On Tuesday, Microsoft is launching a new app for Windows Phone handsets to help Xbox 360 owners navigate their game console. The free Xbox Companion app uses Bing to search for content and turns the smartphone into a wireless remote control for media playback and content purchase transactions.
The new mobile phone software continues Microsoft’s strategy to unify and extend its ecosystem. No other smartphone platform has such a direct link to a video game console: One of Windows Phone’s key differentiators is the tie-in it has with the Xbox platform. This new app brings tighter integration, and it also demonstrates how Microsoft is betting big on its Metro user interface on all the company’s product platforms.
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First seen in Windows Phone in 2010, the Metro UI is the core of Microsoft’s smartphone revamp from the old Windows Mobile platform. Informational tiles, similar to widgets, and a landscape-centric view are the crux of the Metro UI. That same interface is coming to the Xbox 360 in a software update this month, and Windows 8 will feature it as well: One interface to “rule all devices,” as it were.
So why is Microsoft now releasing this smartphone app? The timing is in conjunction with the company’s push to bring more music and video content to the Xbox 360 console. This month, the company will add content from dozens of partners, such as YouTube, Crackle, the BBC, MLB.com and even Verizon FiOS. Our GigaOM Video channel has more of the partner details here.
Having used an Xbox controller to navigate through content menus, I can vouch for the clunkiness of doing so. I have a regular Xbox remote control — similar to those used with standard televisions — but I’ll be darned if I know where it is. My smartphone, however, is always with me, so the opportunity to use it as a wireless remote control is welcome.
Will this integration of features and user interface help move more Windows Phone handsets? It certainly won’t hurt, but I suspect the appeal will be limited to those who have an Xbox. Put another way: Alone this feature won’t sell many more Microsoft-powered handsets. However, as Microsoft continues to weave its mobile, gaming and desktop platforms together, it does add appeal to a wider audience, which in the long run should help the Windows Phone ecosystem.
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Eh? –> @gigaom: Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/vp66bqQR
RT @gigaom: Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/BXV2MrHP
RT @gigaom: Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/BXV2MrHP
gigaom: Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/e7qBbEhe
Born again! RT @gigaom: Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/KxV0gFZv
RT @gigaom: Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/dfESnaGT I’ve been testing this and it works great.
RT @ted_malone: RT @gigaom: Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/dfESnaGT I’ve been testing this and it works great.
Congrats to my peeps in IEB @ MS. NYT: http://t.co/z88SlJoh Gigaom: http://t.co/Zp1lItoh
this looks very cool. RT @NewTeeVee: Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/tH4ii3nN
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Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control thanks to new Xbox companion app — Mobile Technology News http://t.co/xM5nE6hN
Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/YyCdrK4T by @kevinctofel
[GigaOm] Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/toBtYtAq
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#XBOXLive update for #XBOX360 on Dec 6th to allow #WP7 to control content. http://t.co/zziYcoUA
“@NewTeeVee: Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/mtzcOGND” < in other words apple is not the only serious player
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Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control: 5, 2011, 6:51am PT No Comments The new mobile phone software … http://t.co/EMHaDkr7
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Xbox Live does everything, games, movies, TV, and with Kinnect, no one even comes close to beating it, not even Google or Apple.
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RT @gigaom: Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/EqCLMqyc
RT @gigaom: Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/EqCLMqyc
Mobile in the living room: Search/browse Xbox 360 content on your Windows Phone. http://t.co/LDbOJTTy
Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control: 5, 2011, 6:51am PT No Comments The new mobile phone software … http://t.co/0X0ur3v0
RT @NewTeeVee: Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/eLLejYPI
Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control: By Kevin C. Tofel Dec. 5, 2011, 6:51am PT No Comments The new… http://t.co/3DVzccb0
Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/ziyfRhfj
This is smart and hopefully a sign of what’s to come for #mobile and #console #video games http://t.co/Snmcbh4r #gomicrosoft
My Harmony is a remote to everything so there!
While this feature is unlikely to be an immediate boon to Windows phone or directly attributable XBox sales, but it’s a great long-term strategy. This could be a huge selling point particularly when you consider Microsoft’s new partnerships with Comcast and Verizon FiOS to bring TV content to the console. Exploring that range of content on your phone, then realizing it over the XBox is something no other company is really doing right now and brings up a lot of interesting possibilities. Imagine users getting actionable content suggestions based on the games they are playing (e.g. Played Modern Warfare 3? Want to watch Apocalypse Now?) This launch represents a real challenge to Google TV with its upcoming re-launch. Microsoft’s deals will make it harder for Google to form similar partnerships, and XBox consoles are already in 50 million homes worldwide.
i like it .
Regards,
MUHAMMAD OMER-24389
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Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control: By Kevin C. Tofel Dec. 5, 2011, 6:51am PT 1 Comment The new m… http://t.co/yvj3KDnO
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Be sure to download the the #XBox companion app for #WP7 turns your phone into an xbox remote http://t.co/fg6g9y01
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Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control http://t.co/2OINP2E4
Al igual que el #PSVita #Xbox usará como control remoto los #windows #phone 8 para ciertas funciones de entretenimiento http://t.co/8Qm6oT9i
http://t.co/FFh7Thd8 Windows Phone is an Xbox 360 video remote control – GigaOm
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