Microsoft Xbox 360 S 4 GB Matte Black Console (NTSC)

Xbox 360® 4GB Console

Xbox 360® has blockbuster games, HD movies and controller-free fun for everyone
Built-in Wi-Fi for easy connection to Xbox LIVE®
Super quiet with sleek new design plus matching controller
Ready for the controller-free fun of Kinect
Product Description
The new Xbox 360® 4GB Console. Here today, ready for tomorrow with a brand new, leaner machine. Wi-Fi is built-in for easier connection to the world of entertainment on Xbox LIVE, where HD movies and TV stream in an instant. It’s ready for the controller-free experiences of Kinect – you don’t just play the game, you are the game. Xbox 360 is more games, entertainment and fun.

What’s In The Box?
Xbox 360 4GB S Console
Xbox 360 Black Wireless Controller
Xbox 360 Composite A/V cable (standard definition)
One Month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership
1 year limited warranty on console
Product Features

Built-in Wi-Fi: The new Xbox 360 is the only console with 802.11n Wi-Fi built-in for a faster and easier connection to Xbox LIVE. Stream HD movies and TV or download games from Xbox LIVE in 1080p and 5.1 surround sound from anywhere in the house. Compatible with b/g/n networks.

Xbox LIVE: Xbox LIVE brings a world of entertainment to you. Instantly watch movies and TV streaming from Netflix. In crystal-clear HD, or download game add-ons like new levels, characters, maps and songs. Easily jump right into online multiplayer fun and play along with friends around the world. Plus, get your favorite music from Last.fm, connect with friends on Facebook® and post Tweets on Twitter. Xbox LIVE is your connection to more games, entertainment and fun.

Kinect Ready: Featuring a dedicated, specialized port, the Xbox 360 4GB is built to connect seamlessly with the Kinect Sensor. Kinect brings games and entertainment to life in extraordinary new ways – no controller required. Easy to use and instantly fun, Kinect gets everyone off the couch moving, laughing and cheering. See a ball? Kick it. Want to join a friend in the fun? Simply jump in. Even control an HD movie with a wave of your hand.

Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (black): This award-winning, high-performance wireless controller features a range of up to 30 feet and a battery life of up to 30 hours on two AA batteries.

More ports: Connect more accessories and storage solutions with added USB ports. Now with a total of 5, (3 back/2 front) you’ll find more places to plug and play. Plus, in addition to the standard Ethernet port and HDMI output, we’ve added an integrated optical audio out port for an easier connection to the booming sound of your A/V receiver.

Attach Recommendations
Kinect Sensor
Xbox 360 250GB S Hard Drive
Xbox LIVE Gold 12 month card
Microsoft 1600 Points Card
* Kinect sensor and supported games coming November 2010. Microsoft Points required to purchase games, add-ons and media content (sold separately). Instant on HD in full 1080p available with select videos; requires HDMI cable, HDCP compliant 1080p display, minimum 4 mbps broadband speed. Xbox LIVE Gold membership and Netflix unlimited membership required to instantly watch movies streaming from Netflix. See Netflix Terms of Use for details about Netflix service. Xbox LIVE Gold membership required for online multiplayer, video chat, Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm. Xbox LIVE Gold membership and Zune Pass subscription required for Zune Pass. Broadband internet required.

The xbox 360 slim with 4 GB. is what the original arcade version should have been, and is definitely worth its $200 price tag.
10 new features of this model are:
1. New Valhalla chip - hopefully improved design to prevent RRoD issue, but tech. reviews noted that the Jasper chip in the older Elite model runs cooler
2. WiFi N - this is the newest wifi standard that is 12X faster (up to 600 Mbits/ sec) than wifi G; you'll need a Wifi N router to get the max. speed
3. digital optical audio port (if your sound system is separate from your TV, then you'll need this to get full 5.1 surround sound)
4. 4 GB of flash memory (although 1.1 GB is used by the game system, but 0.3 GB can be reclaimed by deleting 4 game demos)
5. 5 USB ports (2 in front & 3 in back)
6. slimmer design with side vents (to prevent overheating)
7. dedicated Kinect port (just a convenience feature)
8. only 1 year of warranty (the only negative; older Elite models had 3 yrs.)
9. USB flash drive support (this was a xbox software update released in April 2010)
10. ESPN video streaming (will be included if you are a Gold member, $50/ yr.; should be available about Dec. 2010)

Slim 4 GB vs. 250 GB hard drive:
I bought the 4 GB system over the model with 250 GB hard drive because the xbox now supports game saves/ installs/ downloads and pic/ audio/ video downloads to USB flash drives. It supports 1-2 USB flash drives with 1-16 GB memory (using a 16 GB drive, 1.6 GB is used for formatting). Saving games and media to the USB drives is recommended since loading games and media will be much faster (reading memory is faster than reading hard drive) and more reliable (flash memory rarely fails, unlike hard drives); even the xbox live director recommended using USB drives for storage. If you have such a huge appetite for videos downloads and game demos that 32 GB can not accomodate, then you can always upgrade later with the 250 GB hard drive that will be sold in November; note that the older xbox hard drives are NOT compatible with the slim models. Installing xbox 360 games and game demos on the flash drives is no problem; xbox will ask you which drive to install the game. However, I can not verify if you can install older xbox games like Halo on the flash drive. The only xbox game I have is Halo 2, which does not install on flash. This problem may be specific to Halo 2 because even xbox live does not have Halo 2 for sale, which means Halo 2 is not supported without a xbox hard drive. I'm suspecting that any older games listed on xbox live is enabled for flash installation, but if they're not listed then you'll need a xbox hard drive. This is annoying but not a big issue since there are only a few older xbox games that you may want to play.

XBOX vs. PS3:
I am originally a PS3 and Wii gamer, but finally bought the xbox when the slim 4 GB model was released. To be competitive with the PS3, the xbox had to have the built-in wifi, optical audio port, and USB flash drive support. I was deciding whether to buy another PS3 for $300 since many games require 2 consoles for coop and multiplayer gaming, regardless of what system you choose. With this xbox priced at $200, I decided to choose the xbox since it has better coop games, more online gaming, and their video library blows away the PS3 online videos. However, Netflix on xbox requires gold membership and starting a movie is a lot slower than the PS3 eventhough the xbox has faster wifi. Xbox music and music videos library needs to expand to

Great console with great games and great apps. You can rent movies, watch dvds, play tons of different games and even get on facebook and talk with your friends. With kinect you can do even more!

After hearing about the features of the "Slim" revision of the Xbox 360, I figured I'd go ahead and buy the 4GB Matte Xbox 360. The revision touts a quieter fan, a smaller size, integrated Wifi, and touch activated controls.

The fan, first of all, is indeed an improvement. They reduced the fan noise from the jet turbine-like sound of the original model to a gentle hum in the updated model. Compared to the original Xbox 360, it's about 10-15% smaller in height.

The integrated Wi-Fi is a plus and a much needed feature, so thankfully there's no more proprietary accessories to buy or jimmy-rigging a shared internet connection with a laptop.

Touch activated controls are neat but slightly annoying. If you are reaching around the console, you'll find that your forearm can accidentally turn on the console or eject the tray.

It probably depends on the game, but you'll find that the DVD drive is rather loud when it is spinning the disc at the fastest speeds. It can be made worse if the console exterior vibrates with the DVD drive, which creates extra noise, thus making it as loud as the old model. This can be averted if you install games to a hard drive, which brings me to another point.

To save money, I hooked up a WD2500BEVS hard drive inside (after modifying the HDD firmware with "hddhackr") so I can have plenty of space to install games and not have to deal with the DVD noise. Luckily, you don't need a proprietary enclosure for the hard drive, as the bare drive directly hooks into a standard SATA connector in the bottom of the system. If you are worried about the HDD wobbling, you can buy a replacement enclosure caddy (for really cheap) to hold it still, if it eases your mind.

One thing to note is that the internal hardware is exactly the same as the old Xbox 360. There is NO technical speed difference in the components. I compared this head-to-head with my old Xbox. My guess is to keep the price low for manufacture by continuing to use the same components from 2005, keep game development/compatibility constant, and keep multiplayer on Xbox Live fair.

My controller didn't have the special DPAD thing where you can lower the diagonal parts, so it's pretty much the exact same controller. Word of advice, buy a rechargeable battery pack immediately so you don't need to constantly replace batteries. Also, if you like less cable clutter, buy a cheap HDMI cable, it supplies both great sound and the better HD video output than Component or VGA.

Overall, if you want a quieter and slimmer system, then by all means sell your old Xbox 360 and go for this model. If you don't care much about the fan noise and just want to play your Xbox vidya, don't bother upgrading.

I bought this product to compare it to my Playstation 3. Now, both consoles are identical in price ($299) if you actually plan to use your console to download games, updates, movies, etc.

Here are some of my field notes:

Graphics are similar when using an HDMI cable.

Controller is much easier to use on the PS3 - more compact and smaller. You need to either buy a rechargeable battery pack for each controller ($15) or buy batteries when you use your Xbox 360 controller. With PS3, you just plug one end of a wire into your PS3, and one into your controller. In 20 minutes, you have a fully-charged controller.

Buttons are "stickier" on Xbox 360 controller.

The design on the Xbox 360 has a huge edge to that of the PS3. It's small and square, and has 2 USB ports on the front and 3 in the back. PS3 only has two in the front.

Buttons on the [console] 360 are way to sensitive. I've hit the power button and disc eject button so many times just by leaning over the console (even just my shirt touching it, it's that sensitive!)

The UI of Xbox is better. Bright colors (white and green mostly) and relaxing noises (I know) when you arrow to the left or right. However, the Xbox Live Marketplace is a pain in the backside to navigate. There's no search bar like there is on the Playstation Store.

Here is the one massive edge PS3 has over Xbox -

ONLINE.

Playstation Network is 100% FREE. Xbox live costs $50-60 a year. I can assure you Xbox Live and Playstation Network are nearly identical, except Playstation is more internet based, so you can browse the web, etc. You cannot do this on Xbox. This is what really made me like my PS3 more...If I want to use Netflix or Hulu Plus, you have you shell out $50 a year IN ADDITION TO your Netflix/Hulu subscription costs. It's all about fees fees fees with Xbox.

With the exclusive games, I think PS3 has the advantage. Sure Xbox has it's flagship game Halo (and Halo is one of, if not the most fun game(s) to play), but besides that there really isn't much. PS3 has Uncharted, God of War, Resistance, Killzone, etc. etc. etc.