Xbox 360 owners who signed up to check out the preview update of the long awaited new update to the game console's Dashboard user interface can now get started. Microsoft released the update for the new UI today. This will be the third version of the Xbox 360's user interface since Microsoft launched the console back in 2005.
The new Xbox Dashboard has a tile-themed UI similar to what Microsoft make for its Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system. It also resembles the Metro look of the upcoming Windows 8 operating system.
The new update adds more support for Microsoft's Kinect motion controller camera. Kinect's voice recognition feature allows users to navigate though the new user interface or you can simply move and wave your hand to interact with the new dashboard. Yet another new feature is a new Bing-based search option that will enable users to look up anything available for the Xbox 360 via the controller or with Kinect via the voice feature.
Other new features in the new Dashboard update include players highlighting their various Xbox 360 game achievements and then sharing them via their Facebook or Twitter account. There are also new "beacons" that let players send an open ended invite for friends to play a specific game online.
There's no word yet when the final public version of the Dashboard update will go live, although the safe bet is that it will be made available for all Xbox 360 users sometime in November.
Image via Microsoft
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