Xbox 360 250GB

Chalk up more hours of fun
by Trevor Tan
05:55 AM Jul 16, 2010

Will you believe it? The Microsoft Xbox 360 game console has been around for five years! And it's about time we get an update.

To be launched this Sunday in Singapore, the new console - known simply as the Xbox 360 250GB - is 15 per cent smaller than its predecessor. It sports a slim, glossy black shell with a sleek chrome finishing lining the top and bottom rims. The glossy surface, however, proves to be a magnet for fingerprints and smudges. Have a fibre cloth ready.

The processing power remains the same but you now get built-in 802.11n WiFi, two more USB ports than the original three, touch capacitive power and eject buttons, a custom Kinect port and a removable 250GB hard drive. With built-in WiFi, you can place the console anywhere in your home and connect to Xbox Live without the need for a WiFi adaptor.

The touch capacitive buttons are particularly cool. Lightly press the power button and it powers up immediately. When you touch the eject button, the console will beep before the disc tray opens to ensure you don't get hit by it.

The custom Kinect port allows you to hook up to the Kinect motion sensor (available in November) with only one cable. You will need an additional power supply cable if you connect Kinect to the previous console.

The larger hard drive capacity of 250GB will come in handy when you pack in more games, downloadable content, movies and music. But you will need a 16GB thumbdrive to transfer stuff like saved games and profiles from your old console.

The best thing about the new console is its quiet operation. There is only one large cooling fan on top to suck out the air, and this also improves ventilation and prevents the "red ring of death". In fact, on this console, a blinking red light on the power button means it has insufficient ventilation and the console will shut down automatically.

The standard Xbox 360 250GB package ($499) includes the console, wireless controller, wired headset and AV composite cable. Given the popularity of HDTV these days, I thought an extra HDMI cable should have been bundled. TREVOR TAN

http://www.todayonline.com/Tech/Gaming/EDC100716-0000054/Chalk-up-more-hours-of-fun