I remember a few years ago Steve Ballmer was talking big on the concept of “three screens and a cloud” (smartphone, PC, TV). Unfortunately at the time it came off as vaporware, a few well intentioned Power point slides only highlighted a 1000 foot view with no real substance. Additionally the release of Windows 7, Kinect and later Windows Phones, had the effect of making all such talk fall on deaf ears.
Well here we are two and half years later and the ideas appear to be fleshing out in a really compelling way with the advent of SmartGlass. Xbox, Windows Phone and Windows 8, provide the platform (although iOS and Android seemed to be invited to the party). So what can you do … send videos you start watching at your tablet directly to your Xbox, or maybe manipulating IE on your Xbox with touch gestures (pinch etc.) from your phone, or simply have a second screen to interact with for the game you are currently playing.
This is like the concept of Apple’s Airplay but taken to its logical and potentially thrilling conclusion, but in this world the Xbox is the center of your homes entertainment universe. Enough talk watch the carefully crafted marketing video!
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