Microsoft has started rolling out the Fall 2012 Xbox 360 dashboard update. The revision carries a number of new features. One anticipated feature that won’t be included is SmartGlass integration, which will be available when Windows 8 launches on October 26, 2012. As for what you can experience today, here’s the laundry list from Major Nelson:
Refreshed Xbox 360 Dashboard. We’ve updated the UI with a few things, including an updated layout with more tiles, a combined TV & Movies channel and, in the US, a Sports destination.
Internet Explorer for Xbox. With Internet Explorer on Xbox, you can easily find and view internet content on the biggest screen in the house, including HTML5 videos.
Recommendations and Ratings. Recommendations will allow you to discover new favorites, generated based on a number of variables including the content you previously viewed, what your friends are consuming and what is most relevant and popular with our Xbox community. You can now rate content yourself and also see Rotten Tomatoes ratings.
Pinning. Pinning lets you personalize the dashboard by saving your favorite movies, TV shows, games, music, videos and websites right to the home screen. It’s as easy as opening an app or a favorite movie and clicking “pin.”
Xbox Video. Formerly called Zune Video Marketplace, Xbox Video offers hundreds of thousands of TV shows and movies for buying or renting in instant HD streaming.
Recent. Previously called Quick Play, the Recent view gives you a list of movies, games, apps or other types of content that you most recently accessed on the console.
Enhanced Search. The last Xbox LIVE update brought Bing voice search to Xbox so you could use voice to search for movies, TV shows, actors, directors and artists. This year we added genre search to the list, so now you can search for action, comedy, romance, drama or sci-fi. Bing voice search now includes results for video across the Web, including YouTube.
International Expansion of Voice Search. We’ve expanded our Kinect voice search capabilities to 9 new countries — Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Ireland.
Like you, I’m terribly excited to speak to my Xbox 360 in Canadian, eh?
After you’ve downloaded the update, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. When you have a chance, please let me know what new features tickle your fancy…and also the ones that tickle the fancy of other people in your household. Personally, I try not to tickle fancies unless…oh never never mind.
Ahhhh yeah! I`m actually using my xbox and chat pad to comment. So far this browser experiece is pretty good. My only complaint is that while using the chat pad to type there is a 2-5 second delay from what I type and when it shows up on screen. Now if pron works on it….
Pron works! Haha. It seems that the delay only happens here when i comment. I dont mind , but can anyone else with a chat pad try? I`ve got cookies!!!
I haven’t seen my chat pad in years. I’ll look for it.
Can you unpin the ads? Or is the home screen off limits to your gold membership having self?
I still haven’t gotten the update, not sure why.
Perhaps your Xbox is protesting???
If it’s protesting then it must be sentient! Microsoft didn’t recently change their name to Skynet did they??