Microsoft Launches Xbox App for iPhone

Microsoft has launched a new Xbox LIVE app for iOS devices including the iPhone and iPad. The app, called My Xbox LIVE, allows users to edit their Xbox profile as well as their friends list, and compare achievements with other users.

Xbox LIVE has until now only been available on Windows Phones, and Microsoft has reserved it as one of the unique selling points of their mobile operating system. But while Xbox consoles sell by the millions, Windows Phone has struggled to achieve more than a 5% share of the smartphone market.

It seems that when it comes to smartphones, many Xbox owners would rather have an iPhone or Android device. The new iPhone 4S comes with a dual core GPU and Game Center, making it a fairly decent handheld games console in its own right, and likewise Android has a whole host of features and apps to satisfy gamers.

This app for iOS does not offer the same functionality as the Xbox LIVE feature of Windows Phone, and seems to be designed more to tempt iPhone owners over to Microsoft’s mobile OS. Microsoft have even designed the app to look and feel like the Windows Phone interface, perhaps to get iPhone users more familiar with the way that it works.

Recently, Microsoft launched an online simulation of Windows Phone that could be accessed from Android phones and iPhones, so that people could test the OS out on their own devices. My Xbox LIVE appears to be another attempt by Microsoft to raise the profile of Windows Phone amongst smartphone users who have already become stuck in their ways with owning an iPhone.

It is not surprising that Windows Phone does not enjoy the same levels of market share as Android and iPhone, as it was only launched towards the end of 2010. Because of this, many people are not familiar with the operating system or what it has to offer. With only a handful of Windows Phones currently available Microsoft is struggling to attract peoples’ attention.

This should all change in 2012, with the deal between Microsoft and Nokia promising a great deal more Windows Phones in the next 12 months and beyond. The first such device, the Lumia 800, has received a lot of critical acclaim and has been the best phone launch in Nokia’s history.

Like all other Windows Phones, the Nokia Lumia 800 comes with full Xbox LIVE support that not only lets you play games on your phone but also lets you interact with content stored on your Xbox console. This sort of functionality is not offered by the new iOS app, although My Xbox LIVE should offer some tantalizing bait for people whose iPhone contracts are nearing an end.

[via technobuzz]