Hasta La Gadget!

Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, just sat down alongside Nancy Tellem, Corporate Vice President at Microsoft LA Studios, to kick off this year’s rendition of D:Dive Into Media here in Dana Point, Calif. The first session of the evening is being piloted by AllThingsD‘s Peter Kafka, and naturally, the topic of conversation is Xbox. For starters, Mehdi affirmed that Microsoft is witnessing an unmistakable transition of the Xbox 360 “from a gaming console to an entertainment console.” At present, the install base is up to 76 million (up from around 70 million at the close of September 2012), with US-based users using the console for some 87 hours per month.

In fact, he stated that 18 billion (yeah, with a “B”) hours of entertainment have been consumed on Xbox, and while Netflix is obviously the driving force, it might not be that way for much longer. He was quick to claim that Sony’s PlayStation 3 “isn’t as good of an entertainment console” — something he feels that “everybody knows” — and insinuated that the next-generation Xbox will stick to “big and premium.” In other words, don’t expect Microsoft to kick out a $50 Roku-style content box. Mehdi wants to ensure that the future of Xbox enables voice control, interactivity, and “other stuff that’s big and beautiful.”

Filed under: Gaming, HD, Microsoft

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Say what you will about the Grammy’s but…well. Just say what you will about the Grammy’s. Hate ’em or shrug at ’em, Spotify thinks it can predict ’em. Using a slew of user data, Spotify has rounded up the following predictions, and now, with the Grammy’s starting up, we’re about to see if they’re right. More »

We were already well aware of Deezer making its way toward some LG Smart TVs in the UK, but now the streaming service has announced it’ll be coming to many, many more savvy television sets in the very near future. The digital tunes provider let it be know that it’s struck a deal with Samsung, Toshiba and, yet again, LG, one that’s bound to make the Deezer application available to a “potential audience of at least 600 million people across more than 150 countries.” There’s a slight caveat, however, as the recently announced deal comes with somewhat of a limited scope — namely the fact Deezer’s set to only be usable on Samsung smart TVs in Europe that were produced in 2011, while the same goes for LG’s but with the exception of a worldwide availability. Toshiba, on the other hand, will be able to bring the music offering to its 2011-range in Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, as well as the company’s new 2013 smart TV lineup to users all around the globe. This, naturally, excludes us folks in the good ol’ US of A, since, as you may know, Deezer is still trying to figure things out this side of the pond.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Software, HD

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Source: Deezer

Are you an Xbox 360 owner? You might like this bit of news: according to Major Nelson, Redbox Instant is coming sometime to the gaming machine in the “very near future,” and Microsoft appears to have partnered with the video streaming service to become a console launch exclusive. It’ll be available only to users who are Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Of course, this doesn’t mean this will be the only place you’ll be able to take advantage of all that Redbox will have to offer; the public launch, which is still slated for Q1, will be available on several platforms and devices, such as iOS / Android, Vizio, LG, Samsung and even Google TV. As a refresher, you’ll be able to get unlimited access to the service (as well as four free DVD rentals) for $8 per month, while an extra dollar will let you convert those discs into Blu-ray.

Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Microsoft, Verizon

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Source: Major Nelson

I think pretty much every geek out there’s familiar with HBO Go. This is the app and website which allow you to watch every episode of your favorite HBO series and movies the network shows on your computer, mobile device, and on some set top boxes. I think most people agree that this app is a great way to catch up on Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire among other shows.

The problem for a lot of people is that watching content using HBO Go – or any other streaming video application – isn’t as good on your small computer screen or tablet is it is on the big screen in the living room. Thankfully, HBO Go is available on some devices designed to be used in living rooms such as the Xbox 360 and various Roku set top boxes. According to sources who claim to be familiar with negotiations between Apple and Time Warner, HBO Go will soon be coming to the $99 Apple TV set top box.

The sources claim that the app will be available for Apple TV users by the middle of 2013. HBO Go sure would be a nice addition to the Apple TV, which already has streaming applications for Netflix and Hulu Plus, as well iTunes, of course.

[via Bloomberg]