If you’ve been drooling over Leap Motion but haven’t coughed up the cash to pre-order the device, don’t worry — soon, there will be another way for you to get your hands on the next-gen controller: when you buy your next PC.
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Leap, the startup behind the tiny Kinect-style controller that lets you control your computer by waving your fingers in front of the screen, announced a partnership with Asus which will see its controller bundled with new All-in-One PCs and higher end laptops. The controller isn’t even commercially available yet — around 12 000 units have been delivered into the hands of developers, but the gadget is still in production and scheduled to launch later this year.
According to The Verge, the new Asus desktops and notebooks will come pre-installed with Leap’s App Store, which will (hopefully) be stocked with apps to take advantage of the device, which registers fine finger movements and renders the traditional mouse almost obsolete. So far, Leap has already been contacted by 40 000 developers who are interested in designing software for the device.
CEO Michael Buckwald said that the Asus deal, which will apply to devices shipping later this year, isn’t the only one his team is exploring — they hope to partner with a number of manufacturers, and eventually expand into mobile devices and even cars.
