Hewlett Packard – A brave stab

Integrating Leap Motion could give HPQ an edge in PCs.

• HPQ’s decision to integrate Leap Motion’s 3-D motion control into some of its devices offers potential for differentiation but there are hurdles to jump over.
• Leap Motion makes and sells a 80mm x 20mm x 12mm device that plugs into the USB port of a computer and allows it to be controlled with any manner of 3D gestures made above the device.
• Its ability to detect motion is incredibly accurate meaning that movements of all 10 fingers can be detected and understood separately.
• The device can be used to control Mac OSX and Windows out of the box, but applications themselves have to be modified to work with the device.
• Hence, an environment and application store called Airspace is provided with the device for installation on the user’s computer.
• The first potential use for this technology is the replacement of a touch panel.
• Touch has been a real problem for the ultrabook market as one needs it to properly realise the benefits of Windows 8 but it adds at least $100 of cost.
• Ultrabook prices have been a limiting factor when it comes to take up to date.
• The Leap Motion device retails for $80 meaning that HPQ should be able to integrate it for much less.
• Using Leap Motion instead of touch would result in a lower build cost and have the added advantage of not getting the screen dirty.
• The larger the screen becomes, the more expensive and the less intuitive touch becomes, meaning that this technology could work very nicely for smart TVs and so on.
• Samsung’s integrated motion capture on its Smart TV’s is awful and badly needs to be fixed.
• The problem with Leap Motion is software.
• The device will only work with software that has been modified to accept this new input technology, meaning that in the early days its appeal will be quite limited.
• However, HPQ ships a lot of computers meaning that there could be a lot of devices in the hands of users quite quickly should HPQ choose to push this into the mainstream.
• HPQ will need to invest in writing software to ensure a decent and wide ranging user experience.
• One of things I really need to see is software that will allow the device to replicate the touch experience without having to rewrite all of the applications.
• Applications written for Windows 8 Metro are all optimised for touch and this technology needs to allow them to work as designed on a non-touch device out of the box.
• This is just the sort of pump priming that would be needed to get the virtuous circle of devices and developers rolling resulting in mass adoption.
• This looks like a good way for HPQ to reduce costs as well as differentiate itself in an increasingly competitive and difficult PC market.
• Given the size of the device, it will be a while before this makes it into mobile phones, but Samsung already has something similar, albeit much more basic, in its high-end Galaxy devices.