Windows Phone Connects with Kinect

Microsoft have just released this video showing their Windows 7 phone connecting and interacting with the Kinect. If you ignore the over the top, stock photography brought to life performances of the actors this is a really interesting development. Continuing on the early 2011 trend of interaction between mobile and TV, the use of the phone as an extra controller opens the door to some interesting possibilities.

Say for example microsoft developed a television with the Kinect built in - bypassing the need for advertising to be served in-game through the XBox - that allowed advertisers to develop interactive television advertising that is effected and manipulated by the windows 7 phone. Very interesting.

Yoostar 2 and Kinect

Yoostar 2 uses the Kinect to allow people to star in and recreate famous scenes from their favourite movies. Using the Kinect's nifty body tracking software, your face and performance are mapped over the scene of your choice in real time, allowing you to see how good of an actor you are (or aren't, as demonstrated by the rather over-enthusiastic lady in the video). It's a nod towards the video remix culture of YouTube that includes a share to facebook and twitter function.

Imagine in a few years time you could buy a TV with the Kinect software embedded in it, allowing you to act alongside actors in real time as you watch a movie or interact directly with advertising by moving your hands Minority Report style.

Very exciting.