The next version of the Kinect for Windows will be available late May, according to Microsoft. Several new features were announced, from Kinect Studio, a new seated or 10 joint skeletal system. Still available at $250, it is a bit rich for my blood unless an onslaught of Kinect for Windows software is forthcoming. Also, later this year a $149 academic version is going to be released.

Eisler also promised four new languages for speech recognition – French, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese. On that front, Kinect for Windows will also get new language packs that take into account how a language is spoken in different regions – like American vs. British English or France vs. Canadian French.