Leap Motion strikes exclusive launch deal with Best Buy
The startup will start selling the Leap this spring exclusively in Best Buy stores and at BestBuy.com.
Leap Motion, the makers of the innovative Leap hands-free motion control system, said today that it has struck its first retail partnership, an exclusive launch deal to sell the device at Best Buy.
According to Leap Motion, Best Buy stores and BestBuy.com will begin taking pre-orders in February and selling the Leap sometime this spring. The deal comes on the heels of the company's recent agreement to bundle the device with Asus PCs once it launches, as well as a $30 million B round of funding.
The San Francisco startup's technology is capable of measuring motion with an accuracy of a hundredth of a millimeter. It has made more than 12,000 Leaps available to developers, and will launch with an app store filled with applications built around the technology. More than 40,000 people have applied to be part of the program. Some have suggested using the Leap to drive cars or fly planes, while others have proposed using it to support physical rehabilitation and special needs. More than 400 people suggested using the Leap in computer-aided design software -- the same computing challenge that led Leap co-founder and CTO David Holz to begin creating the technology in 2008.
As part of its bid to get exclusive launch rights to the Leap, Best Buy committed to sell the device in all its stores, as well as to put it in prominent locations in the stores along with video displays, said Leap Motion COO Andy Miller. The company also plans to sell the device on its Web site.