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Following Microsoft’s long awaited unveiling of Kinect, its new motion control hardware, Microsoft has announced that the Xbox 360 has undergone a revamp itself. The new console is smaller, more angular looking, quieter, has a bigger internal hard drive, and features built in Wi-Fi and more ports. Interestingly, the new version of the console has been in development for two years. Here are the new specifications for the console according to Microsoft:

• PlayStation 3 style touch sensitive on/off buttons
• It runs much quieter than the original Xbox 360
• An internal 250 gigabyte hard drive, which can be swapped to another Xbox should you wish
• A custom port to plug Kinect into – it’s similar to a USB port, but supplies more power
• A total of five USB ports, with two at the front of the console and three at the back
• The console comes with an HDMI and optical audio inputs as standard
• A redesigned power supply, which is as physically big as the original but nowhere near as heavy
• External Xbox 360 hard drives and memory cards are unfortunately not compatible with the new console
• Some of the internal components have been upgraded; the two smaller fans that featured in the original console have been consolidated into one large fan for quieter operation and the CPU and GPU are an integrated 45mm unit

The controller has changed slightly; it now features squared off shoulder buttons, the Xbox button is chrome and overall it has an angular appearance that matches the look of the new console.

You are able to transfer data such as Xbox Marketplace purchases and game saves from your old console using a hard drive transfer cable available from Microsoft, which will enable you to do it in one go, or in 16 gigabyte ‘chunks’ using a USB drive.

With the original Xbox plagued with hardware failures – the dreaded ‘red ring of death’ – it is hoped that the new hardware will be free of such bugs. Should you get one of these new models, it’s best to scrutinise the warranty and check your home contents insurance , upgrading it to include games console insurance if necessary.

The new Xbox will be on sale in the US next week for $300. No release date or price has been confirmed for the UK.