Microsoft Details Spring X360 Dashboard Update (May 7th)

[DeeLux]

During the week of May 7 Xbox Live members and users of Windows Live Messenger will be united. 360 users, PC users and users of Windows Mobile devices will all be able to text chat with each other. MS has also created a new Marketplace blade. More within...

Microsoft has today revealed what they have in store for Xbox 360 owners with the next update to the console's dashboard. During the week of May 7 (the same week that Games for Windows Live launches and Halo 2 for Vista hits retail), the company will connect 6 million Xbox Live members with over 260 million Windows Live Messenger users on PCs and Windows Mobile-powered devices. Microsoft says this represents "a network of 20 billion relationships."

Once the free update has been downloaded, 360 users will be able to text chat with Windows Live Messenger friends (up to six at one time) either with an on-screen, virtual keyboard or a USB keyboard. Later in the summer, Microsoft will also start selling a QWERTY text-input device, which will connect directly into the 360 controller to support text and instant messaging. Additionally, the update will unify current Xbox Live friends lists with friends on Windows Live Messenger, and users will be able to see right away if their instant messaging buddies have gamertags.

"Bringing the largest IM community in the world, Windows Live Messenger, to Xbox 360 makes sense, as Xbox Live has really become the largest social network on television," commented Jerry Johnson, product unit manager of Xbox Live at Microsoft. "For our growing community of 6 million on Xbox Live, using Xbox 360 is a very social, connected experience. They are using Xbox 360 to play games, music and movies while simultaneously communicating with one another through video, voice and text chat. With this announcement we are simultaneously expanding the access of Xbox Live users to existing friends and family while introducing Windows Live Messenger users to the benefits of Xbox 360."

The spring dashboard update will also introduce a number of other nice improvements for 360 owners. Here's a rundown of what to expect, straight from the source:

# A richer Achievement notification pop-up will showcase the name of the unlocked Achievement and the gamerscore value without needing to leave the game to check the Achievements list.

# Enhanced family settings features for Xbox Live communications enable different defaults for video chat and voice chat.

# A new Xbox Live Marketplace blade lets Xbox Live members access the content they seek — whether it is game content or TV shows and movies (available in the United States) — from one place on Xbox Live.

# Updates to Xbox Live Arcade allow owners to quickly see which Xbox Live Arcade games their friends are playing and join in the fun. Xbox Live members can also compare progress of leaderboard scores and Achievements directly with all friends on their friends list. Expanded Tell a Friend capabilities make it easier than ever to boast about Achievements and high scores.

# A new option in Auto Downloads provides faster access to the entire collection of free, trial-version Xbox Live Arcade games.

# New progressive download controls provide easy access to optimal viewing options by letting people fast-forward, rewind, pause and resume as their video is downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace.

# Extension of the background download functionality will allow owners to set their Xbox 360 console to turn off automatically after downloads are complete.

[DeeLux]

Another goodie coming out for use with the texting update (and current typed messages)

This is a keyboard attachment for the existing 360 controller:

[Paladin]

reminds me of the jaguar controller