On Xbox One, SkyDrive Will Put On A Show With Your Stored Videos And Photos

Today Microsoft announced that SkyDrive, its online file storage product, will display user photo and video content onto their televisions via the new Xbox One console in a more attractive fashion than on the preceding Xbox 360 devices.

SkyDrive already has a presence on the Xbox ecosystem, with an application that did allow for the viewing of photos and the like on the current Xbox 360. On the Xbox One, Microsoft is lashing the SkyDrive ecosystem more closely to the new console, better uniting one of its most popular services – SkyDrive has over 250 million users – with its new device.

Previously, the SkyDrive experience was basic on Xbox. The new app will allow for deep zooming into high-res photos, so that you can get as far into an image as you want. And, of course, you can ‘snap’ SkyDrive inside of Xbox One to allow for two apps to be run at the same time, as with Windows 8.1. Also, new slideshow options have been added to prevent an overload of what the company name-checks as “the Ken Burns effect.”

The update is small, but matters as it again underscores how Microsoft is aligning its consumer experiences. This improved integration, by the way, is another example of why Microsoft might not want to sell the Xbox unit – it’s part of its larger services and devices play that is so important to the company’s business model.

Top Image Credit: Flickr