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Can Xbox Music Outdo Spotify?

Doubts about Microsoft’s new offering.

This week, Microsoft announces a new music service called Xbox Music. It will begin rolling out tomorrow on the Xbox 360, and then will come bundled with Windows 8 on October 26. Microsoft claims that the service

Can Xbox Music Outdo Spotify?

Doubts about Microsoft’s new offering.

This week, Microsoft announces a new music service called Xbox Music. It will begin rolling out tomorrow on the Xbox 360, and then will come bundled with Windows 8 on October 26. Microsoft claims that the service

My Xbox Live Android app now available in Google Play

Microsoft has released My Xbox Live, an all new made for Android that keeps gamers connected to the social aspect of their Xbox consoles.

My Xbox Live lets users “take your Xbox LIVE experience wherever you go.” The app supports tracking and comparing achievements, so players can get an idea of how they are doing by browsing on their phone. The app also enables comparisons with friends to see which of you is really the best at a certain game. Just to solidify the social aspect, you can message your Xbox LIVE friends.

LIVE can create or edit an avatar and profile directly from an Android phone. The same clothing, facial features, accessories, and props found in the console are configurable within the app as well. To recap the available features in the new app, you can do the following:

Microsoft Announces Xbox SmartGlass to Connect Xbox to iPhone and iPad

Microsoft has been making a lot of big announcements at E3 today, with one in particular being of interest to iPhone and iPad owners, namely Xbox SmartGlass, which is an app that is designed to link your Xbox 360 with your tablet or smartphone, or even your computer. The intelligence of Xbox SmartGlass will make your entertainment more engaging, Web surfing more effortless, and playing games more immersive by delivering companion content and control to enhance your TV experience, according to Microsoft.

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?Xbox is on a mission to make the entertainment that you love even more amazing," said Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "With Xbox SmartGlass, we are lighting up entertainment across your phone, tablet, PC and TV in a completely new way. If you love to play games, watch TV and movies, surf the Web, or listen to music, there has never been a better time to be on Xbox."

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Reporting on seeing SmartGlass in action at E3, AppleInsider says that one demonstration showed how you could be watching Game of Thrones on the HBO Go app on your Xbox 360, and at the same time have an interactive map of the fictional world from the show displayed on your iPad. Amazingly, AppleInsider says that the iPad display could even be updated in real-time during the show, syncing up with whatever was happening on screen. Sounds amazing!

Source: Microsoft via PRNewswire
E3 2012: Microsoft SmartGlass connects Xbox to iPhone, iPad

Watch the Microsoft Xbox SmartGlass presentation from E3!

If you weren't watching the Microsoft Xbox keynote from E3 live online, or following the WPCentral liveblog — which you really should have been doing might we add — then fear not. Thanks to the WPCentral guys, the bit that might interest Android fans is here for you to view at your leisure. 

We're only really interested specifically in the Xbox SmartGlass announcement, which Microsoft today said will work with Android devices turning them into a second display for your Xbox. There's a chunk that might not end up being useful for us, but the wireless video streaming and second display stuff, well that looks mightily appetizing. 

We're looking forward to hearing more about this service and just exactly how it's going to pan out on Android, but in the meantime, enjoy.

Xbox Live app may come to Android [Rumor]

Is Microsoft developing an Xbox Live app for Android? It certainly appears that way based on Microsoft’s recruitment efforts. LiveSide noticed a job post seeking Software Development Engineer to joint the Xbox Live Mobile team, and Android is mentioned by name in the post.

Responsibilities for the job include “Working with PM and test team to define, design and implement Xbox LIVE mobile experiences on Windows Phone, iOS and other platforms.” Since Windows Phone is a definite home for Xbox products and iOS already received an Xbox app last December, one must assume that “other platforms” translates to Android. If that weren’t enough confirmation, the job qualifications state that experience with “Android development is a big plus.”

An Android Xbox Live app might have a lot in common with the iOS app that serves mainly as a social tool. It allows users to edit their Xbox Live profiles, manage friend lists, learn about games, read or send messages, and view achievements within the app. Maybe Microsoft might even support more mobile games and friend connectivity that would put the Android offering on par with the Windows Phone 7 app.

There’s a slim chance that Microsoft would want to chip away at one of the few bright spots that Windows Phone currently holds over Android, but the company has a lot invested in Xbox. Microsoft might not want to hold back at Xbox despite the conflict.

[Microsoft] via LiveSide, AndroidCentral

 

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Microsoft Releases My Xbox LIVE For iPhone, iPod Touch, & iPad

Microsoft Pledges to Continue to Support Skype on Non-Microsoft Platforms Such as iOS

Possibly the biggest tech news of the day today has been Microsoft?s $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype, which it intends to use to support Microsoft devices such as Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices. In the press release announcing the acquisition, Microsoft made a point of mentioning that it will ?continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms,? by way of reassuring those who greatly enjoy using the Skype app on their iPhones and iPads, and other platforms such as Android, Mac OS X, RIM?s BlackBerry and Linux, that Microsoft has no intention of abandoning them. According to Computer World, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer reiterated the promise in person during a press conference today.

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?A, I said it and I meant it,? Ballmer replied to a reporter who asked about the issue, adding, ?B, we?re one of the few companies with a track record of doing this.?

Source: Microsoft promises not to ditch Mac, iPhone, Android Skype users – Computerworld, Microsoft

iPad Voted Gadget of the Year at Stuff Gadget Awards

The Daily Mail reports that the iPad has beaten the Amazon Kindle and Sky 3D TV to win Gadget of the Year and Readers? Gadget of the Year in the Stuff Gadget Awards in the U.K. It failed to scoop the Innovation of the Year award though, as that went to the Microsoft Xbox Kinect.

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?The iPad?s success was by no means pre-ordained. It?s expensive and functionally limited,? Stuff magazine editor and judge Fraser Macdonald told the Daily Mail, adding, ?But it is also quite gloriously indispensible and only making itself more so with the increasing number of apps and accessories. To see it is to want it, and that?s why it?s our gadget of the year.?

The Stuff Gadget Awards are held annually in order to give recognition to the best consumer technology devices of the past year, and are voted on by a mixture of expert judges and readers.

Source: Daily Mail