Microsoft’s Xbox One isn’t just an interesting piece of hardware with an upgraded controller, better Kinect, and a nice boatlaod of games–it’s also a bevy of new social applications, an entire network, and a space for players to take advantage of everything a wired world has to offer.

The physical and on-hand characteristics were covered already on SiliconANGLE to give a grounding to the product, but what about the cloud?

In the past, it’s been obvious that Microsoft had a long-game intended for Xbox and the “livingroom cloud”–otherwise visible as an extension of the personal cloud that expanded entertainment (gaming, movies, streaming video, etc.) from mobile devices to in front of the couch. As almost the de facto set-to-box, the Xbox proved to be an excellent space to market that into and Microsoft branded the Xbox One to entertainment without a second thought.

To do this, Xbox leads the way with cloud-computing backing the games that will run on the console (using Azure to boost performance.) On top of that, the Xbox One sports a powerful onboard multitasking architecture that will give gamers the option of running multiple things (music and gaming?) Add SmartGlass and Skybox and suddenly mobile and livingroom users have a window into the Internet at their fingertips.

Finally, the addition of native streaming via Twitch.tv opens up even more interesting possibilities for allowing the world to reach in–this puts the Xbox One in line with the PS4 on the streaming angle. Giving other gamers the option to reach into the livingroom instead of just peering out.

The advantage of Azure

Microsoft’s new console requires access to the Internet during installation, but a broadband connection will also be useful. The box contains 8-core processor that provides benefits in line with mainstream PCs but the memory is not to convince. We refer to the 8 GB of DDR3 RAM, the same found in the Xbox 360, released eight years ago, which at the moment are costing Microsoft a significant disadvantage in multiplatform titles.

It is still early to draw any conclusions because experience shows that developers are able to squeeze the most out of a console only after some years. And much it will Azure, Microsoft’s cloud system that could revolutionize the world of gaming. At the moment Forza Motorsport 5 uses it to replace the artificial intelligence with the recordings of the competitions of its users, but it could also be used to distribute the computational load between the hardware of the console and the cloud.

Microsoft has created a cloud infrastructure with 300,000 servers that can handle the services integrated into Xbox One. A part of this computing power is exploited by Bing, which allows you to browse the contents of the console by using your voice. The user is therefore not obliged to use standard commands. This sci-fi feature has been implemented thanks to Kinect and neural networks.

Modern interface and true multitasking

It is suffice to say that Microsoft is operating three operating system that work at the same time, so you can pass in a fraction of a second between video games, TV, music, internet, video conferencing to Skype and movies. The great thing about Xbox One is that you can play two of these activities simultaneously, dividing the screen with a voice command or a special gesture that will be picked up by the renewed Kinect. And thanks to the presence of an input signal to pass through the decoder, you can see the satellite or digital terrestrial TV while playing Forza Motorsport 5.

Use of the Xbox One is easier than in the past thanks to the breakdown of the graphic interface, looking similar to that of Windows 8. The interface is divided into three sections – at the center we find the Home screen, on the left that favorite showing installed apps, while on the right there is the Xbox Store. From here you will download content, such as video games, music and TV shows Xbox Music and movies on-demand.

The Xbox Store apps and games prices vary depending on the case but they are not particularly competitive, and Microsoft will be working on this aspect without relying too much on the undoubted convenience of having everything centralized in a single device.

SmartGlass app for WP8

Windows Phone 8 users who planned the purchase of One can already download the Xbox app from the Windows Phone Store. The SmartGlass app transform your smartphone into a remote control and add to the Xbox One as a second screen that can attached to the TV. SmartGlass allows you to interact with the console and user can control the content (games, movies, TV shows, music and applications) directly from the screen of the smartphone, selecting the most recent ones or those in the foreground. You can also specify which applications to open in side-by-side (Snap View) or full screen. Players can also see clips recorded with the DVR Game.

From the home you can access the pins, or to favorite content that have been set on the dashboard of the Xbox One. A swipe to the right opens a menu with the sections that allow you to access your account, to the friends list, objectives, choices, messages and settings.

Xbox One live streaming via Twitch

One of the most interesting features of the next-generation consoles is undoubtedly linked to the ability to stream the stages of gameplay of the games. However, Xbox One will not support the streaming of Internet games at debut. This feature will only be available in 2014 and will broadcast live their own games online via Twitch.tv, the famous video streaming platform dedicated to gamers. Microsoft has confirmed that the Twitch live streaming mechanic will be added to the Xbox One in the first part of 2014.

Through Twitch, Xbox One owners will be able to share gameplay videos via the built-in DVR on Xbox Live, or upload them to SkyDrive, from where they can be transferred to other video services.

Photo and video sharing on SkyDrive

The version on the Xbox One supports some unique features, including integration with OneGuide and Kinect via SkyDrive. To access to your storage space, you simply says the voice command “Xbox, go to SkyDrive.” In a few seconds, the Xbox One application opens and the user can browse photos and play videos on TV screen. The controller console lets you browse, select the photo and start a slideshow.

The Xbox One is an entertainment device all-in-one, then you can find various contents using the OneGuide, which lists the programming of TV-channels, video-on-demand app, and even photos and videos SkyDrive. The service automatically adds the Pictures and Roll, but you can add any folder that will be represented as a channel.

 Contributing authors: Saroj Kar, Kyt Dotson