Handy Gadgets

PC Authority have published a review of the Microsoft Xbox 360 games console. ‘The Xbox 360 is an accomplished games console, yet relatively few people take advantage of its capabilities as a Media Center Extender. If you have a Windows Media Center PC, you can use the Xbox as a remote interface to it. We tested it with both Vista and XP and, in each case, the interface was identical to each version of Media Center, complete with sounds and menu animations. Impressively, the Xbox was able to play the WMV-HD file smoothly over 802.11g, but the bad news is you have to fork out $150 extra for the wireless USB adapter – it isn’t included as standard. If you don’t want to shell out for the wireless adapter, there’s a Gigabit Ethernet port.’

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Posted by Handy Gadgets Admin at 10:10 PM | Permalink

A review of the Microsoft Xbox 360 (20GB) game console has been posted over at CNET. ‘When laid horizontally, the 8.8-pound Xbox 360 is 12.15 inches wide, 3.27 inches high, and 10.15 inches deep, and it's actually slightly smaller than the original Xbox, which also weighed in at 8.8 pounds. Unlike the original, the Xbox 360 can also be propped up in a vertical position and, as you're probably aware, can be customized with interchangeable faceplates that cost as much as $20. Custom faceplates aside, it's worth pointing out that the beige color of the system tends to clash with the silver and black of typical AV components.

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Posted by Handy Gadgets Admin at 9:18 PM | Permalink

Computeractive have published a review of the Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite games console. 'The big difference between Microsoft's Xbox 360 Elite and the previous incarnation of the Xbox 360, which is still on sale, at a lower price, is the colour - it's gone from pristine white to dark black. Otherwise the case looks the same, but the insides have changed a bit, too: the Elite comes with a 120GB hard disk, compared with the 20GB model in the original box (the disk stores downloaded games and demos, saved games, music and movies). It also sports an HDMI port, which allows the console to be directly connected to a high-definition television (if it has the same socket) for the best quality picture.'

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Posted by Handy Gadgets Admin at 1:16 PM | Permalink

A review of the Microsoft Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player has been posted over at CNET Asia. ‘While the Sony PlayStation 3 may have an integrated Blu-ray player, Microsoft is doing its best to blunt that possible competitive advantage with a next-generation DVD player of its own for the Xbox 360. Dubbed simply Xbox 360 HD-DVD player, the fairly basic external drive connects to the Xbox 360 via a USB cable. Like the 360 itself, you can either stand the drive upright or lay it down horizontally. Whichever way you go, the whole outboard concept is a little awkward, but the drive's S$299 (US$190.23) price tag is quite reasonable considering that today's standalone HD-DVD players start at S$999 (US$635.58). Better yet, Microsoft is also throwing in an Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote.’

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Posted by Handy Gadgets Admin at 10:04 AM | Permalink

CNET have published a review of the next generation Xbox 360 Elite (120GB) game console. ‘Every Xbox 360 model has a base-level membership called Xbox Live Silver. That offers the ability to create a list of friends, view their gamer cards, and communicate with them outside of a game via voice chat and voice messaging using the headset, or even video chat with the Vision Camera. In order to play multiplayer games, however, you'll need to upgrade to Xbox Live Gold, which costs $50 a year. While Sony offers similar online multiplayer chat and head-to-head gameplay for free on the PS3, it remains a less polished experience than Xbox Live, which has had several more years to perfect its online capabilities to its current best-in-class state.

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Posted by Handy Gadgets Admin at 6:17 PM | Permalink