Xbox 360 Console

Pros:
- Quiet
- Looks good
- Better ventilation
- More USB ports
- Smaller than the old system
- Includes WiFi
- Includes 250GB HDD

Cons:
- Vibrations when vertical
- No included HD cables
- No included ethernet cable

I got this XBOX 360 to replace my 4 year old 20GB console that was starting to have a couple of problems and had also been repaired once already. I needed the space and quite liked the design of the Slim when they announced it.

The console doesn't disappoint and delivers on pretty much everything Microsoft said. The impressive design of this 360 instantly hits you when you unbox it although I found that at certain angles it does look a little awkward due to having sharper and non symmetrical angles to the older XBOX 360. The design now looks and feels expensive, unlike the old consoles which felt like they were put together as an airfix model kit. The only thing I would say about the design is that I preferred it when it was in a glossy black, but at least with the matte black finish it doesn't get scratched or show any scratches.The touch sensitive buttons are a very welcome addition and work as expected, but the eject button is a little too sensitive and I find myself accidentally opening it at times.

As for ventilation, Microsoft have learnt from their mistakes. There's now a massive vent on the top side of the system (side if vertical) acting as the only air output vent meaning you can put this horizontally without blocking any important vents unlike the old system. There are two intake vents on the left and right of the system (top and bottom and bottom if vertical) and so far these seem to be working well, but the output vent does get very hot, very quickly. Like the old one, the Slim can be put vertical or horizontally, but I found it develops a nasty buzz when vertical (although this seems to depend on the surface its on).

The system is quiet when in use. You cannot hear it when idling on dashboard and in fact the power brick is louder at this point. When playing a game the system does get louder, but it still very quiet. It is not quite whisper quiet, but still very close. I did a test between this and my old 360 with the same game and the TV at low volume and was amazed at how loud the old 360 actually was. I could hear my game well with the Slim, even at low volumes whereas with the old 360 it was no easy task.

The inclusion of WiFi is also very good, although I have not tested gaming over this connection yet. The 250GB hard drive is also welcome so you can install your entire game collection and still have room for loads of downloads. The Hard Drive is now integrated into the ventilation which makes the unit a lot sleeker than the old protruding design. It is still proprietary though, which is a shame, but at least they give you a lot of space. You can also transfer your old Hard Drive from the old 360 to this one if you know how. The only thing I would say about the Hard Drive is only 227GB of it is usable and it is only 230GB total capacity. I know this space difference happens with any device with a Hard Drive, but a 20GB difference seems a little excessive considering the old 20GB consoles only used 8GB for themselves.

This review is starting to drag on for a bit so I'll wrap it up now. The 360 Slim is a great console and there is clear evidence that Microsoft has learnt from previous mistakes. Included WiFi, 5 USB ports, Kinect Adaptor and and optical out port make this console a lot more capable than the previous XBOX 360. It also appears to be a lot quicker in operation. It's able to keep itself cool (although the power brick does get very hot), is smaller than the old one and appears to be better constructed while giving you 250GB (227GB) to play around with. It's just a shame that no HD cables (only Composite AV cables) or ethernet cable was included, but if you have the old system this shouldn't be a problem. Great console and well worth the buy.

=== QUICK WORD ON THE PACKAGING ===
The packaging this was sent in was awful (or at least it was when it got to me, don't know if this is Amazon's fault or the fault of the HDNL courier). The box it got to me in was not properly sealed up at the top or the bottom. The bottom was taped, but not properly closed so you could see through to the invoice and the top didn't look properly taped and wasn't properly sealed. The whole thing looked like a makeshift job. I was not impressed.

I must first say that I am NOT a gamer and until recently had no interest in playing games through my TV. Have always stuck to chess on my PC. Having watched my son play a few games on his bedroom "machine" (not sure what he has got!) I decided to take the plunge. At 50 I wish I had taken the plunge sooner!! The graphics on the games are simply amazing and it would appear that this is exactly what my HD TV was built for!
It was easy to set up and I did not need instructions. Great start. Batteries into the wireless controller and everything starts happening for you with easy to follow on-screen assistance. Fantastic.
Inserted the first game (Need for Speed: The Run) and that was it! I was off. I have to admit that I am not very good at it yet, but hey who cares?!! It was great fun and I have thoroughly enjoyed my Xbox experience so far. Just waiting for Skyrim to arrive so I can get slaughtered by dragons.
My wife hasn't seen it under the telly yet, as I get up early to play!!

I only recently got myself an Xbox 360 and as this newer matte black edition was cheaper than the older shiny version (which quickly get smudged with finger prints) I decided to go for it, since it also had the 250 gig hard drive, which considering a lot of games ask you to install updates and such (Battlefield 3 has a HD texture pack that takes up nearly 1.5 gig on its own) is worth having. From using a Nintendo Wii for the last couple of years, starting this up was a revelation. Its a high-def experience from start to finish. The Xbox live experience is going to take some getting used to - it features places to download movies and all sorts. One downside is that to play games online you will need to get a gold subscription for about £40 and this is important - you CANNOT get the most out of this product without buying an HDMI cable - IT DOES NOT COME WITH ONE. Of course, you can get them on amazon for less than £2.00 and they work great.Wired--up v1.3A HDMI to HDMI Gold Plated Connectors 1.8m Cable for HD TV's/ Xbox 360/ PS3 I bought another one for my new blu-ray player.

I've been kind of limited to offline play with my new (new to me) games but experiencing the high def graphics has been quite an experience. The digital dolby sound on a lot of the games has to be heard to be believed. If you have an HD television you need a game system like this to get the most out of it, as long as you have even a passing interest in playing video games. £170 (bit less than I paid, actually) is quite a lot for a videogame console and you'd hope it would be a little cheaper as its coming to the end of its useful life span and is likely to be superceded with an updated xbox some time next year or in 2013, still for the visual experience and the low prices of some of the older games, its still well worth getting in to the xbox 360 while you still can.