Hasta La Gadget!

And if you’ve preordered your shiny new Xbox 360 but have a older unit at home, you’re going to need a little something to move those profiles, avatars and game licenses over. Should you have an Elite (or if you’ve upgraded your hard drive) you might find the cable you need between your couch cushions, but on the off-chance your Xbox 360 Hard Drive Data Migration Transfer Kit hit the dumpster long ago, you’re not entirely out of luck. The one-way, single-use device will retail soon for $20, a mere $5 more than what it costs at the Microsoft Store — or $19 more than used cables fetch on eBay.

Xbox 360 Arcade to eventually be replaced by $199 new Xbox 360; data transfer cable will be $20 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 23:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve unboxed our first 250GB Xbox 360 (the Xbox 360 ‘Slim’ to the layman) and we’ve gotta tell you: it felt good. Stand by for more shots.

Update: Here they are, we’ve got video on the way as well. Here are some initial thoughts:

• The touch sensitive buttons quickly asserted themselves as not-the-best-thing-ever when we were unable to tell if we’d turned the Xbox on under the bright lights of Microsoft’s setup. We’re sure we’d see the green glow easily in our dark entertainment center at home, but it’s a small little inconvenience — one that PS3 owners are well aware of.
• The touch sensitive eject button isn’t so bad, because the tray seems uber fast — we didn’t clock it, but we’d say it pops out faster than our existing Xbox.
• The Xbox feels just about as heavy as the existing Xbox, although the power adapter is smaller and much lighter.
• We booted up Alan Wake and while we were in a relatively loud room, we didn’t find the Xbox to be loud at all. We’ll have to get it in the labs to see how it stacks up with the original, but Microsoft obviously had noise pollution in its sights here. They worked directly with the drive manufacturer to reduce every source of noise (including air turbulence!), and dub their accomplishment “whisper quiet.”
• This is a personal opinion, but we think it looks pretty badass in person, though not at all a wild shift from the existing look.

Update 2: We’ve got video after the break! It’s very exciting, we assure you.

Continue reading Xbox 360 250GB first unboxing!

Xbox 360 250GB first unboxing! originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft has always said Kinect will work with every Xbox 360, but the new black Xbox has a special trick move — that ExtUSB-ish port marked Aux up there is actually a special Kinect port that handles both data and power for the new motion control system. That means you’ll only need one cord to set up a new Xbox + Kinect system, while Xbox 360 original owners will have to connect over USB and plug in a separate power cord for the Kinect unit. And now you know.

Update: We just spent some quality time with the Stealthbox in person, and the real port is a tiny little bit different — it’s got an orange line above it. Check it below.

Continue reading The new Xbox 360 Kinect port, up close

The new Xbox 360 Kinect port, up close originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At first we were doubtful that a edgy box appearing in a little Flash ad from Italy last night could be legit, but Microsoft just got real with the new Xbox 360. (That’s all it’s officially called — just “the new Xbox 360.”) It’ll launch today priced for $299, while the old Elite will stick around for $249 and the Arcade will drop to $149. The new box is crazy sexy in glossy black with touch-sensitive buttons, and Microsoft says it’s “whisper quiet,” with one large fan instead of two — the new 45nm chipset undoubtedly generates less heat to begin with. On the features front, it’s got integrated 2.4GHz 802.11n WiFi, five USB ports, and 250GB of storage on a removable hard drive, although it’s not a standard drive or same drive as the old console, and older Memory Units won’t work, either. Upgraders can use a USB-to-Xbox hard drive connector cable to migrate to the new box, however. There’s also a “custom Kinect port” on the back that looks like an HTC-style ExtUSB port, and it also seems like the power supply has moved inside the case, which is a welcome change. New Xbox 360 units are shipping to retailers now, with availability expected later this week, and MS conference attendees are actually getting theirs shipped today.

If you’re in Europe, don’t fret, as yours is coming soon. Microsoft’s official Xbox Twitter account has confirmed the console hits there on July 16.

Update: We just got the official fact sheet, check it after the break. Oh, and we’re calling it the “Stealthbox” to keep all the models straight. It just feels right, you know?

Update 2: According to a Microsoft representative, the Xbox 360 Original will still be sold while there’s stock, but they’re not making any more of them. Once they’re gone, they’re gone — and we’d assume a new $199 variant of the new design will eventually be released to fill the void.

Continue reading New Xbox 360 gets official at $299, shipping today, looks angular and ominous (video hands-on!)

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New Xbox 360 gets official at $299, shipping today, looks angular and ominous (video hands-on!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft didn’t say a peep about Kinect pricing at its E3 keynote, but GameStop isn’t being shy: Kinect is now listed on the retailer’s website for $149.99. The page is dead if you try to click through from search results, so it looks like the listing may have gone up in error — we’ll see if this is the real price come November 4. We’ll let you know if we can confirm anything.

Update: And the hits keep coming: GameStop is now listing a $299 “Arcade Bundle” which obviously pairs a $149 Kinect with the now-$149 Arcade, as well as a $399 Elite bundle that seems to pair a $149 Kinect with the older Elite, which is now $249. So where’s the bundle with the hot new 250GB Stealthbox? And are these the real prices? We’ll have to wait and see.

Kinect priced at GameStop: $149, $399 for Elite bundle originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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