According to an Xbit Labs report, the popular Xbox 360 console will be getting an external Blu-ray disc drive, and "soon."
The report says that Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology Corp. has been contracted by Microsoft to begin manufacturing the drive and that it will sell for the cheap price of $100-150 USD, in an effort to stay competitive with the Sony PlayStation 3, which has a built-in Blu-ray drive.
Of course this isn't the first time that we have heard of Xbox 360 Blu-ray rumors but it is the first since June.
Microsoft did not comment on the report and has always maintained that their business model was geared towards digital downloads.
Source: www.afterdawn.com
Saturday 11 October 2008
"New Xbox Experience" coming November 19th
Microsoft VP John Schappert has confirmed today at the Tokyo Game Show event that the Xbox 360 "New Xbox Experience (NXE)" dashboard revamp is coming on November 19th to 26 countries and in 19 languages.
The NXE will completely transform the intrerface of your console but the biggest change is the move to cover flow-esque navigation, working the same way Vista's Aero task switcher does. From there you can cycle through various channels (avatars, demos, new movies, Netflix, etc) and it appears there will be an expansion of channels, from the current 5.
NXE will certainly include Netflix support with the ability to stream over 15,000 movies, concerts and TV shows to your 360. You can also "stream the movie with up to seven other consoles in a 'party' you can also haul around the dashboard, in and out of movies or games."
The NXE also adds Mii-like avatars where gamers can customize a character to look like them (or anyone else) including the face, hair, body and clothing and accessories.
More notably, NXE will give you the ability to copy your retail purchased game to the hard drive, which slows down load times and also saves your drive's laser in the long run.
NXE officially adds 16:10 plus 1440x900 and 1680x1050 widescreen VGA and HDMI support. Fans should applaud this as it will remove most black formatting bars and will offer high resolutions for VGA and HDMI users.
The new interface update will also include a new channel called "Xbox Live Primetime" which is basically a party game (think GSN) channel for XBL members.
Source: www.afterdawn.com
The NXE will completely transform the intrerface of your console but the biggest change is the move to cover flow-esque navigation, working the same way Vista's Aero task switcher does. From there you can cycle through various channels (avatars, demos, new movies, Netflix, etc) and it appears there will be an expansion of channels, from the current 5.
NXE will certainly include Netflix support with the ability to stream over 15,000 movies, concerts and TV shows to your 360. You can also "stream the movie with up to seven other consoles in a 'party' you can also haul around the dashboard, in and out of movies or games."
The NXE also adds Mii-like avatars where gamers can customize a character to look like them (or anyone else) including the face, hair, body and clothing and accessories.
More notably, NXE will give you the ability to copy your retail purchased game to the hard drive, which slows down load times and also saves your drive's laser in the long run.
NXE officially adds 16:10 plus 1440x900 and 1680x1050 widescreen VGA and HDMI support. Fans should applaud this as it will remove most black formatting bars and will offer high resolutions for VGA and HDMI users.
The new interface update will also include a new channel called "Xbox Live Primetime" which is basically a party game (think GSN) channel for XBL members.
Source: www.afterdawn.com
Jasper-equipped Xbox 360s arrive, manufacturing date, lot and team details revealed
According to the Xbox 360 DVD Drive Database, it appears Xbox 360s outfitted with the much-anticipated Jasper chipset have finally started showing up in stores and at online retailers.
The key things to look for when buying a new Xbox 360 with the Jasper chipset is a manufacturing date (MFR) as early as 2008-08-06, Lot 8031 and up, and Team CSON. (You may have to bribe your local GameSpot salesperson to poke his or her finger through the serial number window of 360 box to inspect the manufacturing date.)
For those unfamiliar with why Jasper’s such a big deal, the chipset features 65nm (nanometers) GPU and CPU chips that require less power and are expected to offer cooler, quieter operation - and consequently fewer RRoD (Red Ring of Death) failures.
Source: http://joeygadget.com
The key things to look for when buying a new Xbox 360 with the Jasper chipset is a manufacturing date (MFR) as early as 2008-08-06, Lot 8031 and up, and Team CSON. (You may have to bribe your local GameSpot salesperson to poke his or her finger through the serial number window of 360 box to inspect the manufacturing date.)
For those unfamiliar with why Jasper’s such a big deal, the chipset features 65nm (nanometers) GPU and CPU chips that require less power and are expected to offer cooler, quieter operation - and consequently fewer RRoD (Red Ring of Death) failures.
Source: http://joeygadget.com
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