14 DAY TRIAL // Redmond-based software giant Microsoft has big plans for its Xbox console moving forth and has just announced a new set of enhancements brought to it that confirms this.
At the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, the company announced the availability of new entertainment experiences for Xbox users, including expanded availability for Bing on the console.
Users in 12 new markets can now benefit from the features and capabilities that Microsoft’s search engine has to offer to them on their consoles, the company unveiled.
The Redmond-based software giant also announced that voice search capabilities are expected to become available later this year to users in Australia, Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain and Switzerland.
“Soon users in 15 countries speaking 7 languages will be able to get full voice search support,” Microsoft’s Bing Team announced in a blog post.
Additionally, the latest enhancements brought to the service provide users in some countries and languages with the possibility to search for content genres such as comedy, drama and action, while also enabling people to search for user-generated content on YouTube using their voice.
“Bing on Xbox means you spend more time enjoying your entertainment, and far less time hunting for it. Bing on Xbox combines your voice and all your entertainment to make TV more amazing – you are the controller,” Microsoft also notes.
Overall, Microsoft appears set to transform its Xbox brand into a renowned entertainment service, covering areas that include gaming, music, movies and TV shows, and Internet browsing.
As part of this process, Microsoft is set to kill off the Zune brand and turn it into Xbox, and it will also deliver better communication capabilities to users of the console, through providing them with a Skype app that would also include in-game integration.
Only today, the company announced the availability of an Xbox SmartGlass, an application meant to connect the Xbox console with Windows 8 PCs, tablets, and mobile phones running under Windows Phone, Android and iOS.