SmartGlass: Microsoft's alternative to AirPlay

If you own an Xbox you should take a look at Microsoft’s SmartGlass. Microsoft now officially launches SmartGlass that will make it possible to stream video, music and photos from a smartphone or tablet onto the TV screen via the Xbox 360. You can also surf webpages on your TV screen.

SmartGlass challenges Airplay
We took the first look at SmartGlass some time ago but the technology is now ready for prime time. SmartGlass, in brief, is a technology that enables easy media sharing between your many different smart devices and the Xbox 360, so Microsoft users no longer have to envy Apple users.


Stream video, music and pictures from a tablet or smartphone onto the TV screen with SmartGlass and a Xbox

With SmartGlass you can:
Push a movie from your tablet onto your TV
Push music from a smartphone onto your TV
Surf the Internet on your TV and let your smartphone act as a scroll and zoom device
Pull websites from your TV back onto your tablet or smartphone

All this requires an Xbox that serves as the mastermind. The Xbox will also send information back to the smartphone or tablet. Let’s say you for example want to watch Batman on the TV screen; then you can get actor information about Christian Bale on the tablet screen – a kind of interactive second screen experience.

SmartGlass will be available on Windows 8 tablets and PC on 26th of October, as well as on Windows Phone 8 when it is ready. Later in the autumn, it will also appear on iOS and Android devices.

We are very excited about SmartGlass and welcomes Microsoft’s new initiative. The real question is probably if Microsoft is late to the party? Apple TV owners have been able to do the same since the Apple TV launched in 2010 and can even stream games from an iPad to the TV via AirPlay.

Microsoft’s SmartGlass demonstration video below.