This year’s E3 was most likely one of the most sought after events for gamers. Everybody who is somebody in the industry had something to show off at E3, and Microsoft couldn’t have missed the opportunity. The company presented SmartGlass for Xbox, a new technology that will make gaming ever more fascinating.
Microsoft rhymed with innovation for a while, but over the past few years it had failed to live up to the expectation. Apart from its Xbox unit, Microsoft has been losing fidelity points with consumers. That’s mainly one of the reasons why the company has been focusing so much on promoting and making Xbox a must have.
At E3, Microsoft introduced a quite fascinating technology. The Xbox SmartGlass should be a must have for committed gamers. Basically with this technology you can turn your smartphone or tablet into a second screen. Of course, whatever device you’d be using you need to have Windows 8 installed.
Although on the overall having a second screen at hand doesn’t look much of a useful addition while watching TV, when it comes to gaming, Xbox SmartGlass has tremendous potential. Forbes writes that “on the gaming side, it does offer something unique – or at least unusual. But that uniqueness will need to be balanced against usage and ownership”.
Microsoft presented its SmartGlass demo for Xbox testing it with “Game of Thrones”. The game played on HDTV, while a tablet was transformed into a second screen thanks to SmartGlass. The tablet was assigned to display the map of the game.
Engadget writes that with Xbox SmartGlass, Microsoft “is clearly looking to build it into its own beast all together” and become a “straightforward AirPlay competitor” just as it was rumored. On the overall, Engadget believes that SmartGlass is “an awfully compelling product”.
The company referred to its new app as a sort of platform that gives developers and users the opportunity to control the Xbox from their tablet or smartphone. Moreover, users can use their smartphones and tablets to browse the Web. Also, as PC Mag writes the “remote control functionality will supplement Kinect voice and gesture control, letting users control their systems through their mobile devices”.
