Microsoft plans to turn the Xbox 360 into even more than just a games console/online media player combination-- Xbox SmartGlass promises to unite all screens in the house (including mobile devices) with the machine.
Xbox SmartGlass is a wifi remote app. It allows users to control both video and game content with tablets or smartphones, using the Xbox 360 console as a hub.
First seen at E3 2012, the app also acts as a second screen-- showing extra video content depending on the content on screen. One interesting E3 demo uses HBO TV series Game of Thrones, with an interactive map on the tablet while the console plays an episode.
The app will be available for both iDevices and Androids, as well as (obviously) Windows 8 and Windows Phone.
According Microsoft, more American customers are using the console to consume media than playing online video games through Xbox Live apps for services such as Netflix and Hulu. European customers can access content from the BBC (UK), Telefonica (Spain), ZDF (Germany) and MediaSet (Italy).
Watch Xbox 360 at E3 2012
The alliance still needs to finish the certification standard (which is to launch later this year), and will award compatible device with a "Wifi Certified Miracast" mark.
The VCD22 looks like an all-in-one desktop, but it carries a 1GHz dual-core TI OMAP processor and runs on Android 4.0. The 22-inch touchscreenhandles 1920x1080 resolution, even if it appears to suffer from low contrast and poor viewing angles.
The Windows 8 tablets come in 2 varieties-- Tablet 600 and Tablet 810, both with Transformer-style detachable keyboards.
Like previous models, the Series 5 550 carries a 12.1" (with 1280x800 resolution) display, x2 USB ports and weighs 1.4kg. It also has a dual-core Intel Atom CPU, 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage (boosted via SD card slot and Google cloud-based storage).
