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By 3 December 2012 | Categories: news

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Two interesting developments on the Xbox front have emerged of late; the first of which is good news for Nexus 7 owners and others who have a 7" tablet, and who wish to take advantage of the Xbox SmartGlass Android app on their Android 4.0 devices.
 
The Xbox SmartGlass update, which weighs in at 16 MB, now caters to 7" tablets running Android 4.0 and up, and allows users to navigate their Xbox 360 by swiping and tapping on their touch screen; search the full Xbox catalogue of music, video, and games on their tablet; change their avatar; send messages to their Xbox friends on their tablet and, the feature we most appreciated, use their Android device’s keyboard to send text to their console.
 
‘Appy installation
 
As would be expected, one does need an Xbox membership to sign in. Once we had updated our console with the required - and somewhat time consuming - updates that it demanded, SmartGlass on our Nexus 7 in fact worked very well.
 
Synchronising the app with one’s Xbox account then allows one to navigate around one’s Xbox 360 using one’s tablet as a touch screen controller of sorts, in an effective nod to the Wii U’s dual screen setup.  
 
Admittedly, in some respects it’s not quite as fast as using a conventional controller, but it is still nifty. One can also opt to receive extra information on their connected SmartGlass device about a game they are playing or a movie they are watching on their Xbox when available. The new update to the SmartGlass app also brings some bug fixes to the app.
 
Looking forward and looking ahead...
 
The other piece of Xbox news, which is admittedly slated to only come into affect towards the end of next year, but is no less exciting, concerns the fabled Xbox 720. This, according to a report by Bloomberg, is slated for release before the end of next year (probably around the November timeframe).
 
The unnamed source in the report, explained that Microsoft’s next gen console would make an appearance in time to take advantage of Thanksgiving and Christmas sales.
 
According to Bloomberg, however, Microsoft has not yet decided when and how it would unveil its Xbox 360 followup. Two possibilities are that the new console would be unveiled at the gaming industry’s annual showcase event, the Electronic Entertainment Expo which is normally held in June, or alternatively, the console could receive its own dedicated event.
 
To the point

Both developments, along with recent news that the Redmond company was planning on releasing a 7" Xbox Surface device, spell exciting times ahead for the Xbox ecosystem. 

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