Microsoft offers a practical look at the Xbox SmartGlass experience

SmartGlass was announced by Microsoft during their keynote this past summer at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) with an open ended release date of “this fall.” We are hoping that we will be seeing a lot more about this nifty set up at the Windows 8 announcement this week, and at the Windows Phone 8 release next week.

In the video below, we see a Samsugn ATIV S and a Windows 8 tablet in action interacting with the Xbox 360 and each other in sharing an internet browsing experience and media as well.

Many of the features may seem familiar overall, but the integration with the SmartGlass app is pretty smooth. Microsoft’s products appear ready to deliver with SmartGlass, which is a unified and seamless experience across platforms which allow us to control media and content across all our devices with no headaches. Based on the video presentation below, if it lives up to this billing, then it is safe to say this is a winner all-around. This is different from the Nintendo Wii U which serves as a controller.

This also positions the Xbox to be more than the pure-power-gaming machine that it already is. This extends the “reach” of Xbox and opens a whole new audience for it as it becomes a service rather than a gaming console that can also play DVDs. Another cool features is that it looks like SmartGlass itself will also run across other platforms to connect your Xbox to them, Android and iOS.

As to when we will know more, we might see a bit of this in action at the Windows 8 event, and certainly learn more about it at the Windows Phone 8 event since SmartGlass is an integral part of the experience that Microsoft will want to convey to give their new mobile OS a big boost. We will be at the Windows Phone 8 event covering all the details.