Microsoft’s new SmartGlass technology was met with a collective “meh” at the company’s big E3 press conference. The technology is what Microsoft hopes will make the Xbox the heart of customers’ media center. It works to display relevant information on smartphones and tablets about what is on the TV screen. The best use of the technology that has been shown so far is a nifty map of Westeros that shows where the characters in HBO’s Game of Thrones series are located.

While neat, Microsoft’s demonstrations of SmartGlass are not the revolutionary interactive experiences the company is touting them as. To get truly creative apps and content, third-party developers are going to have to come to the rescue. Microsoft knows this, and today has released the Xbox SmartGlass Software Development Kit (SDK). The SDK is available for free to developers who have agreements with Microsoft for Xbox 360 development. The Kit contains the Xbox SmartGlass JavaScript library that includes device APIs, a bit of sample code, and the Xbox SmartGlass Studio, where developers can build their SmartGlass “Activities.” Developers can log into the SDK through developer.xboxlive.com.

Microsoft is hoping to release SmartGlass to Xbox 360s this fall, alongside Windows 8, its Surface tablets, and Windows Phone 8 (all of which will, presumably, be able to interact through SmartGlass). Hopefully that will be enough time for developers to create some truly innovative applications for the SmartGlass technology. If Microsoft can manage to pull all of its new devices and software together successfully using SmartGlass, this holiday season just might be remembered as the moment Microsoft made its big comeback.