Microsoft quietly announced Xbox Music Web client – simply by activating the service at music.xbox.com. The web client bears similarities to the recently rennovated web app for Windows 8.1, but is less feature-dense than its native version. The service is currently ad-free, and it grabs a user’s music and puts it into playlists and collections that are pre-arranged online. Users can then edit, add, and alter their collections and playlists – with the results synced across clients. One thing missing is a radio-mode, which sets its competitors apart for the time being. But it’s easy to see this service coming in the near future.
Tag: xbox
Xbox Partners With Time Warner
Microsoft has notched a landmark deal with Time Warner Cable to offer Xbox 360 owners live access for up to 300 channels. Viewers will need an existing Time Warner Cable subscription as well as an Xbox Live Gold membership to access the service, which will launch later this summer. The TWC TV app is to include AMC, BBC World News, CNN, and others; it will be available to download from the Xbox Live Marketplace and will support voice commands using the Kinect. Given that Microsoft is pushing its new console, the Xbox One as the best solution for TV-watchers and gamers alike, this partnership has vast potential for TV programming and advertising in the upcoming months.
Kinect Patent Indicates Ad Tracking Possibilities
According to a recent patent for XBox One’s Kinect, the tech may be utilized to measure viewing behaviors and monitor user engagement. This use case could be powerful for ad tracking and can also be leveraged to reward users for ad views. We’ve seen third party developers utilize Kinect for Out-of-Home measurement, but this would mark the first time Microsoft would be bringing it to the millions of Xbox homes on their platform. Privacy concerns abound however, so expect some backlash if they do decide to implement the tech.
Microsoft Backs Indie Xbox One Developers
Reports initially suggested that the new Xbox One would mean the end of independent, self-publishing game developers, but Microsoft’s Xbox chief says that the One will have an indie-friendly program. Thus far there are more details that need to be released before the extent of the program can be determined, but Don Mattrick insists that Xbox will foster an independent creator program. In his interview with Kotaku, Mattrick praised the success of games like Minecraft, and insisted that he remembers his days as an indie developer, and wants to foster that type of community at Xbox. For now, it’s all talk, but we will soon see how seriously Microsoft takes Mattrick’s words of support.
Disruption: Xbox One Focuses On Content
If you take a look at some of the details on Xbox One, you’ll notice that a lot of it revolves around content, not gaming. From instantly toggling between programs like IE to Skype to incorporating interactive elements overlayed on live TV, Xbox is still positioning themselves at the center of home entertainment. What’s more is that Microsoft will even be producing their own TV content, beginning with Speilberg’s Halo series in a trend of content providers–think Netflix, Hulu, YouTube–becoming content creators. And yet, despite this programming push, the estimated $400 price tag will be hard to justify for someone not so into gaming.
Ordering Pizza On Xbox? Why Not!
The day you have been waiting for is here. You can now order pizza through Xbox Live alleviating your need to ever leave the couch. The new partnership between Pizza Hut and Xbox brings a dedicated app that lets users build, purchase and share your pizza order using voice commands, gesture control or the controller. While the app may sounds a little odd, it is the first of its kind to enable physical purchases within the platform. Time will tell if Xbox commerce will gain some traction or if people will simply rely on mobile devices.
The Future Of TV Starts With A Name Change
There comes a time where naming conventions seem to hold back progress.
If we still called music “cassettes” it would be hard to imagine the effect this would have had on the way products like iTunes or services like Spotify would have been developed and marketed.
It strikes me that the future of TV , in terms of how content is searched for, found and viewed and how TV advertising manifests, is being hampered by the concept of TV and it’s antiquated name.
TV’s used to be large boxes in the home that you watched TV shows on, that were broadcast by TV companies on TV Channels.
Especially in the UK and Europe, you were quite likely to sit down at watch Channel Number X for the evening.
Increasingly these separate TV based units are becoming meaningless, the notion of a TV channel seems rather strange, even the idea of a “show” made for TV seems a little odd in an era of long and short form content on Vimeo, Youtube, News Websites etc.
A new name is required and with it a new way of thinking.
Much like we used to talk about records then cassettes, then CD’s and then MP3’s, each with their own cassette player, discman etc, we now just talk about music.
We now need to think not about DVD’s and TV Channels and Set top boxes, but about what it is Video.
Our TV’s are on the edge of being nothing to do with TV. They are merely large screen through which to play video.
We no longer sit down and “tune in” to see what is “on”, increasingly we sit down and think about specific content we watch. Smart TV’s like Samsung with their S- Recommendation engines now surface content based on our behavior and regardless of the format of content and the pipeline that brought it. Your thirst for soccer could be quenched by Live Soccer on Fox Soccer, a match on your DVR, an iTunes hosted video of the top goals ever, or highlights for free on Youtube.
Thinking of the TV as large screen for video allows the imagination to rethink other aspects. As an agency that seeks to serve the needs of brands, why are we now bound by the limitations and expense ofTV advertising.
TV Advertising can be done more accurately.
Digital TV’s can record data about your behavior and can work at an individual level, you now no longer need to buy a show, you can buy a individual house at a specific moment in time.
TV Advertising can be linked to an action.
You are now showing video to people on a large connected screen. Opportunities to buy products featured in shows will soon become common, as will click to find out more, or click to enter competitions
TV Advertising can be done more creatively.
With targeting down to a household ads can be served sequentially to build a narrative and ads can now be based on real time context or other data to make ads richer. They could pull in your feeds from you social graph, show what your friends think of the products etc.
TV Advertising can be done more measurably.
Any action based creative can be used to measure response in real time, thus providing ways for advertisers to test creative.
Even more than this advertising can now be served more quickly and much more cheaply/
So my only question remains, with this new world of the large screen and richer ad experiences, what does the TV’s new name become?
American Express Upgrades Sync For Twitter
American Express has upgraded its Sync program to work with Twitter, so that Cardholders can now purchase items by using a hashtag. The first item for sale will be a $25 American Express gift card which can be had for $15 if you tweet #BuyAmexGiftCard25. Other initial offers will include a Kindle Fire, an Xbox controller, an Xbox 360, and an Xbox Live subscription. If the consumer chooses to buy the item via hashtag, @AmexSync will reply with a confirmation hashtag to confirm the purchase. If the user confirms, the item will be shipped, for free, to their home within two days. Amex isn’t the first company to sync purchasing with Twitter, however, as in 2012 a startup named Chirpify linked with PayPal to allow users to buy and sell on twitter using handles. But Amex’s expansion represents the largest move into “T-Commerce” yet, and every hashtag yields more promotion and brand endorsement over social media.
Microsoft’s multi-platform Xbox strategy faces risks, rewards | The Verge
Microsoft ‘Xbox TV’ device due in 2013 with casual gaming and streaming | The Verge
Microsoft ‘Xbox TV’ device due in 2013 with casual gaming and streaming
