Microsoft is making good on its promise to turn smartphones into a second screen for the Xbox 360.
The company recently launched an official My Xbox Live app for Android, bringing with it the ability for millions of mobile users to connect with their Xbox Live friends, update user profiles, and view achievements.
The app had already been available for iPhone users for quite some time, but bringing it to Android really helps to expand the reach of mobile Xbox connectivity.
But at the same time, Microsoft also continued to make its iPhone presence even better, by updating the iOS version of My Xbox Live so that it funcions as an Xbox 360 remote control.
That is, you can now use your iPhone to control playback of videos and music files on your console – play, pause, fast-forward, and rewind – as well as search for and find new content.
The new update for iOS also tweaks the existing app functionality, fixing bugs and making the experience more stable.
This idea of using your existing devices to integrate with console gaming experiences was a very large takeaway from last week’s E3 trade show.
Sony is also betting big on Android and plans to expand its mobile Playstation presence in a huge way over the coming months. Sony’s newly branded Playstation Mobile initiative will allow users to seamlessly connect to the Playstation Network from their phones so they can take the console experience with them on the go.
