A quick look at Microsoft's slimmer Xbox 360 game system

The Xbox 360 250GB, priced at $300, is mainly an aesthetic change for the video game system introduced by Microsoft five years ago. Microsoft has decided on a much smaller, sleeker look, similar to the approach that Sony took with the PS3 Slim. With its black gloss finish and touch face controls, I feel that it is definitely a more eye pleasing overall design compared to the previous models.

The new design, also referred to as Xbox 360S, adds some functional changes. It has upped the number of USB ports to five and the cooling vents are much more prominently placed on top of the system. This model also has built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi, as opposed to the previous models which required an external adapter (about $100). It also features a dedicated port for Kinect, Xbox's motion sensing camera which will be available later this year.

Additionally this version has a removable 250GB internal hard drive. To get a hard drive that size with previous models would cost about $130. The issue here is that previous Xboxes used an external hard drive, which isn't compatible with this slimmer Xbox360. If you already own an Xbox and want to upgrade, you'll need to buy an Xbox 360 Hard Drive Transfer Cable (about $20) to carry over all of your data from your previous hard drive.

The new Xbox definitely runs more quietly than the older versions of the system. I had the two running side by side and when I turned off the older Xbox, I could barely tell the new one was still running. When playing a game you will still get some slight noise from the disc drive, however you can install games to the system's hard drive to minimize the problem.

As far as the overall use of the system is concerned, nothing has changed. This is a new design, not a new product. I was surprised that the Xbox 360 250GB version still doesn't include a Blu-ray player. You can still watch upconverted DVDs as well as HD movies and TV shows downloaded from the Xbox Marketplace and through Microsoft's Zune. Provided you pay for a Gold Membership to Xbox Live (about $50 per year), you can play games online and stream movies from Netflix.

If you're considering buying an Xbox for the first time, or you want to upgrade to a nicer looking version, then you're definitely getting your money's worth here. However, if you already own an Xbox and just want the new features you may want to consider buying the Wi-Fi adapter and a bigger hard drive instead of upgrading to the new system. While these add-ons are a bit expensive, you'll still end up saving some money overall.

—Matthew Ferretti

—Paul Eng