Apple Buys Primesense, Designer of Original Xbox 360 Kinect
Apple now has a motion-sensing company.
Apple has confirmed its acquisition of PrimeSense. PrimeSense is the company behind Microsoft’s motion-sensing Kinect peripheral and last week brought rumors that Apple was looking to acquire the company. This past weekend, Apple confirmed the deal. AllThingsD on Sunday reported receiving confirmation from Apple that the Cupertino-based company had completed its acquisition. Though the company didn’t offer any details on the financials (as usual), AllThingsD sources say it was around $360 million.
PrimeSense was founded in 2005 by Aviad Maizels and is head-quartered in Israel. It also has offices in North America, Japan, Singapore, Korea, China and Taiwan. Though the first iteration of Kinect is the most notable example of PrimeSense in action, the company's 3D sensing technology is present in numerous different devices across TV, entertainment, retail and healthcare.
Now the question is: What is Apple going to do with this new company? Where will motion-sensing equipment fit into Apple's product line? Let us know your predictions in the comments below!
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http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Microsoft-Kinect-Inon-Beracha-PrimeSense-Project-Natal,news-8673.html
But seriously, I do worry a little about this. It seems that Apple is now highly litigious when it comes to anything that smells like competition, and rather than try to make a better product in response, they seem to be more than happy to abuse the patent system and shackle their competitors instead. Gesture controls in daily life would be cool, but users lose if there is not a healthy competitive environment among tech companies.
What Apple doesn't steal, it buys! Apple almost never ever invents anything itself.
But seriously, I do worry a little about this. It seems that Apple is now highly litigious when it comes to anything that smells like competition, and rather than try to make a better product in response, they seem to be more than happy to abuse the patent system and shackle their competitors instead. Gesture controls in daily life would be cool, but users lose if there is not a healthy competitive environment among tech companies.
How is it abuse when a jury found Samsung guilty and awarded Apple a billion dollars? Apple went to Samsung and wanted to go into a licensing deal but Samsung refused. The award was reduced to $400M I think, but just in the past week or two... Apple got another $290M out of Samsung. HTC went into a licensing deal. Samsung is just being stupid.
1) Apple can only win in the US in Apple's backyard with a packed jury and a dishonest judge who refuses to let samsung show evidence of prior art.
2) Apple has lost everywhere else in the world.
3) Apple had some products banned in the US but once again Apple is helped by the US government and the ban is overturned.
4) Samsung will not pay to use bogus patents. Samsung will continue to grow while Apple market share will continue to shrink
If anything I suspect that MS will be suing Apple.