My Xbox Live For iOS: Seamless Mobile Access

Microsoft Sunday released its official Xbox Live app for iOS, My Xbox Live. The application gives Xbox 360 owners with iOS devices access to their Xbox Live account from their iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

Click here to see an images from the My Xbox Live app.

The app's dashboard works very much like that of your Xbox in the sense that you can watch videos for upcoming games, check your messages, or see which friends are currently online and what games they are playing. You can add and accept friend requests on the go, which is always nicer than having to jot down someone else's Gamertag in hopes that you don't lose it.

Perhaps most notable, however, is the interface, which takes a direct cue from the look that Microsoft has been striving for this past year. It's clean, and reminds us of the interfaces we see on Microsoft's other operating systems, such as Windows Phone and Windows 8. This is especially apparent on the iPad version, which features that tiled look we see in Microsoft's newer user interfaces.

If anything, this app goes beyond just being a way to check your Xbox Live account with your iPhone or iPad. It shows just how important the Xbox platform has become to Microsoft.

Meanwhile, the interface is all part of Microsoft's plan to create an ecosystem reaching between mobile, desktop, and set-top boxes and consoles, much like Apple is doing with iOS and the Mac OS platforms. Your Xbox now integrates with your iPhone to some extent, just as your Windows Phone does and one day Windows 8. We're seeing a crossover of these devices and I only expect them to become further integrated.