It's been a busy year for the folks up in Redmond, and Microsoft is gearing up for its upcoming Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 releases at the end of the month by announcing the new Xbox Music.
Microsoft has announced that Xbox Music will launch on Tuesday, October 16 with a debut on the Xbox 360, followed by the availability of Windows 8 on October 26.
"The all-in-one music service combines the best aspects of free-streaming radio, music subscription services and music purchasing options, all in one elegant package," explains Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business Marketing and Strategy in a blog post on Monday. "No longer do people have to rely on 'service hopping' to get the music they love."
Xbox Music claims to have "the largest music catalog of all music services" with 30 million songs, enabling users to listen to music in whatever way -- and on whatever device -- they choose.
Well, as long as you're not using Windows Phone 7 or Windows 7, that is. The Verge is reporting that those Microsoft platforms will not be included in the Xbox Music launch, but will continue to be offered the existing Zune experience.
Two platforms that will be getting an Xbox Music app are iOS and Android, although program manager Scott Porter used the term "eventually" when discussing those options, so there's no telling when that might be.
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