I stumbled on a sweet way to use your XBox 360 controller to play Xoom games with NO WIRES.

There are a couple gotchas, and you need a few things which I will cover below, but first I want to tell this method is sweet and the required hardware can be used for both PC and Mac as well.  It is truly easy to setup, and if you’re wondering my Xoom is NOT rooted so there is nothing funky going down here.  The OTG USB conversion cable is cheap, and it is a very nice experience to use the XBox 360 controller. Another funky little secret is that the Xoom will actually CHARGE your controller too, a sweet little touch of tech badassness.

MY METHOD WITH THE WIRELESS XBOX USB RECEIVER

What’s different about my method is that my controller connection is wireless. As you should know, Microsoft’s XBox does NOT use bluetooth. That’s why you can’t connect a bluetooth headset like you can with the PS3! I purchased the XBox wireless receiver years ago so I could use my controller for PC games. The reason this approach is unique, and the reason I recommend it is because you can use this device multipurpose. For your Xoom ( or other Android 3.1+ tablet ) AND your PC or Mac! Get the point? I was amazed when I plugged in the wireless receiver, pushed the connection button on both it and the XBox controller and BAM they sync’d fast and I was using this setup totally quick. I was expecting a long night of screwing around with hardware, but the magic happened easily and in only a few minutes.

I have both XBox and a PS3, but I know many of our readers don’t so I definitely felt it was important to test every controller I could get my Booya hands on. And I hope it makes you happy because it works great !

THE EXACT PRODUCT I HAVE –>Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows

THE ‘OTG CABLE’ AND COMPATIBLE GAMES(Emulators)

This costs a few bucks and works great for my PS3 Controller to drive the Xoom

• Amazon Prime micro USB to USB Female Cable USB-OTG purchase options (better choice than ebay Now)
• EBAY: micro USB to USB Female Cable USB-OTG N900

At the time of this article, this setup only works for select games like Cordy-Google Play Store and mainly ALL the old-school gaming emulators. Yes, because you can map controller configurations, this works for Nintendo Emulators(like Nesoid), Super Nintendo(Snes9X), Playstation 1(FPSE), and even Atari( Ataroid ).

Much of this ability comes from the Android 3.1 Update for your Android Tablet. So, while this entire article is focused on the Motorola Xoom, I am confident that it will work on other tablets! So far, I can use a WiiMote, Ps3 controller, and XBox 360 Controller to drive my beloved tablet. I assure this works great.

If you noticed, this is a short article.. That’s because this is an easy project !  Get the OTA cable for  a few bucks(long international shipping time), buy the Wireless XBox Receiver( totally multi purpose), and install your favorite emulators from the Android Market ( or apk searches off google ) and the last step is to open your emulator and MAP YOUR KEYS when your PS3 Controller is plugged in. Booya!

VIEW A FEW MORE PICS OF THIS XBOX-ANDROID PROJECT ON OUR FLICKR PAGE HERE

Video Demonstration and Walkthru using the Microsoft XBox 360 Controller on my Xoom