Xbox SmartGlass lands on Windows 8: The AirPlay killer cometh?

The Gadget Show  Tuesday 23 October 2012

Back at the big E3 games expo in the summer, Microsoft’s biggest announcement wasn’t so much to do with the Xbox itself, as where else you could control your Xbox from. Alongside Xbox Music, which is now available to download, the software giant showed off Xbox SmartGlass, an app which let you not only boss your games console around from the sofa, but view second screen info while streaming films and more. Today, Microsoft revealed that It’s out on Friday!

Xbox SmartGlass will be available built in to both Windows 8 and Windows RT for tablets, which launch on Friday around the world, and the Xbox Live update that began last week, but rolls out to millions more people today, adds support on the Xbox 360 end of things.

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Armed with a Windows 8 laptop or tablet, you can then send media to the big screen just by clicking the Send To Xbox option, and that includes websites as well (no typing out long web addresses by gamepad): you can then zoom in and out of these and scroll with the same multi-touch gestures you’d expect on a tablet.

With supported apps, you can also view second screen info like actors/athletes on screen, and some Xbox games even support the service, building things like maps into your Xbox SmartGlass screen, be it PC or phone.

Xbox SmartGlass is only available for Windows 8 and Windows 8 tablets this week, and Windows Phone 8 devices when they roll out soon after, but the company is working on iOS and Android apps as well, so you won’t be missing out for long whatever gear you own.

Will you use Xbox SmartGlass? Share your thoughts on the new tech in the comments below!

Tags:

Xbox, Xbox 360, Windows 8, smartglass, xbox smartglass