Windows Phone app offers Xbox Live control
Free app allows users to browser Xbox Live Marketplace content and control playback
Microsoft is developing a Windows Phone app that lets users navigate and control content on the Xbox Live Marketplace.
The Xbox Companion App is shown in a video demonstrating the new TV services launching on Xbox Live this year. It allows Windows Phone users to integrate their handsets with Xbox Live.
A post on the Windows Team Blog explains that the app will be able to browse the Marketplace, access information about a given film, TV show or song, and even link seamlessly to related items - "It's an infinite road of interactive content," the post reads.
Once content has been selected the handset becomes a substitute for a control-pad or a remote-control, offering "virtually instantaneous" response times.
No release date for the Xbox Companion App has been set, but it will be free to Windows Phone users.
Today, Microsoft announced dozens of content deals with international media providers to bring free and paid content to Xbox Live, including the BBC, Sky, Lovefilm, and Canal+.
Earlier this week, Microsoft ceased production of its Zune portable media players, making Windows Mobile the sole focus of the company's mobile hardware and content strategy.