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My Xbox Live app launches on Android, more functionality added to iOS version
A couple of big announcements for Microsoft's My Xbox Live today. First, the app has been released for Android devices, giving users of the OS access to Xbox Live features such as Achievements, messages and other social content.Meanwhile, the iOS version has seen some significant improvements, notably the ability to control the Xbox console remotely. Specifically, you can fire up games from your collection or launch a selection of curated content (featured games, movies, etc.). You can even directly control some applications, such as Netflix. There is, however, a slight delay between phone taps and on-screen reaction, so you're probably better off using a controller. Still, it's pretty nifty and gives us a hint of what we can expect from Smartglass later this year.Finally, the iPad version of My Xbox Live now features Retina Display support and better authentication. The app is free on both iOS and Android.
Switched On: E3, Screen Two
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. More Info Switched On: When gadgets talk in their sleep PSP gets its own homebrew online gaming network, outweighs Sony's own efforts (video) Microsoft's SmartGlass gets official Particularly since the rise of laptops and their ability to be used in the living room near a TV, consumers have been engaged with multiple screens simultaneously. In those early days, many of which occurred before the consumer-friendly Web, people were even more likely to tend to tasks unrelated to what was on the tube (which, back then, actually was a tube). As standards such as WiFi, DLNA and automatic content recognition develop, though, the use of second screens have the potential to form tighter links with what's happening on TV. At the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo, the three major home console companies all showed off their approach to bringing home video games and other content further beyond a single display.
Expect SmartGlass support in every Microsoft Studios game going forward
Microsoft's SmartGlass initiative aims to enrich the entertainment offerings on Xbox with an informative, context-sensitive "surface," spread across compatible tablets and smartphones. Phil Spencer, Corporate VP of Microsoft Studios, tells me you can expect SmartGlass support from all of the company's games after the feature becomes available this fall."It just makes so much sense for a developer who wants to supply, maybe not time-critical information, like 'that enemy is getting ready to shoot you,' but information that augments what's happening on screen," Spencer says. He used last year's Halo Waypoint Atlas app, which offered multiplayer GPS tracking, as an example of how SmartGlass features could share additional game information without hampering the moment-to-moment gameplay. "And then you're even going to see situations like with Ascend, where there's actually gameplay that happens on the phone, even when you're away from your television and that interacts back with the online game that's happening. So I think you'll see information sharing, context sharing while you're in the room, with video and with games, as well as gameplay happening in more distributed environments."SmartGlass will be encapsulated in a single app that syncs with your Gamertag and enables features based on what you're playing or watching (provided they support SmartGlass). "You don't have to log in and out of each app – you know, 'I'm gonna start the Mass Effect app, and now I'm gonna start the Game of Thrones app.' So you have this surface, this smart surface," Spencer says, "that sits on any device that you already own that's always in sync with what's happening on the television, and it knows where to go and grab the right content to display at the right time, to make sure that if you're playing Halo, then the Halo surface is available on SmartGlass."During its E3 2012 press conference, Microsoft showed a concept of what might become Halo 4's SmartGlass functionality. The app, as shown, allows players to track stats and send game invites via tablet or smartphone. Microsoft has said that it supports the "device you already own," but hasn't directly addressed SmartGlass variations between iOS, Android and Windows 8.
E3 2012 wrap-up
Greetings from -- actually, scratch that, we're all back home now, but we had a blast spending the week in sunny, smoggy downtown Los Angeles -- even if this year's Electronics Entertainment Expo wasn't exactly the most exciting in recent memory. After all, neither Sony nor Microsoft gave us much in the way of new hardware, and Nintendo, the one member of the big three with a new console for 2012, didn't show off much that we hadn't already seen. We did, however, get our hands on a fair share of hardware and we're generally impressed by some software innovation, like Microsoft's SmartGlass. If you happened to miss something during the gaming news deluge (not to mention the fact that Computex happened to be going on at the same time), feel free to catch up on our coverage after the break.
A conversation with Microsoft's Marc Whitten on SmartGlass and the quest for a better living room
Microsoft SmartGlass hands-on Xbox SmartGlass: did Microsoft just render the Wii U controller obsolete? Microsoft's Marc Whitten: SmartGlass is the 'enabling technology' of IE on Xbox 360 What good is a surprise if you already saw it coming? When I mention to Microsoft's Marc Whitten, corporate vice president of Xbox Live and the man who has shepherded SmartGlass to its debut, that we kind-of-sort-of knew that his baby was set to be announced at E3 before the company got a chance to do so, he lets out a frustrated laugh. "Yeah..." He'd hoped the unveiling at the company's pre-show keynote would be the first time we, and everyone else in the industry, got eyes on the fruit of his and his team's labors. But, when I tell him we were still genuinely surprised at the scope of SmartGlass, and genuinely impressed at the potential, he seems genuinely pleased and reminds us that what we've seen is "all just the beginning." Join us after the break for an exploration of what comes next for Microsoft SmartGlass.
Microsoft's Marc Whitten: SmartGlass is the 'enabling technology' of IE on Xbox 360
We just had an opportunity to sit and chat with Microsoft's Marc Whitten, corporate vice president of Xbox Live, about the history and future of Microsoft's SmartGlass. It's one of the highlights of the show for us and so we were curious about its origin. Namely: was SmartGlass created to allow easy text entry into the upcoming Xbox 360 version of Internet Explorer? It's the opposite, says Marc. Microsoft has toyed with ways to bring IE to the Xbox for years now but always shelved the project due to control issues. It was only when they came up with the idea of SmartGlass 12 months ago -- being able to connect your phone or tablet to your Xbox and use it as a controller, among other things -- that a browser on an Xbox started to make sense. Great controls, he said, were the key to building the "great web experience" they were looking for.
Microsoft SmartGlass hands-on
Sure today's Microsoft E3 keynote was jam-packed full of high octane explosions, but the biggest excitement from the hardware-free event was arguably SmartGlass, a new technology from Redmond that promises to help to bring together users' diverse array of screens. When it was initially leaked ahead of the event, SmartGlass looked to largely be a somewhat straightforward AirPlay competitor. Judging by Microsoft's flashy demo video, however, the company is clearly looking to build it into its own beast all together. Thankfully, we got to play with it a bit -- albeit for a very short amount of time, given the fairly early state of the technology. Let's start thing off by clarifying a big question surrounding the somewhat enigmatic demo that we saw at today's event: yes, SmartGlass gives developers the potential to turn smartphones and tablets into a controller for the Xbox 360. As suspected, it will likely be integrated into more casual games -- after all, we shudder at the thought of controlling, say, Halo 4 using just a touchscreen. As is the nature of the product, the company isn't letting the details flow too freely here, but in a demo we saw of the technology tonight, a Microsoft rep name-dropped a title called Home Run Stars -- a baseball game, as you've likely already gathered from the fairly straightforward name. We didn't get to see the game in action, but the rep mentioned a gameplay scenario in which one player uses the Kinect to bat and the other pitches with the touchscreen -- again, not too dissimilar from the kind of dual-screen gaming we've seen with the Wii U thus far. And you can also invert that game play, if you so choose, pitching on the Kinect and batting with a tablet or smartphone. Thing is, Microsoft is looking to make this whole process open for developers. As the rep put it, "what we've done is create a platform." In other words, Redmond is putting forward the tools here and letting the content developers play around, to come up with their own functionality based on SmartGlass.%Gallery-156997%
Xbox SmartGlass: did Microsoft just render the Wii U controller obsolete?
One surefire way to make sure your company gets out in front of the E3 buzz? Launch a pre-pre-E3 press conference, of course. Nintendo was already set up to kick off the show on Tuesday, getting the party started according to tradition with an early morning press conference ahead of show floor opening. As it has in the past, the gaming giant was scheduled to be the third of the big three, unveiling its wares a day after Sony and Microsoft had their moments to shine. For 2012, the company made an unorthodox play, opting for a small broadcast event the Sunday afternoon ahead of the show, with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata standing alone in an unassuming wood-paneled room, giving yet another sneak peak into the world of the Wii U. Popular opinion has positioned E3 2012 as a make-or-break proposition for the company. Nintendo's had an unprecedentedly rough year, with a continually eroding sense of excitement around its aging Wii console and a lukewarm reception greeting the 3DS. And with mobile competition nabbing pretty sizable chunks from the company's casual offerings, Nintendo needs to remind people what the console can bring that handsets can't. In earnest, Iwata offered up a smattering of additional details on the Wii U, with a finalized layout for the system's tablet-esque controller, the introduction of Miiverse social functionality and the promise of a bit of mobile device compatibility.
Microsoft unveils SmartGlass, launching this fall
SmartGlass will launch worldwide this fall, Microsoft announced during its pre-E3 conference. It showed off some SmartGlass functionalities during its pre-E3 conference, demonstrating the app sharing content between mobile devices and the Xbox 360. Smart Glass started playing Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows on a tablet and pushed it to Xbox, to finish watching it. The tablet provided additional information about the movie as it continued playing on the large screen. The Madden NFL franchise will support SmartGlass, allowing players to create plays on a tablet and run them on the TV. Microsoft provided an official description of SmartGlass after its conference: "Xbox SmartGlass is a free application for Windows Phones, Windows 8 and other portable devices. By delivering companion content and control to enhance your experiences on the Xbox console, Xbox SmartGlass makes enjoying TV, movies and music, web surfing, and playing games even better. Imagine that your tablet or phone knew what you were watching on TV and presented bonus features without you having to lift a finger. Xbox SmartGlass turns any TV into the ultimate smart TV."
Microsoft's SmartGlass gets official: app brings AirPlay-esque streams to Android, iOS and Windows Phone
Microsoft may not be introducing a next-gen console at E3 this year, but it is teaching its venerable Xbox 360 some new tricks. SmartGlass brings AirPlay-style wireless technology to Xbox and Windows 8 by letting you send video from your tablet or phone to your TV. It then turns that second screen into an information window giving you data of the content you're watching. Plus, it updates the info on your mobile device as the content on the TV changes. The app also enables peripheral controls for games you're playing -- so you can scroll through different plays on your tablet while playing Madden on your big screen, for example. In addition to providing your peripherals with contextual awareness, the SmartGlass app turns your phone into a remote and trackpad for your Xbox, in case using Kinect and regular controllers aren't something you're into. So, you can pinch to zoom, move the onscreen cursor and scroll to your heart's content in Xbox's new web browser using your tablet or phone. When will we be seeing SmartGlass in living rooms? Unfortunately, not until this fall, so our liveblog photos of the app in action will have to suffice until then.%Gallery-156889% Follow our liveblog of Microsoft's E3 keynote right here!
Live from Microsoft's E3 2012 keynote!
The first of the big three! This year Microsoft kicks off the keynotes with its pre-show Media Briefing and, while we have some idea of what to expect, we're hoping for a whole lot more. No, this may not be the year that the Xbox 360's proper successor is finally unveiled, but could 2012 be remembered as the year when the Kinect grew up? And, is Smart Glass going to be as intelligent as its name would claim? We can't wait to find out. June 4, 2012 12:00 PM EDT
Microsoft buys every 'Smart Glass' domain it can think of, E3 goers nod approvingly
A wise thing to do right before you launch a new product? Vacation, if we're being honest. But if we're being forced to pick another, we'd say registering domain names germane to said product ain't a half bad idea, either. Microsoft has seemingly snapped up a healthy few "Smart Glass"-related domains, giving us more reason to believe that the whispers we've been hearing about a wireless streaming doodad have some merit. With E3 festivities kicking off this evening, we're guessing it's just a matter of time before the list (shown after the break) stops forwarding to Bing and starts forwarding to... well, awesomeness. Refresh fingers ready?
Microsoft Smart Glass coming at E3, AirPlay-style streaming from iOS, Android and Windows Phone?
Windows 8 is coming and it features more and better Xbox integration than we've yet seen in an operating system from the company -- but it looks like Microsoft has something even bigger up its sleeve. We've just seen a presentation indicating the company will launch something called Smart Glass next week, a so-called "companion application" that will act much like AirPlay for the Xbox 360. Using the app, users will be able to play video and other media on tablets and phones and, more interestingly, push that content right to their consoles for playback on the big(ger) screen. But, it gets better: this app is said to be available for tablets and phones running Windows, Windows Phone, Android and iOS. Yes, it'll be about as multiplatform as it gets, and if this presentation proves to be legitimate, we'll be learning a lot more next week when E3 gets underway.
Patterned by Nature: it's big, blocky and earth-approved (video)
Quick quiz: which consumes more power, an "energy-efficient" 55-inch LED TV, or the 90-foot "Patterned by Nature" video installation at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences? It's actually a trick question, because the sculpture does eat less power -- just 75 watts -- but then it only has a fraction of the TV's pixels. Each of its 3600 "dots" is in fact a 6-inch glass pane which can vary its transparency, a decidedly more lo-fi approach than similar tech we've seen before, but no less arresting as a result. As the video shows, it combines an eight channel soundtrack with twenty Mario-like animations on its serpentine skin -- ranging from bacteria to flocking geese -- to bring mother nature to the viewer without sapping her energy.
