The most exciting thing Microsoft announced at the the recent E3 2012 gaming trade show was Xbox SmartGlass. Today, Microsoft released the software development kit for this upcoming smartphone and tablet app that"s designed to augment content for its Xbox 360 console.
Ars Technica reports that the SDK is meant just for a limited number of approved Microsoft developers and is not available to download for the general public. It does contain what it calls the Xbox SmartGlass Studio environment for developers to create "SmartGlass Activities along with some sample code. The SDK also has a JavaScript API that"s designed to work on Windows 8, iOS, Android and Windows Phone operating systems.
As we have reported before, Microsoft says that apps with Xbox SmartGlass support will be able to offer Xbox 360 owners some extra content. The E3 2012 press conference showed that Halo 4 players can learn more about the game"s weapons, enemies and lore. It could also be used in football games to create plays and then see how they turn out in the full game.
So far, Microsoft has only confirmed that in terms of the PC, Windows 8 will run Xbox SmartGlass. There is no word if a Windows 7-based version of the app is in the works.
Source: Ars Technica