We already know that Microsoft wants to tie together its various services. That’s why the recent Xbox 360 dashboard update lets us search Bing with our voices (via Kinect). And that’s also why there is the Xbox Companion App for Windows Phone devices. As it turns out, though, Microsoft wants to expand beyond WP7 with its mobile ambitions. It wants iOS and Android too.

At least, that’s what a new job posting leads us to believe. They’re looking for a senior development engineer to work on the Xbox Live Mobile team. The kicker is that they say they want to “bring the latest and greatest gaming and entertainment experience to mobile platforms including Windows Phone, iOS, and other mobile platforms.”

While the “big plus” of having experience developing for Windows Phone, iOS and Android could simply mean that the successful candidate is a good, well-rounded developer, it could also mean that Microsoft wants him or her to develop for these other platforms too. There’s already the My Xbox LIVE app fro iOS, for example.

Why the sudden interest in playing friendly with other platforms? Well, there’s word going around that Sony is approaching the other Android device manufacturers for PlayStation Suite certification. If they’re able to get the PlayStation brand as the brand for mobile gaming, the Xbox brand could be left in the dust. One thing’s pretty much for certain though: Nintendo wants no part of this, at least for now.

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Microsoft’s dashboard update to their Xbox 360 was gladly welcomed by all the owners of the console earlier. Now, as expected, the company has released the Xbox Companion app for Windows Phone devices.

The Xbox Companion app will be working as an extension of the Xbox 360 and will allow you to log into your Xbox Live account. The Xbox Companion search, which is powered by Bing, will let you search for content from popular entertainment services on Xbox LIVE.

You can search for movies, TV shows, music, games, and other information using your Windows Phone. You can keep an eye on the activities of your friends with the app, and take a peek at second screen info while you are using your console.

The app also converts your Windows smartphone into a remote control allowing you to play, pause, rewind, and fast-forward content playing on your console.

Meanwhile, iOS users also have something to cheer about. An iOS app, dubbed My Xbox Live, is now available and it has been optimized for both iPhone and iPad.

The new iOS app, coming with fewer features than its Windows Phone counterpart, allows you to use your Xbox Live account and will be familiar for those who have used the Windows Phone Xbox Live app.

With the iOS app, you can read and send messages, edit your profile, manage your friends list, and keep an eye on what your friends are up to. You can even update your avatar on the go if felt necessary.

Both the apps are available for free at the moment. The Xbox Companion app, which is just 1MB in size, is available for download at Marketplace. Check it out here. Head here for the iOS app.

The company has also released a new video to go with the app. Check out the video below:

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No, this number is nowhere near as impressive as what you’d find through the App Store for the Apple iPhone and other iOS devices, but it represents a major milestone for Microsoft’s latest mobile operating system. If you happen to be rocking something like the Samsung Focus or HTC Surround, you can now go to the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace and find no fewer than 5,000 apps.

Remember that the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace has only been open for a little over two months, and the whole WP7 platform is still very much in the early adoption stage. To put things into perspective, Windows Phone 7 only took a little over two months to meet the 5,000 app threshold. On the flip side, Palm’s webOS has been out for a year and a half and it is only now hitting 5,000 apps. That says something right there.

While there are certainly a number of free applications available through the WP7 Marketplace, it’s also noteworthy that the average price of an app got about a ten cent bump to $1.52 last week. The $500 “I Am Rich” app surely had something to do with that.

Of the 5,000 apps, about a fifth are mobile games. That just goes to show you that gaming on smartphones is definitely a big thing, even when it comes to a Microsoft platform. There is Xbox Live on there after all.

[WPCentral]

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Well, you could say that Windows Mobile hasn’t left the party, but it is fair to say that there are more attendees at said party these days. We’re still looking forward to the prospects offered by Windows Mobile 7, so what could the future bring?

Microsoft has put up a recent job posting that seems to clearly outline their intentions. They’re looking for a Principle Program Manager “who can help drive the platform and bring Xbox LIVE enabled games to Windows Mobile.”

The Xbox 360 is as popular as it’s ever been, so this could be a major brand that could breathe all sorts of new life into the Windows Mobile platform. The posting calls for things like “avatar integration, social interactions, and multi-screen experiences.”

It’s unclear whether we’ll actually see Xbox Live games on Windows Mobile devices, but you may be to more easily access secondary content through “companion” apps. This way, you can check Gamerscores, queue up downloads, send messages, and so on.

Source: MobileTechWorld

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What do you we get with the new 360 Live for iPhone app? I suppose you could just as easily stay connected with your friends via email, text message, Twitter, Facebook, or any number of other options, but the 360 Live for iPhone lets you send messages over the Xbox network too.

Further still, you can flip through the different Gamertag profiles with the Coverflow-like interface. This is similar to what you’d see on your console, including information about their Gamerscore, latest games, online status, location, and so on.

The updated 360 Live for iPhone 2.0 sells in the App Store for $1.99. Alternatively, you can look for the 1337pwn’s iNEXS app for free. That’s supposed to have similar functionality.

Source: Intomobile

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