Kinect for Windows is finally here, as Microsoft released the motion-controlled technology for their Windows OS today. Microsoft made the announcement from their official Kinect for Windows blog, and it can now be ordered from either the Microsoft Store, or Amazon for $249.99. Education customers get a $100 discount.

Kinect for Windows is more expensive than an Xbox 360 w/Kinect, for what reason? Well, it's not the same Kinect unit that the 360 uses, with Microsoft stating that the Windows sensor:

Expands the possibilities for innovation with features like Near Mode, which enables the depth camera to see objects as close as 40 centimeters in front of the sensor.

You can also plug up to four Kinect for Windows sensors into the same computer. On top of the release of Kinect for Windows, Microsoft have also released version 1.0 of their Kinect for Windows developer toolkit and runtime. You can download that, here.