Microsoft Xbox SmartGlass App Coming Friday

Microsoft this week is launching its new Xbox Smart Glass app, which will tie together Xbox content with tablets, PCs, and phones, the company announced.

Redmond plans to release Xbox SmartGlass alongside Windows 8 and its Surface tablets this Friday, Oct. 26. The free SmartGlass app will initially be released for Windows 8 and Windows RT devices, though support for Windows Phone 8, iOS, and Android devices is also on tap. The app essentially turns your tablet, PC, or phone into a "smart second screen" for your Xbox 360.

"Your phone and tablet will become the best remote controls in your house," Yusuf Mehdi, chief marketing officer for Microsoft's interactive entertainment division, wrote in a blog post Monday. "Use the touch screen on your smartphone or tablet to control your Xbox 360, and use your devices to pause, rewind or advance entertainment."

Redmond first at its E3 press conference. At launch, Smart Glass will support a number of gaming, sports, and entertainment apps including Dance Central 3, ESPN, HBO GO, and more Microsoft said.

With the app, you'll be able to start watching a TV show or movie on your tablet and finish it on your TV through Xbox 360, or vice versa. You'll also be able to see the names of cast and crew members for the movie you're watching, or find related films.

For gaming, the second screen capability will let you queue up the next song while playing Dance Central 3, for instance, so you don't have to stop the dance party. Or, you can turn your tablet into a "virtual GPS" when playing Forza: Horizon, or see detailed stats when playing Halo 4.

When watching sports through your Xbox, the app will let you follow real-time stats, get player bios, and highlights you might have missed.  Music fans, meanwhile, will be able to find artist bios on their mobile device when listening to music on the Xbox.

"And we've only begun to scratch the surface of what's possible," Mehdi said. "In the future, new games will be created, TV shows and movies will be re-imagined, and sports will be broadcast from the ground up with Xbox SmartGlass in mind."

At its E3 press conference, Microsoft showed Game of Thrones on an HDTV, while a tablet connected through Xbox SmartGlass showed a map of the land where the action took place.

For more, check out the video below.