As some of you may have read I have long believed that Microsoft should use the Natal technology in more than just the Xbox (and looking at how we could have Minority Report in our bedrooms) and perhaps this branding indicates they are planning that. After all monitors, keyboards, mice etc don’t get a brand for the type of peripheral they are. I see, whilst writing this, that Mary Jo Foley has just posted an article about Kinect coming to businesses in the future just as I am hoping.

But the above image shows more than just a lack of brand for Kinect the wording also points to a greater future for this input device. “Kinect for” can be followed just as easily with Windows 7 as it is with Xbox 360, hell it could even be Windows Phone 7 or iPad there.

Ok maybe not iPad but the fact that Kinect doesn’t seem at all attached to Xbox, other than it debuting on the Xbox 360 does fill me with hope that I might soon (1-2 years) be controlling more than just my TV by flapping my hands around.

I can wait to hear about the immediate future for Kinect later today, only about 4 hours to go, but I am perhaps more excited about the potential for this technology on much more mobile computing screens too.

If you are interested I have created a new Xbox 360 wallpaper.

Its definitely an interesting advert and should create quite a lot of chatter, if indeed this is an official ad.

Edit: I have just been informed that the video is actually from a road safety video made by Sussex Safer Roads, it would be very odd for Microsoft to use this video clip for their Kinect promotion; I’m inclined to think this could be a very clever video made by a fan.

• It appears multiple players are able to join games by just jumping into the area that Kinect is focussed on
• New menu interface for Kinect is very basic and a simplified Dashboard, its unclear if all options and controls can be accessed by Kinect alone
• New feature, a gesture based Video Chat which allows users to chat to each other via video through Kinect
• New games have been announced with Kinectimals being a pet simulator with users being able to pet, scratch ears, snuggle and teach; there is also a Star Wars game that allows for light sabre fights

There have also been a few other pieces of information about Xbox including an ad that appears to have gone live early which is thought to show the rumoured new design for the Xbox.

I believe its possible to follow announcements and information about Kinect on Twitter through @Kinect.

So what’s in a name? I actually don’t mind the name Kinect and I think its quite clever; I was expecting to really dislike Natal’s consumer name as I had grown fond of Natal. The name Kinect has several facets to it, about connecting with friends and family, your kin, and being kinetic and moving around. With video chat and the fact you have to move to control the console the name seems to work well with what the device will allow. Another aspect to this name is that if Kinect, as I expect, goes down a storm with consumers they might associate the KIN phones with this as they are both from Microsoft with a similar name.

I am really looking forward to hearing more information about the Xbox over the next week, it should prove to be very interesting and it sounds like E3 is going to be a massive spectacle this year.

But this new header appears to do away with the Xbox Live logo and the rings and replaces them with some new green lines which some are calling a “wave” and a slightly lighter Xbox orb.

There is more to this refresh to the brand than just a new header as Destructoid points out this “wave” design is also featured on the invites to Microsoft’s E3 announcement which suggests there is whole new look to the branding.

To me this branding refresh makes a lot of sense, we have had the same green circles for several years now and it might just start to feel a little old now. It also makes a lot of sense if Microsoft plan to release an “Xbox Slim” and Project Natal over the coming months and by having a new look to the packaging and marketing material then it will help to differentiate these products from the current Xbox 360s.

I quite like the green “wave” which also fits nicely with the new Office and Visual Studio imagery that both feature “wave” like designs. I am really looking forward to what Microsoft have to announce next week and can’t believe a year has already gone by, I remember following all the E3 announcements with interest last year.

I seriously doubt that this is a genuine chance to pre-order the Xbox accessory as Microsoft have yet to announce its price, however we do know that it will be going on sale of October this year. I am also wary about the price listed on this site as I have been hearing that that device will be much lower than this to entice people into buying it.

Hopefully we will know more in a few weeks when Microsoft officially announce a lot more about Natal perhaps a new name and the pricing of the unit, until that time I shan’t believe any site offering pre-orders for the accessory…well unless Amazon start offering it.

Thanks to @Dovella for pointing this out :)

This new Xbox is thought to be released at the same time as Natal with the revised design being inspired by the need for the console to sit near the TV but not to distract from the viewing experience, some might argue that a white Natal unit and Xbox would be much more distracting next to a TV’s dark bezel than a black coloured console.

There are also rumours of Metal Gear Solid being one of the first games to utilise Natal controls for gaming, which should prove to be very interesting.

I am also expecting Microsoft to announce more than just a refined piece of hardware and new games at E3 as the company gears up to be a bigger player in media distribution. I would expect that Microsoft will also be announcing some new Zune features for the console like being able to access the music library and even more ways to share and consume information through social networks. However, we won’t know more for a few months yet.

I find it odd talking about the Xbox which I don’t own and have had only limited experience with however I am increasingly more convince that I should buy myself one of these consoles and now with news of a new version of the Xbox I may have to wait a lot latter into the year before I get one; my wallet will be thankful.

James Gunn writes that he saw a “touchscreen counter”, which I assume to be Surface as it cost $30000, which he reckons beats the iPad comfortably. He played with some 3D systems and Age of Empires 3 in 3D, it sounds like its not just Hollywood and TV companies thinking 3D is the way forward. It would appear though that the main thing he wanted to play with was Project Natal for Xbox which he seems to like a lot which sounds like every one who has tried out the innovative hands free controller.

Now on to the interesting stuff.

Some of the other stuff – the new Zune, the upcoming Microsoft phone, also looked fantastic.  But, admittedly, I’m going to have a hard time getting out of my 20,000 songs on iTunes to actually switch over to Zune – and I feel stuck to the iPhone because of the apps.  I also saw a new Microsoft tablet which is a lot like the iPad.

The “new Zune” is perhaps the most interesting piece of info as there has been little talk about a new Zune HD thus far. It could just be that this device was the 64GB version of the Zune HD, however it sounds like he was shown only unreleased products at the event and with the 64GB version in stores it is unlikely to the device. I expect Microsoft are planning to release a new Zune HD device around about September time, like last year, but I am surprised that it would be shown to anyone this far in advance.

There were a few rumours a couple of months back about the Zune HD 2 using Tegra 2, not something I am inclined to believe as there would perhaps be a little too much power in a portable media player and it would be a drain on the battery life. I think it also likely that the Zune HD 2 will have a phone-less variant of Windows Phone 7 running on it, after all Microsoft sure don’t want to support 4 or more mobile platforms, and with Windows Phone 7 likely to appear in September I can see this as the date for the next Zune device too.

It also sounds like Microsoft have again demoed the HP Slate, I am not inclined to think this is the Courier as it is described as being like the iPad; images leaked yesterday of the slate PC.

It would be interesting to know if it was the Zune HD 2 demoed at this event after all it was about this last year that the first images of the Zune HD started showing up on the internet, but I guess we will just have to wait to see if there is a new device on the horizon.

Anyone else have there Christmas list already planned out? (or am I just a bit keen?)

The project has a long way to go before we can see it in the market but it looks promising, being able to turn any surface quickly and easily into a touch interface by just using a mobile device will be very useful. However I am not sure I see a use for this, if I want access to a touch like interface I would prefer to carry a tablet PC around with me than a device with only the power of a phone that required a stand, camera etc to use. If a user wants a “touch-less” experience to control a surface then Microsoft already have that technology thanks to Project Natal which I believe hardware could be added to PCs, TVs and Phones around the screen.

I see this project being incorporated into the Project Natal team or even the Surface team with its SecondLight technology.

As some people have already said, this looks very like the technologies used in “Minority Report” and that’s certainly a good thing.