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Xbox SmartGlass now available on Amazon's Kindle Fire tablets
Amazon's just updated its Appstore today with a much welcome offering for avid gamers: Xbox SmartGlass. Microsoft's app-based second screen solution has been available on iOS and Android since late last fall, but despite sharing a kernel with Google's OS, hadn't been made dispensable to Kindle Fire / Fire HD owners until now. The app's been configured to scale natively on Amazon's refreshed tablet line, letting users navigate their Xbox 360 remotely, push and pull streaming content, as well as access achievements, messaging and Xbox Music. So if it's the living room of the future you're after, you might want to hit up the source and make that free download your own.
Xbox SmartGlass app updated with iPhone 5 optimization
You've got your fancy new iPhone 5, and you've got the Xbox SmartGlass app, but who wants those silly black bars on the sides? Certainly not you, aesthetic savant, which is why you'll be glad to hear that Microsoft's latest update to the SmartGlass app optimizes it for use with the iPhone 5's taller, 16x9 screen. Aside from device support expansion, the update also includes the ambiguous "bug fixes." No broken bugs for you, only fixed ones! The Xbox SmartGlass app launched earlier this year for Windows Phone 8, Android and iOS, with a staggered rollout across the various mobile ecosystems. Beyond just allowing for basic Xbox 360 control via mobile, SmartGlass propagates rich content to your second screen in-tandem with some software, from games to streaming video.
Xbox SmartGlass app turns your iOS device into a remote control
If you have an Xbox 360 and an iOS device, congratulations, Microsoft has offered you a free touchscreen remote control! Well, not literally, but the new Xbox SmartGlass app turns your iPad or iPhone into a do-it-all control center for your game console, and it's actually a pretty slick experience. Once you've connected your SmartGlass app to your console -- by syncing the devices via the Internet using a short code -- you can do pretty much everything using your iOS device that you would normally do with your controller, aside from playing games. You can compose messages, browse your achievements and launch apps such as Netflix with just a tap. But the most useful feature is linked with the recent addition of Internet Explorer to the Xbox dashboard. Using your phone as a virtual mouse, you can navigate web pages by moving your finger around on the screen. It works quite well and happens to be much more enjoyable than surfing your favorite sites using the Xbox controller. Unfortunately, since the app is connected to your Xbox over the Internet rather than using Bluetooth there is a noticeable lag between your input and the on-screen action. It's not a dramatic delay, but it's enough that you might end up overshooting a tab you were aiming for or scrolling further on a web page than you would have liked. There's also no way to turn on your console using the SmartGlass app, so if you're on the couch and want to browse the web on your TV, you're going to have to grab your controller anyway. This is perhaps the app's greatest weakness, since it's hard to argue that it's a good alternative to using your controller for non-gaming tasks when it can't even turn the console on. Still, it's a neat, free way to try out SmartGlass using your iPhone or iPad, and it elevates the Internet Explorer Xbox app to the realm of usability.
Xbox SmartGlass now available in Google Play, brings console integration to Android
Hot on the heels of the Dashboard update for the Xbox 360, Microsoft's SmartGlass integration is now a reality for Android 4.0 users. The companion app branches out from the earlier My Xbox Live app for Android and allows direct control of some console features from Google-powered gear. While Windows Phone users will find the tightest integration of all, the Android port still lets users steer through the Dashboard, input text, browse the web (with zooming), search for local content, and control media playback. Players can still chat with their friends and modify their Xbox profile if they're not planning to lurk around the system all day. The interface is strikingly similar to past releases (including Android) and still demands at least an 800 x 480 screen for admission -- sorry, Wildfire S fans. You'll find a full roster of features after the break, and can hit up Google Play at the source link below for your own remote. Jon Fingas contributed to this report.
Xbox SmartGlass goes live alongside first Windows 8 tablets on October 26 with several supported apps
SmartGlass functionality may already sort of exist on Xbox 360 per the console's latest Dashboard update, but Microsoft's making it a full-on reality on October 26. As it stands, the Xbox 360 allows for SmartGlass support, but without an update to Microsoft's 360 companion app, there's no way to use it -- when Microsoft's Surface RT and other Windows 8 tablets launch on the 26, that functionality will come built in to the "Games" section of the new OS. That of course begs the question: "When will I be able to use SmartGlass with my iOS/Android/Windows Phone 7.5 devices? And how?" The date isn't certain, but functionality will arrive on other platforms "soon" after the October 26 launch of Surface, Microsoft reps tell us. When it does, it'll come in the form of an update to your existing, "My Xbox Live" mobile app (which also renames the app to, "Xbox SmartGlass") or Games tab (per WP7.5), and it'll be more or less identical with the Windows Phone version. The only missing functionality, we're told, are two somewhat basic bulletpoints. "We have deeper integration in the Windows Phone," Microsoft tells us. "That's something we don't have on iOS or Android, it's just within our application. Same on Windows -- the integration in Windows is 'last playing' or 'now playing,' being able to present that information." The other, more interesting item, is the lacking ability to "send" whatever website you're using up to the Xbox 360's Internet Explorer browser. Regardless of which mobile device you're on, SmartGlass can "send" websites from the 360 to said device -- it won't work the other way around, however, if you're using a non-Windows 8 device. Not what we'd call a huge deal, exactly, but a bummer no less. Regardless, you'll soon have the opportunity to put SmartGlass through its paces from the comfort of home when support devices launch on October 26. For a full list of applications available at launch and partners beyond that plus a quick walkthrough video, head past the break.
Windows 8's stock apps get pictured, tease its final build
Microsoft might be wavering on the well established Metro moniker that it ascribes to its flat, live tile design aesthetic, but that doesn't make it any less pervasive in Windows 8's final build. Care to see? Impatient Windows fans have pilfered a handful of screenshots from Google and Windows Store previews, revealing what appears to be the final look for several of Windows 8's apps. Gumshoes at the Neowin forums uncovered fresh previews of the Photos, Mail, Messaging, People, Calendar Xbox music, Xbox video and Xbox SmartGlass applications. Liveside followed up on the forum's findings with a peek at the OS' baked in Bing integration. The camera interface's crop and video playback features make an appearance too, as do the operating system's legacy time wasters: Solitaire, Minesweeper and Mahjong -- slacking off never looked so good. Check them out for yourself in the gallery below, and agonize over how far away October 26th suddenly seems. %Gallery-161692%
