Xbox 360 to get Internet Explorer with Windows 8 release
With the release of Windows 8, Microsoft will update its console to include the Internet. Users will be able to personalize their dashboard, pin favorite sites, and watch Web videos.
It's official, users will soon be able to surf the Web on their Xbox 360. Microsoft announced today that the Internet Explorer browser will be included with a new update to the Xbox 360 dashboard. The update will come with the release of Windows 8 on October 26.
"Starting today Internet Explorer will begin being rolled out on Xbox LIVE and will be available to Xbox LIVE Gold members," Internet Explorer's General Manager Ryan Gavin wrote in a blog post today. "IE on Xbox enables you to view content on the web on your TV and includes great features like the ability to personalize your dashboard by pinning your favorite web sites and watching HTML5 videos on the web."
Rumblings of the Internet coming to the Xbox 360 started earlier this year and during the E3 gaming conference Microsoft showed off what the feature would look like and how it would work. This move brings Microsoft closer to integrating more of its products into the same ecosystem.
Along with being able to search the entire Internet straight from their gaming consoles, users will be able use Windows 8's Xbox Smart Glass on Web features like text input, scrolling, and pinch and zoom. To get this feature, users have to be Xbox Live Gold members, which costs roughly $50 per year.
Microsoft also announced this week that with Windows 8 it was adding 30 million music tracks to its Xbox Music service. The service will let users stream music for free, creating custom playlists, as long as they're willing to hear occasional ads. The software giant is rolling out Xbox Music across its consumer offerings -- on Xbox 360 consoles, Windows 8 tablets, and PCs. Reportedly, it will also come to Windows Phone 8 in the not-too-distant future.