Microsoft’s second screen experience SmartGlass app, which gives users the ability to control their Xbox via their iPhone or iPad, has just popped up in the iOS App Store.
The app, which brings the Xbox dashboard to users’ Android or iOS devices, enables users to interact with content, such as movies and music, as well as surf the internet via their Xbox 360s and TV screens.
The interface replicates the main keys on Xbox 360 controllers and acts as a kind of mouse for scrolling and moving around the screen.
In addition, users can use their smartphones or tablet computers to type messages and draft emails to their Xbox community.
In recent weeks, Microsoft launched SmartGlass for Windows 8, Windows RT and Android devices alongside Internet Explorer for Xbox.
It also expanded Xbox entertainment services from 35 countries to 222 countries worldwide.
SmartGlass allows users to connect various devices to Xbox entertainment for an interactive multi-screen experience.
For example, a user can start watching a film on his or her tablet and then switch to the TV mid-viewing. Using SmartGlass, the film will continue on from where it left off and the portable device then becomes a window of information from the film – or music recommendations based on what the user is listening to, or real-time statistics from whatever sports the user is viewing.
The potential for enhanced transmedia content from producers is obvious and Microsoft has promised something groundbreaking alongside the next season of HBO’s Game of Thrones.
When browsing Internet Explorer for Xbox, the big screen can be controlled with touchscreen gestures on a smartphone and, when gaming, the second screen becomes an additional asset to gameplay, such as a virtual GPS in Forza, or a queued-up playlist in Dance Central.
