Microsoft on Monday announced the release of Xbox SmartGlass on the Amazon Appstore, bringing the app to the Kindle Fire and the Kindle Fire HD devices. If you have either of the tablets, you can now download Xbox SmartGlass directly from Amazon.com.
Since Google Play is not available for the Kindle Fire line, the release means Amazon users can now take advantage of the same Xbox functionalities that other Android users can. As you might expect, the feature list for the app is the same as the Xbox SmartGlass for Android app available on Google Play:
- Use your phone’s keyboard to type to your Xbox 360.
- Play, pause, fast forward, rewind, and stop videos and music on your Xbox 360.
- Enjoy rich, interactive experiences from select game and entertainment content creators.
- Track and compare your achievements with your Xbox friends.
This is almost certainly the exact same app: it is largely the same size, sports the same version number (1.5), and lists the same features. In fact, the company forgot to remove the phrase “Available for most Android 4.0+ smartphones, with WVGA screen resolution or higher.” from the product description, though it did add “Available on Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD.”
For those who don’t know, Amazon uses a forked version of Android on its Kindle Fire devices. Microsoft thus likely had to some minor testing to ensure that the app would work as expected and then submitted it to Amazon for approval.
With today’s release, Smartglass now works on Android, iOS, Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows Phone 8, as well as the Kindle Fire and Kindle HD devices. We’ll keep you posted as these different flavors continue to be updated.
See also – Kindle Fire HD: Amazon working backwards and Microsoft renames Xbox Live iOS app to SmartGlass and adds more console controlling features
Top Image Credit: Robyn Beck/Getty Images
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