(Image Source: Gizmodo)
BY DANNY MATTESON
You're watching multisource tech news analysis from Newsy.
Look out cable box. There’s a video game console looking to nudge you off the entertainment center. The New York Times explains.
“Beginning on Tuesday and continuing through the month, Microsoft will give a face-lift to its Xbox Live online entertainment service that will allow subscribers to watch a wide array of mainstream television programming from the Xbox 360 console.”
The new additions? Microsoft plans to add YouTube, HBO Go, MLB.TV, Verizon FiOS and Comcast amongst other apps to its Xbox Live service in the next couple of months -- changing the gaming device into a full-fledged media center.
And The Verge notes, the update doesn’t end there. XBOX looks to one up Apple with a little voice recognition of its own -- launching voice activated Bing search that lets you jump to content without ever picking up a remote.
“Xbox. Bing Modern Family. And you see we’ll have Modern Family which is available in multiple episodes.”
But Xbox doesn’t plan to leave you feeling empty-handed. Along with the interface update...
...Microsoft will also be launching a Windows Phone companion app that allows users to search for content, keep up with friend activity and get info on what Xbox is playing.
And to make this makeover complete Xbox is also getting a new look...
...utilizing the Metro interface that is currently used by the Windows Phone 7 and will be used by the forthcoming Windows 8.
So will Microsoft’s move give them a leg up in the race for living room supremacy? Writers at ZDNet say yes, noting the company’s altered approach may pay off.
“Google launched Google TV earlier this year, and that venture failed. Apple’s had AppleTV for a few years now but there doesn’t seem to be much mainstream consumer interest in the device. Microsoft’s been clever and taken a different approach - it sold people a games console and it’s now transforming it into something that resembles a PC.”
Finally, if the newest Xbox update has you reconsidering the cable conundrum you may want to crunch the numbers. On top of the fee for an Xbox Gold Membership users will also have to pay for cable content.
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