One of the first things you will notice about the new update is a few new sections have been added to the dashboard, My Community and Music Marketplace. These new sections are home to most of the changes, although there are a few other changes elsewhere which we will cover a bit later.

 

 

The socialites amongst you will no doubt head to the My Community section first of all as this plays host to the new Facebook and Twitter applications. When selecting the Facebook app for the first time you will be asked to install the software, this takes a matter of seconds though and once complete the app loads up and Facebook in a Xbox Live style takes over your screen.

 

The Facebook application takes the form of your dashboard, therefore new comments each have a different box which you can flick between, and delving into these further will allow you to view that persons prolife, leave comments, vote if you like what they had to say and even view their Xbox Live profile, which is obviously handy if you want to add your Facebook friends on Live but didn’t previously know their gamertag. Outside of the comment section you can also scroll up and down, revealing menus such as Photos, which lets you view your own and friends photos in full screen while also allowing you to scroll between them just like you can with the Xbox 360’s very own photo viewer. The friends menu meanwhile allows you to view everyone’s profile and you also can also view your own profile in the dedicated section for this. The Facebook application is excellent and offers just about everything you would get were you using it on the internet , the app is also very sleek and easy to use, impressing me more than I thought it would.

 

Also in the My Community section is the Twitter app, again you will have to install this which takes a few seconds, then once loaded you simply enter in your account information and Twitter will appear. This app is slightly simpler than the Facebook app given Twitters more minimalist nature, however it is still full of all the functions you would except allowing you to easily update your status, view friends, reply, add and block users. You can also view trending topics, search and do pretty much everything else. My only real disappointment with this app is that unless you are in it you can’t twit. Therefore there will be no twitting during a game or while you are watching a movie, however perhaps this is something that will come at a later date.

 

One of the other main additions to the dashboard is the Music Marketplace section, here you are able to get easy access to music for all your favorites such as Lips, Rock Band and Guitar Hero. The main addition in this section however is the Last FM app. Once you have installed and set up an account you will then be able to listen to music from your favorite band via their channel. There are literally hundreds of artists available for you to listen to and selecting one will not only play their music, but also music from similar bands. When a song is playing you are able to view photos of that artist, view their profile and even view similar artists. Other options within the app allow you to go straight to your recently listened to stations, start a new station by typing in an artist name, listen to gaming stations and also view your library which will eventually build up with your favorite music.

 

The final addition in this update is the Zune Video Marketplace, this is basically a new face for the current one however it now allows you to stream movies rather than waiting on them to download. There are some other bonuses to the Zune Marketplace as you can create parties and watch movies with friends, although we have been unable to test this as yet.

 

This latest update seems a very substantial one and will no doubt help add to the social experience that is Xbox Live. I have no doubt people will be very pleased and given that we have been told that there are a few other surprises on the way before the official launch this could be a very popular update indeed.