal.

Though the change looks to have taken place in the past week, redirecting the domain name Kinect.com from Bing’s search engine results to the Xbox Kinect page appears to coincide with the release of the company’s second quarter results.

Categories
News Video Games

Confirmed: Microsoft Corporation now owns the domain Kinect.com

Kinect.com domain name

When Microsoft launched its now-popular Kinect, the controller-free add-on for the Xbox in early November, it didn’t own the domain name Kinect.com.  Kinect.com has been registered since the nineties and the domain name re-directed to CAHG.com, a company that helped others grow their leadership brands. 

Earlier this week, back on Dec. 30th, Andrew Allemann of Domain Name Wire and other bloggers and writers described how Microsoft had filed a UDRP to get the following domain names:  MicrosoftKinect.com, KinectWorld.com, KinectPro.com, and KinectReviews.us.  At the time of the story, Microsoft still didn’t own Kinect.com.

While it appears many reported the news about the UDRP cases, no one has reported that the domain name switched owners on New Year’s Eve.

As of December 31st, 2010, the domain name is now registered to Microsoft Corporation.

Domain Administrator
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way 
Redmond WA 98052

Created on…………..: 1998-11-17.
Expires on…………..: 2014-11-16.
Record last updated on..: 2010-12-31.

The change in owners comes only days after Microsoft filed the first UDRP cases. 

According to registrant records, Microsoft now owns the Kinect.com domain name.  

kinect registrant

While the price of the name remains undisclosed, one can only imagine what Microsoft had to shell out.  A recent article in Gamasutra pointed out that Microsoft aims to sell 12.1 million units of the Kinect device by the end of 2011 after the company already sold 2.5 million units worldwide through November.

Over a year ago, Microsoft acquired the domain name Office.com in a transaction that was highly publicized by a number of technology sites after it was revealed that Microsoft used a company called Marksmen, a Microsoft contractor to purchase the name for an undisclosed amount.