Here it is: the eagerly anticipated (and one might argue, long overdue) Xbox 360 Slim. First outed by an Italian ad yesterday, the redesigned Xbox is an angular take on the Xbox 360 frame. We've got some pics, fresh from Microsoft's keynote. Head into the gallery for the full experience.
Click Link for Full Gallery: http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/xbox- ... -pictures/
BEFORE CONFIRMATION: "Xbox 360 Slim Rumor Gets Traction: MS Hiring Motherboard Engineer
...and not just any motherboard engineer, but specifically one for the Xbox 360 development team. Read the job description to see exactly what is required from the person taking the position.
Lately, we saw a resurgence of the old Xbox 360 slim rumor in the face of Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, talking about new console models designed for specific price points and dependant on "form factors", or essentially, on the size of the console. While he didn't say anything specific, speculation ran wild, and now such speculation may even have basis thanks to a recent Microsoft job ad, dated from the 7th of March 2010. Take a look:
Job Category: Hardware Engineering
Location: United States, CA, Mountain View
Job ID: 714897
Product: Xbox Home
Division: Entertainment & Devices Division
Motherboard Design Engineer
Job Description
The Xbox 360 Console development team is seeking qualified candidates for an Electrical Engineer. The responsibilities of this position are focused on specifying, designing (schematic capture, PCB layout, BOM, cost analysis), implementing and verifying the mother-board and other various sub-system boards that make up the XBOX 360 product line. This work includes development of requirements and evaluating different solution for functionality, cost, and risk. The subsystems on the XBOX 360 mother board include (but are not limited to): High speed busses (front side bus, memory bus, PCIe bus, SATA bus, USB bus, I2S, etc.), memory, Ethernet, audio/video, system clocking, power and thermal management, and misc. analog/digital circuitry.
The XBOX 360 Console Development team is responsible for aggressive cost reduction of the console throughout the life of the product as well as expanding the market for the console in derivative products. The position involves working closely with industrial designers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, software engineers, test engineers, component engineers, and program managers.
........" Full news here: http://news.vgchartz.com/news.php?id=7339&mp=1
"
These pictures apparently show the guts of a new model of the Xbox 360. The important bits? The fact that for the first time the console combines the CPU and the GPU in a single chip. Oh, and it's small.
The pic above shows the board in question, with the chip part of a rumoured redesign for the Xbox 360 console, testing of which has recently been completed in China. This isn't simply a new board for the existing hardware, either; it's reportedly a total redesign of the console. Think the PS3 Slim, only...for an Xbox 360.
Now, considering the source, there's every reason to be sceptical of the images, and the info. Then again, with Natal due later this year, rebooting the 360 itself to go along with it would make a lot of sense, especially if a reduction in size could come with a reduction in cost.
What do you think? Legitimate Chinese leak, ala the PS3 Slim, or just some punks pulling a stunt?"
Link: http://kotaku.com/5495181/rumor-new-xbo ... slims-down
"Microsoft Likely to Announce $149 Price Point for Xbox 360 at E3
Add another piece to the puzzle. We keep hearing about the rumored new Xbox 360 Slim based on the preliminary mock-ups of motherboards that have been making the rounds the last couple days. Then this morning brought more news in the form of external USB HDD support for the Xbox 360. There's more.
Xbox 360It looks like it's all leading up to an E3 announcement where Microsoft will finally be able to reach the magic price point for consoles. A source close to Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division mentioned that a price cut is likely to be announced this summer. With E3 being the biggest show this summer (June to be specific), then it only makes sense that all of our questions will get answered in one big announcement.
Based on the information we have so far, we're looking at a liquidation of the current model Xbox 360s for $149. This will open up retail space for the Slims which will likely debut at $199 and then quickly drop in price once the previous "fat" SKUs have been liquidated. Microsoft did this exact same thing when they jumped to HDMI in all consoles.
The most obvious thing is of course the USB HDD which would be required to make the jump to a Slimmer Xbox 360 as the current model HDD is the same height (or width depending on how your console sits) as the Xbox 360. Removing the HDD option altogether limits SKUs and cheaper parts means lower costs. Based on what we're hearing and the evidence so far, we're looking forward to the price cuts and slim announcement at E3."
Link: http://www.gofanboy.com/go-fanboy-news/ ... 360-at-e3/
I hope this is true. I've been on the fence of buying a 360 for far too long... 
