As promised, Microsoft has released the Kinect for Windows SDK, which is a free beta release for researchers and enthusiasts. The SDK will allow developers to take advantage of the Kinect technology to create immersive applications for the PC.

The Kinect for Windows SDK is compatible with Windows 7 that includes drivers as well as APIs for Raw Sensor Streams, natural user interfaces, installer documents and resource materials. Developers can build apps with C++, C# or Visual Basic using Microsoft Visual Studio® 2010.

The commercial version of the SDK will be released later this year.

Download SDK

Starting with the Acer Iconia Tab A500, the 10.1-inch A500 runs on Honeycomb (Android 3.0) OS and features Nvidia’s dual-core Tegra 2GHz processor, 1GB DDR2 RAM, 16GB onboard memory, 2MP front-facing camera with 5MP back-facing, 1080p video playback via HDMI-out, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, clear.fi support, and microSD card slot. The tablet will also come in a 3G variant but is said to launch in 6-8 weeks from now. The Wi-Fi version will sell for Rs.27,990.

Next up is the 7-inch Iconia A100. A100 may not be as aesthetically pleasing as the A500 but it packs some decent innards and runs Android 3.0. Internally, you would find Nvidia’s dual-core Tegra 2 processor, 512MB RAM, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, clear.fi, HDMI, 8GB internal memory and more. Acer didn’t specify the price of this tablet but expects it to launch in June.

Moving onto its Windows-based tablets, Acer unraveled W500 and its dual-screen Iconia laptop. The Windows 7 running W500 tries to give the best of two worlds – tablets and notebooks, which can be used like a normal tablet or dock it onto USB keyboard to transform it like a notebook. On the specs front, W500 features a 10.1-inch 1280×800 display, AMD processor, 2GB RAM, clear.fi, webcam, Ethernet, USB 2.0 port and more. It will retail for Rs.32,499.

The dual-screen Iconia tablet, on the other hand, is one of its kind. Both the 14-inch displays on the notebook are touch-enabled, with the screen at the bottom adding more functionality like touching all the fingers activates the keyboard, five fingers bringing up the Acer ring, gesture support and more. Rounding up the specs are Intel Core i5 processors, up to 4GB RAM, integrated Intel graphics, HDMI-out, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, 3G, webcam, Ethernet port, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports. It is priced at Rs.69,999.

Finally, the Iconia Smart S300 smartphone which runs on Android 2.3. Nifty, tall device that features a 4.8-inch display with 1024×480 pixels giving it an aspect ratio of 21:9, 1GHz processor, 8MP camera with LED flash, 720p HD video recording, 2MP front-facing, Wi-Fi, Dolby Mobile support, DLNA, HDMI etc. There’s no word on the price but Acer expects it to launch in June.

Acer’s dual-booting colourful Aspire One Happy netbook is now available in India. The Aspire One Happy netbook is targeted at youngsters that comes in colour choices of Candy Pink, Lavender Purple, Lime Green and Hawaii Blue and allows users to boot either in Google’s Android OS or Windows 7.

The 1.25kg Aspire One Happy is a decently spec’d netbook that comes with Intel’s Atom N455 CPU, 10.1-inch WSVGA resolution display, a gigabyte of RAM, Intel GMA3150 graphics, 320GB HDD, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, webcam, multi-touch trackpad, memory card reader, optional Bluetooth 3.0+HS and 8 hour battery life.

The Aspire One Happy netbook is now available in the market for Rs.17,999.

One thing that has kept Microsoft out of the tablet race is the uptake of its operating system. In order to give a full PC experience, manufacturers were forced to adopt Intel or AMD CPUs for their devices but compromise on the device’s battery life, which is a big factor while considering a tablet.

Thankfully, this is going to change soon as Microsoft is rumored to unveil its Windows OS compatible with ARM architecture. Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal are reporting that Microsoft has planned to show off the new Windows that will support ARM at the CES next month during Steve Ballmer’s keynote.

This is huge for Microsoft when you consider ARM’s architecture being used in most mobile devices and will allow Microsoft to penetrate the market ruled by the iOS, Android and the likes.

Skype 5.0 has been in beta for quite some time and today Skype has released it to the masses that brings in an all new look with loads of other features. In addition to the improvements in the UI, Skype has added group video calling and support for one of world’s largest social network – Facebook.

The new Skype has fully integrated Facebook that allows users to check their Facebook feeds in Skype, post status updates, like and comment and most importantly, call Facebook friends. Users will now be able to call their Facebook friends on their mobile phones or landlines and even make a free Skype-to-Skype call if the Facebook contact has a Skype account.

Check out the video explaining the Skype 5.0 features.

Product Page

[Via Skype]

Microsoft’s event scheduled on October 11 is confirmed to be a Windows Phone 7 affair but if Neowin’s sources are correct, we might also see few upcoming tablets powered by Windows. The site says the Microsoft event will be dominated with WP7 but will also have something to say about its “future Slate plans”.

Furthermore, the site states that MS is desperate to roll out its slate by Christmas and are working closely with OEMs to produce an iPad challenger.

“You’ll see slates, but if you want most of the benefits of what a PC can offer, creating, a form factor that has been tuned over years, you’ll see us expand the footprint of what Windows can target,” said the source.

Yup, you read that right. Microsoft has announced that they will be giving away a Windows Mobile 7 device to each and every employee. This means about 90,000 employees worldwide will walk away with a free Windows Phone. Microsoft hasn’t confirmed the phone’s model but has promised to give as soon as they launch in each market around the world. Here’s an internal mail by Andy Lees, Senior VP of Mobile.

“With all the buzz, a lot of you are asking how you can get your hands on a phone and get more involved. So, I am thrilled to announce that a new Windows Phone 7 will be made available to every Microsoft employee as we launch in each market around the world. The process will vary based on your market, your carrier, and your launch date so stay tuned for more information closer to launch.”

[Via Gizmodo]

Just a heads up to those still using the Release Candidate version of Windows 7. Windows 7 RC will automatically shutdown after every two hours till the expiry of RC in June. An easy and logical way is to of course, install a fresh retail copy of Windows 7.

Microsoft fulfilled its promise by bringing Windows Marketplace to devices running Windows Mobile 6 and 6.1 OS. Windows Marketplace is similar to Apple’s App Store that tries to be a one-stop solution for all the Windows Mobile software needs. Users with devices running on aforementioned OSes can go to the links specified below to download the app, which will give you an access to roughly 90 percent compatible apps.

I tried on a Windows Mobile 6 device and as you can see from the screenshot, they’ve tried to make it finger-friendly with large icons and text. Unfortunately, I couldn’t buy or download any app because the app worked horrendously slow.

http://mp.windowsphone.com (to download directly on the phone)
Or click here if you want to download from PC.

[Via Windowsteamblog]

Windows OSes running on Nokia devices are not new but N900 was never put to this mindless test, until now. Some guy has posted a video running Windows 3.1 on N900 via a Dosbox app. With the rich hardware set it boasts, you would expect it to run pretty well but with ARM’s no x86 support and emulation, it was slow and the mouse support was close to non-existent, which was later controlled by x11vnc by a laptop.

[Via Dailymobile]