Microsoft has started to roll out the official release of the update to Xbox LIVE subscribers around the world.
To ensure a stable release, Microsoft will gradually make available the new dashboard across subscribers and regions over the course of the next week. The company's initial deployment will reach approximately three million consoles worldwide, with additional users being updated over the course of a couple weeks.
The new Xbox 360 Dashboard has an updated the UI with a few things, including an updated layout with more tiles, a combined TV & Movies channel and, in the US, a Sports destination. It offers
Internet Explorer on Xbox, allowing users to find and view internet content on the biggest screen in the house, including HTML5 videos.
Recommendations will allow users to discover new favorites, generated based on a number of variables including the content they previously viewed, what their friends are consuming and what is most relevant and popular with Xbox community.
Pinning lets users personalize the dashboard by saving their favorite movies, TV shows, games, music, videos and websites right to the home screen.
Formerly called Zune Video Marketplace, the new Xbox Video offers thousands of TV shows and movies for buying or renting in instant HD streaming.
Microsoft has also updated the 'Quick Play' option, which is now called 'Recent view' and gives users a list of movies, games, apps or other types of content that they most recently accessed on the console.
The last Xbox LIVE update also brings Bing voice search, along with genre search options.
In additiom Microsoft expanded its Kinect voice search capabilities to 9 new countries - Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Ireland.
Xbox SmartGlass is also coming too, but not until Windows 8 launches on October 26th. When the Xbox SmartGlass app launches on tablets, PCs and smartphones, SmartGlass will include key foundational experiences for interacting with your Xbox 360, such as dashboard and app navigation and Internet Explorer control, like text input, scrolling and pinch and zoom.
Yesterday, Microsoft also announced
Xbox Music, the company's new digital music service. Xbox Music begins rolling out today on Xbox 360, it will launch with free streaming on all Windows 8 PCs and tablets on October 26th and Windows Phone 8 as devices arrive in market.