Microsoft Xbox 360 Slim (Latest Model)- 250 GB Black Console (PAL)

This review is to focus on the differences that are not on a "standard" XBOX 360 Arcade and the "former" Elite, and rate the system as a new purchase, not an upgrade or replacement to your current XBOX 360, but overall.

When the XBOX Slim was first announced @ E3 2010, this was the most significant upgrade to the XBOX 360 platform since the update of the Elite. With an initial release price tag of $299 – the new Slim model includes many updates that may entice a buyer to upgrade, or choose this model over the previous model. These items include:

• HDMI and optical audio output
• 250GB internal hard drive
• Integrated wireless adapter with N wireless capability
• Kinect Ready (Microsoft Motion Hardware)
• Slimmer model with lower power consumption
• Sleek black body housing with touch sensitive DVD and Power “buttons”
• 5 USB ports

Almost everything about the classic Xbox 360 in white has changed with the announcement of the Slim: It runs cooler, quieter, and shiny, sexy new black. The increased venting on the side of the XBOX and the one larger fan make this thing run cool. This thing won't "red ring" because the XBOX now has an automatic shutoff to prevent overheating. The bad things that have changed are that the XBOX Slim does not come with a component cable (standard AV only), no Ethernet cable, no real extras – just bare bones.

There is a new 45-nanometer (Valhalla) chip designed with integrated CPU and GPU. The redesigned chip improves energy consumption by as much as half from the originally released XBOX, and this is the reason it makes it run quieter, and it decreases the size. In terms of processing power, there isn’t much difference. Also, this console will of course be backwards compatible with all existing Xbox 360 titles, but one thing missing is a slot for the memory cards that were specific to the original 360s. However, you can use your USB drive to transfer data or take your profile with you on the go.

Don't let the black slick body distract you; the only thing you need to ask is if it improves the performance quality - and after many reviews and hours using this machine, the answer is YES. This thing is so quiet, and slick, that the form factor and performance make it worth the money. Compared to the Arcade or the XBOX Elite's noise level – you will notice the lack of sound when you power this thing on. The 250GB hard drive upgrade is nice for all that downloadable content that you have been picking up on the market place.

Should you buy it?

Guys like me who are gamers and video geeks? Ya, this is for you. The fact that all that video and audio is being piped through a HDMI/optical output is a bonus, that the wireless (with N) is integrated, and the increased hard drive space, not to mention Kinect Ready – this is a significant upgrade. Also, this is so much cooler and quieter, that alone makes it worth the upgrade.

Final Verdict: BUY IT

Pros:
• Same price as the previous Elite Model, but with a 250GB Hard Drive
• Sleek design and styling
• Smaller, cooler operation than the original
• It is significantly quieter
• Built in WiFi (with N)

Cons:
• Hard Drive change can make it difficult to take your content with you
• Odd way to remove the hard drive (could potentially cause problems)
• No HD (HDMI or Component) cables without additional purchase
• No Blu-ray player
• The fancy shine is easily smudged with fingerprints

Quieter, lighter in weight, smaller, and sleek new look. Works Great. I love it!! My old 360 barely fit in my entertainment system cause it was so big, this one is smaller and don't forget that the "S" has the capability to work on my "N" wireless netowrk now. The cooling of the 360 S seems to be better as well. It appears to have more ventilation holes in strategically better places. I recommend not to stand it up at all as this will make your disc reader mess up sooner than it should.

There isn't much more they could do except put a Blue ray player in it and mabey free online play. This new one looks slick and is. Has 3 extra usb ports in the back not to mention the 2 in the front, hdmi(ofcourse),standard av plugin(same as previous versions), then some extra stuff ill probably never use. All in all, great improvements(especially the 250gig, which is inserted directly into the box) . id still wait old ones still do the same stuff.

My husband had wanted the XBox system because there is such a large selection of games available in most stores. The XBox graphics are great (not to mention, my son moved out and took his with him). Our Christmas funds were limited this year, so we decided to do gifts for just our two kids. I surprised him with the XBox and Kinect (since he received a small bonus from work" I bought him a few games (the 3D Batman game turned out to be a big hit, looks better with the hard plastic 3D glasses I bought for it) and gave him a gift card to pick out one to his liking (his pick was Dragon age). He uses his new XBox almost daily after a hard days work! The only complaint (and it's a biggy) is lack of a universal wireless gun for the XBox, I spent hours on line looking for one and all I could find was one for $189 that can only be bought from China, it is called the "G-Mate, Mag". Using the regular controllers for shooting games can be very difficult and make the shooting games a big disappointment (and there are so many of them...) One of the deciding factors for me
about the system was the large amount of built in memory space. The system looks beautiful and was very easy to set up even with the Kinect! We can't wait to get online with it....

I love, love the Xbox! I fell in love with it when it came out years ago! I love the layout of it! I love the Playstation too but I'm not too fond out the layout. The Xbox has way better online play. Hate that you have to pay for it though, another con to the Xbox. So far it's playing really well, it is waaay quieter and the Xbox really is more sleek and small. I'm glad it already came with a headset, even though they're relatively cheap to buy.
I would say to make the Xbox perfect, to allow Live to be free. Because going against the Playstation, even though I'm so in love with the Xbox, the Playstation has free online play, web browsing, motion controls right on the controller (for some games like Saints Row when flying the helicoptere), you can still listen to music while playing games, import music from a usb to the hard drive, extract music and pics from the hard drive to a usb.
With many things going against Xbox, I almost chose the Playstation but I kept seeing reviews everywhere saying that it gets the ROD (Playstation style) after a couple of weeks and I haven't seen that many reviews of the new Xbox with any problems.