The new Xbox 360 – the glossiest addition to the home entertainment market

by Colin Hilder  |  June 30, 2010

Just a few hours after the official presentation of the new Kinect controller (previous known as Project Natal), Microsoft revealed during the show at E3 2010, the newest, slimmest and elegant Xbox 360.

The new Xbox 360 is much glossier and much fancier than the previous models. The matte colored exterior has been replaced by a shinny and smooth black exterior. The "Power" button from previous models had to be physically pressed, but now the new Xbox 360 has a sensitive touch button, which only needs to be touched and the gaming can begin. This touch button is also accompanied by a sound that announces that you managed to successfully start the gaming console.

The new gaming console is smaller with 1 up to 2 inches than the original, not much if you think in terms of inches, but if you refer to appearance the new Xbox 360, for sure is more compact. The newest Xbox 360 has a 250GB internal hard drive, which is now placed inside the console, while in the original Xbox 360 the hard drive was placed on the side. Don't worry the hard drive is still removable, but unfortunately it is not compatible with previous versions of the gaming console. If you want to transfer the existing data from an older hard drive to the new one, you can do that with a cable which you will have to buy at a price around $30.

If we are speaking about internal components, we have to mention that the new Xbox 360 has a new 45-nanometer chip by Valhalla, which has an integrated CPU and GPU for a quieter operation. The new Xbox 360 is consuming less power and runs cooler than it's predecessors, part because of the new chip from Valhalla, and part due to the redesigned and more efficient unit (the previous models had two fans, while the new Xbox 360 has only one fan).

The biggest from the biggest improvements made, is the fact that Microsoft decided to include 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity to the gaming console. As you all know, for the original Xbox 360 you had to buy an additional accessory (Network Adapter) to connect it on wireless, which added $80 to the price tag of the gaming console.

The new 360 features 5 USB ports, two on the front and three on the back, and a AUX port, specially designed for the Kinect (the new motion device from Microsoft). Of course, the new 360 has a HDMI exit, an Ethernet out and an upgraded digital audio port which accepts TOSLINK S/PIF optical input.

If until now I have said good things about the new Xbox 360, now I have to mention the bad thing about the new 360 (in my opinion!): it doesn't have a built-in Blu-Ray player! But if you are not into Blu-rays, the new Xbox 360 will not disappoint you.

The new Xbox 360 is available in retail store with a price tag of $300.

If you want to see the official presentation of the new Xbox 360 from E3 here you have it! Enjoy!

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