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What is one of the main features the Xbox is missing? TV? No. Sky? No. Youtube? No. Netflix? No. It’s much simpler than that: unmetered access to the internet via a dedicated web browser.
It does seem odd that a device with so many different fucntions and abilities can’t go online and look at cat Tumblrs from the comfort of your favourite sofa
Well Microsoft in its wisdom has twigged that this sort of functionality might be something Xbox users would want and might actually use.
It’s just a shame it has taken until now for them to finally realise this. From our perspective it’s a good idea, and with Big M’s knowledge in the area they could have it done as soon as tomorrow.
But we all know what Microsoft’s trackrecord is like – they don’t rush anything, apart from scrapping Inside Xbox and adding new ads.
According to sources who have spoken to tech site The Verge Microsoft has been testing a modified version of Internet Explore 9 on Xbox consoles recently.
Currently the Xbox can search Bing, but will only come back with media results from the apps already on the marketplace.
As with Sony’s efforts, quite often console browsers are some of the worst, most poorly implemented browsers ever. But if Microsoft got it right and allowed users to use the internet in its fullest possible manner it could give them the edge over its competitors and would be a catalyst for new sales.
From what we’ve heard the browser will let Xbox users surf all parts of the web straight from their living rooms.
Another angle for Microsoft is, of course, to add Kinect functionality to their new browser. Quite why, we’re not sure. But if you’re looking for a gimmick to market it with – then voice-enabled web surfing is definitely one of them.
Kinect support is not mandatory according to our sources, but the browser is said to be tuned for Kinect usage. There’s no word on a launch date for Internet Explorer on Xbox, but with E3 on the horizon we’d expect to hear the official details from Microsoft in a matter of weeks.
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.
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