More Software: Snap, IE, Bing, And Smartglass
Oh, Snap!
Essentially, Snap is a picture-in-picture mode. It creates a new window that takes up about one-quarter of the screen. In it, you can put a TV feed, video apps like Netflix and Hulu, or Internet Explorer. You can even have a Skype call going without interrupting your gaming or TV session (though the person on the other end might find you annoyingly distracted). Truly, this is where the Xbox One shows off the advantages of converging multiple lifestyle-oriented functions into one device.
Game DVR
The prevalence of social media makes sharing a common feature for this new generation. On Xbox One, the ability to share game clips, which are recorded automatically, is called Game DVR. As you dunk on your friends, throw unbelievable Hail Mary passes, or shoot a hole-in-one, saying "Xbox, record that" brings up the Game DVR with the last 30 seconds of gameplay. You can then edit the video in Upload Studio before sending it off to SkyDrive in a 720p MP4 video format. Get ready for lots of gaming videos on YouTube.
Internet Explorer and Bing
The Xbox One integrates both of these very-Microsoft software brands. They will likely end up being our least-used features, though they're far from useless.
Internet Explorer naturally puts Web browsing on the big screen, which has largely been replaced by a preference for casual browsing on tablets. With Snap, however, this could turn into a perfect way to get a walkthrough or map on-screen for help in a hard-to-beat level.
Bing's search features works through the voice command "Xbox, Bing." Its main purpose isn't navigating the Internet, though. Rather, it searches content available to the Xbox One. Say "Xbox, Bing, show me movies with Zachary Quinto" or "show me movie comedies from the 80s", and you receive hits from Xbox Video and other sources, such as Netflix and Hulu. Bing searches scan through games, TV shows, movies, and music.
Smartglass
The Xbox One Smartglass app promises to act like a second screen. Game developers can take advantage of it to display game info or even have direct input into the game. For example, in Dead Rising 3, Smartglass turns your mobile device into the in-game phone that's used to interact with characters. Or, it can be used to call in an airstrike.
