New Xbox to compete directly with Google TV [Rumor]

New Xbox to compete directly with Google TV [Rumor]

Google TV is arguably the best smart TV platform and it has the potential to become very popular. It hasn’t taken off the way it should, but we must say it has been able to stand its ground against all competitors. The platform’s open Android ecosystem and flexibility makes it very powerful, allowing it to do whatever a developer may imagine. For a long time, we haven’t been worried about a competitor really beating Google TV… until now.

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The latest rumors come from The Verge’s sources, who state the upcoming Xbox (Xbox 720?) will not be a mere gaming console. Instead, it will double as a Windows 8 smart TV set-top box, truly destroying the few walls Xbox’s living room experience now has. The Xbox has become one of the main centers of entertainment in living rooms across the world. Mixing gaming, video, music and more, the console was not far from being considered a smart TV.

In many ways, it was a great way for “chord-cutters” to enjoy media and other content. It still was a “chord-cutter” internet-powered product, though, something that is about to change. According to this rumor, the new platform will be able to work along with cable TV boxes via HDMI. The device will receive the image and display it with an Xbox UI on the TV. This will have added functionality and integration with Xbox’s apps and services, of course.

The features don’t end there. The sources mention Kinect will be highly integrated with this service. It will be able to detect multiple people, as well as eye movement. It is said the Xbox will be able to recognize when the user is not looking at the TV and the content playing will be paused.

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What does all of this mean? That the new Xbox will be a direct competitor to our beloved Google TV. For the first time in a long time, Google has something to fear in the smart TV platform. If this is done right, Microsoft could leave Google TV in the dust very quickly. Xbox is in the top of the gaming console pyramid.

The upcoming Xbox is all but guaranteed to break selling records and this will not be good for Google TV, which has been treated like Google’s red-haired step child. Xbox fans and families across the globe will be purchasing their Xbox platforms, leaving them needless for another full-featured smart TV box. It may be getting rough for Google TV, and the Search Giant really needs to step things up soon if this rumor is to become a reality.

[Source: The Verge Via: WinSource]

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  • Aaron Berlin

    Microsoft going in on the pass-through idea should be a vindication for the team at Google that started the project, even if it’s more complicated than a standalone box. Supposedly the XBox will be able to control you tv, cable box, etc. through the hdmi cable. If that’s possible, I wonder why Google didn’t go that route, given that IR blasters are yet another thing that adds complexity to the platform.

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  • Thomas McCracken

    So if your cleaning with tv on the Kinect will have to be turned off. People use TV as backround noise so a Pause feature can be a pain in the neck. To Me it only works if your out of the room during the commercial and it pauses when the show comes back

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