We're touching the new, slimmer Xbox 360 right now at the Microsoft E3 event, and we've got more details on the console and its hardware. The new Xbox has touch-sensitive on/off and eject buttons and built-in 802.11n wi-fi. There are ports for optical audio, A/V, HDMI, and a custom port for the Kinect connection, as well as five USB ports. Only the standard A/V cables come with the system, so the HDMI cable is still seperate. The power supply is all new and much smaller, and the console itself is "whisper quiet," with just one large fan instead of two, placed specifically on the side of the console to improve acoustics. The system makes a little chime when you flip it on as well, and the disc drive still sounds the same when it spins up.
The hard drive is 250GB, and there's a tab on the bottom that you can pull out to replace it if necessary. Transfer software is built into the system this time, so all you have to do is plug one end of the cable into the system, the other end into the hard drive, and then transfer away -- no disc needed. The case is black and glossy, smaller and thinner than the white version. The console will come with one wireless controller, and that controller will be backwards compatible with previous versions of the hardware. All of the accessories are black, including the chatpad. It feels lighter to hold than the original Xbox -- not that you'd be moving it around much.
We're continuing to prod and poke at the new hardware -- stay tuned for more details on the new Xbox 360 as E3 continues this week.
