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Xbox updated into TV remote [Boston Herald](Boston Herald (MA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dec. 06--Microsoft is releasing a software update to Xbox 360 that could turn the video game console into the ultimate device for couch potatoes. Today's upgrade enhances the Xbox's streaming video options and allows users to talk or wave a hand to change what's playing on TV via Microsoft's Kinect motion-control sensor. "Your body is your remote control. It doesn't get any simpler than that. Wave your hand to change the channel. That's it," said Yankee Group analyst Vince Vittore. The update will feature Microsoft's Metro interface, comprised of the swipeable, colorful tiles used on the Windows Phone 7 operating system along with the developers' version of Windows 8. Xbox already taps streaming video providers like Netflix and Hulu, but Microsoft will soon add options such as Verizon FiOS and YouTube. Early next year it will bring on Xfinity, MLB.TV and HBO GO. "They're addressing the way consumers are already using it," Vittore said. "People are already using consoles as secondary set-top boxes." The Xbox's market doesn't overlap exactly with those of low-cost set-stop streaming devices like Roku or Apple TV, Vittore said, but could present a challenge down the road. "They can really harm Roku and Apple TV by putting it into a console," he said. "The Xbox is more widely deployed than those two. You have a built-in market." [email protected] ___ (c)2011 the Boston Herald Visit the Boston Herald at www.bostonherald.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |