The day has finally arrived - after all the speculation, Microsoft has finally lifted the veil off the new Xbox.

 

It's called the Xbox One and it's Microsoft's effort to put the user at the center of the entertainment experience.

"The system is connected and ready," said Microsoft Marc Whitten, aimed for the new generation of gamers. The console features interactive gestures and apps, and universal gestures like grab are designed to help users zip through their system in an all new way.

Xbox One specs

No big surprises here, really. The Microsoft Xbox One comes packing an x64 8-core AMD CPU, USB 3.0 ports, 500GB hard drive and 8GB DDR3 RAM. Connectivity-wise you've got 802.11n Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi Direct functionality for exchanging data between devices.

There's also the addition of a Blu-ray drive, which marks Microsoft's first move to embrace the disc format created by Sony et al, which vanquished HD DVD back when TechRadar was but a glint in someone's eye.

So as expected, then, the new Xbox One is more like a mini-PC than any Microsoft console that's come before. These specs put the console on a par with the PS4 and bode well for developers who want to make cross-platform games.

The console has not only an HDMI-out port but also HDMI-in too. This is for interfacing with set-top boxes in order to integrate the Xbox One with your TV-watching experience. As far as you're concerned, you'll only have one device instead of two.

Xbox One: Kinect

The Xbox One has Kinect functionality built into its very core. To turn the console on, you need only say the words "Xbox on" - the console is always listening.

A live demo at the launch event showed Kinect instantly responding to hand gestures and voice commands. That simply isn't possible on the current hardware with the Xbox 360 and suggests that Kinect v2 is the gesture and voice controller we always wanted it to be.

The demo showed the ability to switch between games, videos, music and live TV instantaneously using simple voice commands such as "Xbox watch TV". You can even ask to watch a specific channel - HBO was an example they used - and Xbox will take you there straight away.

Microsoft says that Kinect 2 is to fast and powerful that it detects motion in just 13 billionths of a second - the time it takes light to get from you and into the camera.

The Kinect sensor as a resolution of 1080p which means its footage will look great on your HD TV, and it captures video at 60fps which means footage that's lovely and smooth.

The camera aslo has a field of view that's 60% bigger than the original Kinect which means less faffing around trying to stand in the exact spot it tells you to. That combined with the more powerful means you'll be able to get a lot more people gaming with Kinect all at one time.

What's more, Microsoft says that the new Kinect uses infra-red, which means it works in complete darkness.

Xbox Live upgraded

Live is the most popular online gaming platform on the planet and it's getting a huge behind-the-scenes overhaul for the new generation.

While current games servers number roughly 15,000, Microsoft is expanding that to a barely conceivable 300,000 in order to ensure you have instant access to your games and content no matter where you are.

Xbox One personalisation

You can turn on the Xbox One by simply walking over and talking to it. It turns on instantly, and Kinect will recognise you and take you straight to your own personalised home screen. Here you have access to your own personal movies and music, as well as leaping straight into your own save games.

Xbox 720 release date

The official Xbox One release date is November 2013 for the US and UK and 19 other territories. Just in time for christmas.

Xbox 720 price

That leaked document we mentioned earlier mentions a $299 (£190) price point which sounds gloriously ambitious to us. We now know the X Box One price will be £429, £80 more than the PS4

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tags: new xbox, 2013, xbox 720, xbox one, console, games, release date, specs, features, pics, ports, controller

sources: http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/xbox-720-release-date-news-and-rumours-937167