The Xbox 360 has been through some dashboard updates before, with the New Xbox Experience hitting over 3 years ago. But the latest dashboard update may be the most important, because not only does it change the way the Xbox 360 dashboard works, but it brings the Xbox 360 closer to Microsofts other projects.
The UI, known as Metro, began to appear in an early form on Microsofts products like the Zune and their Media Center, and soon made its way over to the Windows Phone 7. Since then, it has been announced that Windows 8 would be using a Metro inspired user interface, meaning that all of Microsofts flagship products are based around the same user interface design principles.
Loading up the new dashboard, youll immediately see these principles in action. The Metro design is based around clean squares that give you the information you need, and is sorted into nine different categories, ranging from Home to Music. Each category contains anywhere between five to eight visual icons that, when selected, bring up more details on each selection. Each of the categories can be sorted by using the left and right bumper, while the icons themselves can be navigated through using the left joystick.
Another notable change is the focus on a horizontal only UI, meaning that, for the most part, the UI tries to avoid lining up anything in a vertical manner or allowing you to switch hubs or sections by hitting up or down on the joystick. While this helps keep the UI more organized and sensible, it does have its downsides. For instance, if youre viewing titles by an alphabetical letter, using up or down no longer takes you to the next or previous letter in the alphabet. Instead, you have to go back in the menu to the alphabetical sorting screen, select the new letter you want, and view that list. While by no means a major flaw, those used to the old UI may that the new UI can be a bit slower in places.
It is also clear that Microsofts big focus in this dashboard update is ensuring that you see their content and use their services. Their Bing search engine now has a prominent hub beside the Home screen that allows you to use either the controller of Kinect voice command to search for content on the Xbox Marketplace. Saying Xbox Bing [content] brings up all instances of the content on an Xbox Live connected platform, whether it is a game offered through the marketplace, or a video on the Netflix or Zune marketplaces. While typing with the on-screen keyboard using a controller can be a bit on the slow side, if you know what content youre looking for, this new function makes it far easier to find it without going through a dozen screens. This search can also be used in individual sections by hitting the Y button when in a hub, allowing you to such for content in only that specific category.
