Looking through the Xbox SmartGlass

Microsoft kicked off its E3 press event with a Master Chief-sized bang with a Halo 4 trailer, and the exciting news did not stop there. About halfway through the event, the president of Xbox Live, Mark Whitten, stepped on stage to demonstrate a new way of interacting with the Xbox 360 that Microsoft is calling SmartGlass.

 An evolution of the existing Xbox Companion app for Windows Phone 7 and Windows 8, SmartGlass will allow users to interact with the Xbox using an iOS, Android, or Windows mobile device. Devices with SmartGlass technology can share media, control the Xbox, and act as a secondary display for complementary information such as media playback controls, maps in strategy games, and a touchscreen controller for the upcoming Internet Explorer browser for Xbox.