Companion App remote controller announced for Xbox 360

by Steven Mostyn - Oct 6 2011, 13:06

Adding yet more functionality to its Xbox 360 platform, Microsoft has announced a handy software application (app) that will provide control over certain elements of the home console via a smartphone touch-screen.

The new Companion App will be compatible with all Windows-powered phones and will enable navigation through games, music, movies and TV shows listed on the Xbox Live service. It will arrive as a completely free download.

The app will also display specific information connected to found content, such as, say, the cast list of a feature film. And, in so doing, users will be able to pull up all available Xbox Live content associated with specific members of said cast.

Of course, from a more practical point of view, the app will also render the smartphone a more conventional remote device that’s capable of controlling video playback.

The emergence of Microsoft’s console-controlling app comes after the Redmond-based company this week confirmed the long-awaited arrival of an online on-demand TV service for Xbox Live.

The expansive on-demand service will offer up content from leading providers such as Verizon (FiOS), Comcast (Xfinity), Time Warner (HBO) and NBC Universal (Syfy).

Expect the Companion App to arrive alongside the upcoming Xbox 360 dashboard update, which should be here before the close of Q3.

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