Lauren Goode

Recent Posts by Lauren Goode

Motion Control Sensor Leap to Ship in May, Will Cost $80

Leap, the tiny motion-control sensor made by San Francisco-based startup Leap Motion, has finally announced a ship date.

Preorders will ship the week of May 13, and the device will arrive in U.S. Best Buy stores beginning May 19. It will cost $80.

The tiny, three-inch Leap sensor is meant to be placed in front of computer keyboards and, using hyper-precise motion sensor technology, tracks finger gestures and reflects the movements on screen. It currently works with Windows 7 and 8, and Mac OS X 10.7 and 10.8, on desktops and laptops. (For a visual of how it works, check out the video embedded here.)

Last month, the company raised $30 million in funding from existing and new investors, and also announced a partnership with Asus to distribute the Leap with select Asus notebooks and PCs.

Leap Motion today also divulged a series of app titles in development that will work with the sensor, including Cut the Rope, Wreck-It Ralph and Painter Freestyle Beta. The company’s app store has been named “Airspace.”

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