The Price

$100ish (cheaper at retail)

The Verdict

If you upgrade to the new Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter from the old, 802.11g version, you won't notice any difference while gaming. But media streaming over your home network will see a legitimate speed increase.

For a moment, let's ignore Microsoft's traditionally ridiculous price for their Xbox 360 Wi-Fi adapters. Instead, let's just focus on performance.

Upgrading from 802.11g networking to 802.11n has a few key advantages: range is longer, speeds are faster and, since 802.11n sits on the 5GHz band, you won't interfere as much with 2.4GHz frequencies used by 802.11g and basically everything else in existence.

But there's one big thing that stops 802.11n from being any better than 802.11g for gaming: latency. Overall throughput may be faster on 802.11n (the pipe is bigger), but latency is really no less present than on 802.11g (it takes just as long for that first burst of water to come through). So those quick gaming commands aren't faster on n, and my multiplayer testing (Modern Warfare 2 and Borderlands...it was a real chore) confirmed it. Then again, I didn't really notice any lag over my 802.11g adapter to begin with.

Media streaming, however, is where those big throughputs pay off. Using Connect360, I streamed HD episodes of Mad Men from my Mac to the Xbox. I timed from the moment I hit play to to the first frame of video playback. And the difference was noticeable.
Buffering occurred between 2 and 3x faster, which was well beyond my expectations, despite how fast 802.11n is on a spec sheet. Clips went from taking as many as 15 seconds to playing (rounding up) to actually breaking the 5 second barrier. I'd love to have tested 1080P streaming over Live as well, but my DSL is the bottleneck in that scenario.

Yes, the Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter is still profanely expensive. No, if you have an older adapter (or you're just using some other solution), I wouldn't recommend the upgrade (nor do I think Microsoft is even marketing it that way). But it's nice to see a tangible improvement all the same.

Streams intra network media between 2 and 3x faster

Tiny formfactor still unique to the industry

No perceivable speed increases gaming

It's $100.

Costs half the price of a new 360

It'll set you back a month of dinners at McDonalds

I don't even want to think about what that is in White Castles

The Price

$180 (technically $200, but Amazon sells 'em cheaper)

The History

Read our X4 review if you've never heard of these products before. This article will make a lot more sense.

The Improvements

• 2.4GHz RF instead of IR audio transmission
• USB powered instead of wall jack
• Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound instead of Dolby 5.1

I was skeptical that the Ear Force X41 would be any better than the Ear Force X4. But after using the headset for a week, I'm remiss to return to the X4s I bought last year.

Quite simply, the audio is more consistently clear with the new RF transmission, now that line-of-site and ambient light has become a non-factor. And I think that overall audio quality, while the speaker components themselves remain unchanged, has seen a bump because of this cleaner signal. (For those concerned, I was able to use the headset without interfering with my Xbox's Wi-Fi adapter or my home network—the primary potential hiccup with using RF instead of IR. Results may vary, I'm sure.)

As for the jump from Dolby 5.1 to 7.1 support, you probably won't ever notice. Playing Modern Warfare 2, missiles fly by your head with impressive panning, but the sound localization is no better than it was in the X4s...though to be fair, that's not necessarily a knock, even if the audio lacks the shining moments you'll enjoy in the best surround sound headphones offered by companies like Sony.
Oh, and the headset still requires AAAs as opposed to bundling a rechargeable lithium ion. I will say, however, that the batteries I tested with have broken the 10-hour barrier by a decent margin, and they're still operational.

As a wireless, surround sound headset for the Xbox 360, the X41 is at the top of its class (at least partially because it's still the only product in its class). If you're willing to go wired, you can save about $100+ on a cheaper version of the Ear Force, or you can take a look at the even more expensive but lauded Astro A40s.

In fact, if you guys are interested, let me know in the comments. I may try to call in a pair of those Astros in to hear for myself. [Turtle Beach]

Comfortable

Superb chat quality

RF offers smooth audio transmission

Highly specialized but useful product

Overall audio quality is OK, not stellar

AAA batteries? C'mon!

The information is apparently the result of behind-closed-door meetings in the UK between Microsoft and third party developers. Microsoft will be manufacturing 5 million Natals for a worldwide launch in November 2010 (some of those standalone, some of those in 360 bundles), and price is a major concern for the company. Those who left meetings were under the impression that Natal alone will run anywhere from $50-$80 with 14 games included—"impulse buy" territory.

I've always expected that Natal would launch inexpensively, closer to new Wii hardware and PS webcams than an actual new console. But $50 would be a very tempting sweet spot, indeed. [MCV via Kotaku]

"We continually work on the security of our devices, including updates to the tamper seal. Beyond that, we have no further comment."

They also added that Steve Ballmer has always been a huge fan of stickers, having one of the most expansive collections in the world.

The crux of the matter is that the warranty on an Xbox 360 "is not transferable," so if you buy a used console "that has been previously banned, you will not be able to connect to Xbox LIVE." So if you buy a used Xbox 360, make sure it's from a less-than-shady party—and if you buy from a used games shop, make 'em connect it to Xbox Live so you know you're getting something that works. [Major Nelson]

I'm sure you get stories like this all the time, and I'm sure the news is old (Xbox 360s break, they suck, haha), but this isn't so much a story about an Xbox being broken as it is a story about Xbox support failing to repair and identify the problem after a few months and three repairs. I can't get anyone at Microsoft to even apologize for them messing up over and over time and time again, so I thought I'd take to the internet to see if anyone wants to write about a true Xbox Support horror story.

I'm 25 years old, work in a professional office building as a newspaper designer, am married, have a son and am not very dumb.

Xbox got four red lights back in July. My Xbox is still under warranty, but warranty doesn't cover four red lights. I happily send them $100. [Ed note: 4 red lights is code for a missing AV cable, but can be caused by other issues. 3 red lights is the famous RRoD and is covered by the warranty.]

Four weeks after putting in the repair order, the Xbox was sent back fixed. It is now August. It took four weeks for the repair to complete in part because of shipping problems, including five boxes being delivered to my door and two instances of undeliverable addresses. Really, the repair only took a week. Getting the correct box to my house took three weeks.

Three weeks after I got it back, on August 27, I got three red lights about ten minutes away from beating Shadow Complex with 100% items found.

About 2 weeks after repair was ordered, Xbox was returned to me – three red lights remained.
About 2 weeks after repair was ordered, Xbox was returned to me – three red lights remained.
About 2 weeks after repair was ordered, Xbox was returned to me – three red lights remained.
(that's not a typo. I sent it in three times, and it was sent back still broken three times)

It is now October. I took to Twitter to rage about Microsoft and a friend asked me if I checked the lights on the power supply. No person at any point in this repair process going all the way back to July has ever asked me or told me or hinted about or mentioned the light on the power supply indicating the power supply might be faulty. I checked it, and the power supply was orange. I'd bet the very first time I got the three red lights, this might've been the problem. Why no one in the process, after the Xbox came back to me "unrepaired," asked me to check the power supply I do not know.

After much convincing, a new power supply was ordered sent to me by Microsoft. It arrived after a week. The male power supply didn't fit into my female Xbox port. Apparently, Xbox has used a few different kinds of power supplies over the years.

Today, October 7, the new power supply has been ordered and might arrive in 2-3 weeks (they have to process the request, 7 days they say, and then ship it, 5 days. Add weekends off and time to deliver, and it'll be 2-3 weeks).

So after all that, I've been able to play my 360 for about three weeks total since July... Am I at fault? Maybe 1% of this is my fault – I could've looked online for more reasons the three red lights might happen, at which point I would've found out about the power supply problem… but still, that's no excuse, because it isn't my friends job to fix my console, it is Microsoft's job, and they have failed.

Andy Phifer
Houston, Texas

I don't think anyone can blame Andy for not self-diagnosing his Xbox issue. Anyone who's dealt with any sort of technical support before knows that nothing gets the operator riled up more than a valid self-diagnosis. These calls are heavily scripted to cater to the lowest common denominator.

But when that script clearly can't diagnose a common problem (more than once) and the customer is punished for months because of it, I mean, come on. Given Microsoft's apparent fundamental troubleshooting flaws at work in this story, we have a tough time believing that there's only one "Andy" out there. [Image]

UPDATE: Looks like Microsoft stepped up to the plate to take care of Andy. Since his story hit the web, he's received tech support call with the full white glove treatment.

Packing a weight of 15 pounds and a full-sized length of over three feet, the Lancer has been crafted out of polystone before getting a hand-painted finish. And if you'd like to actually own this work of art, you can preorder the Lancer now for $950.

It'll ship in February, or just in time to destroy any intimate relationships you may have before Valentine's Day. [Triforce via Kotaku]

Priced at a steep $70 when bundled with a battery and charger (about $20 more than a wireless controller will run you anywhere else along with a Play & Charge kit), it's hard to imagine where the pricing premium comes from. Even as a limited edition accessory, that seems a bit too expensive to justify. Maybe the black pieces are carbon fiber. Maybe the red paint is really the ancient blood of a sacrificed Mayan virgin.

We simply do not know. [EBGames/Gamestop via Chip Chick]

It's all been rumored for a while, but seeing those numbers captured with some sort of sub-cellphone-quality camera really makes the price reduction hit home. (Plus, the extra controller Target's offering is a pretty tempting cherry on top.)

This is happening, folks. And the feeling is more intense than I'd ever imagined. [Engadget]

UPDATE: Kotaku has just published a similar ad from Best Buy. At this point, we don't even need Microsoft to confirm. I mean, they can or whatever. But we already know what's up.

With the Elite looking to get a $100 price cut, you'll be able to purchase a 120GB Xbox 360 console for $299. Yet the retail price on the 360's 120GB drive is still more than half that ($160).

Even though most retailers shave the price down to about $135, the idea that we should be paying anything approaching a dollar per gig is ludicrous.

Both Sony and Nintendo—two companies not necessarily renown for open hardware platforms—have both addressed and solved the issue of rapidly dropping storage prices on their current consoles by handing the reins to their users. The Wii has always been equipped with an SD slot that now even accepts stock 32GB SDHC cards—normal, consumer-grade tech that you can price-compare anywhere. And the PS3 has supported users who wanted to install their own hard drives (or even Linux!) since day freaking one.

Yet Microsoft, who has put forth so much effort in securing deals like Netflix and offering us a New Xbox Experience, is stuck in a proprietary hard drive pricing pattern so old that it probably doesn't know women can vote, Man's walked on the moon or we have 0-calorie sweeteners.

I know what you're thinking: Microsoft charges a lot for their drive because it's some special, expensive to produce tech. It's not. Inside that plastic shell is a stock, boring-as-hell 2.5-inch laptop drive. And you can find such a drive with 500GB of storage for $90 right now.

Keep in mind that Microsoft is buying in bulk.

Oh, and then there's the point that Microsoft is really, really, really, really stupid for not just subsidizing hard drives to begin with. How many of us with 20GB HDDs have gone to download demos only to find our drives full? How many of us are daunted by DLC because we know an extra few maps will necessitate deleting content? And while I know Microsoft doesn't take the 360's video store seriously, how could they ever expect any of us to have the free space to download I Love You Man?

But everything I listed above—that's not the worst of it. It's one final kick in the nuts that Microsoft has sent to those of us willing to do some modding ourselves that rubs me the wrong way.

While I could just pop open my 360 hard drive case and toss in a new drive myself (of course, I get to feel like a criminal while doing so as the process requires a separate PC and various unauthorized firmware files), Microsoft has limited the 360 to only supporting hard drives in their designated 20GB, 60GB and 120GB sizes.

So in other words, even though I can technically go through the trouble of installing a sweet, 500GB of storage capable of holding my entire game collection, Microsoft has taken the time specifically to thwart me in that endeavor. Doing my own installation is no longer a treat, like sticking a turbocharger on an engine. Instead it becomes a home repair I do myself to save a few bucks, like negotiating a new drain line to my dishwasher.

I never thought I'd see a day when Microsoft was more willing to give away software than hardware. But in a great irony, their latest dashboard update is once again free. The dinky hard drive to store it on? That'll still cost ya...more than even a new copy of Windows 7 Home Premium.

Here's what I like:
• Account recovery is faster—great if you play over at your friends' places a lot, 'cause it takes damn near forever.
• Party invites are less clunky
• You actually get notifications when your subscription's about to expire
• Achievement browser's better, and you can launch games from it (yes!)
• Active Downloads and other screens like that are actually easy to get to
• Under My Xbox, there's a handy troubleshooting section called Solutions that brings together all of the info that was scattered throughout the UI (scary you need this though, I mean, we're talking about a game console, right?)
• And while it's not as good as having more than 100 friends, you can sort your friends list in different ways

All of that just seems to add up a nicer experience that frustrates you less often. Plus, you know, there's all that other stuff we already told you about. I wish I could download it today too, but my Xbox went all RRoD on me two days ago. Enjoy it for me, kay? [Xbox]

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Bono, schmobono. I still prefer LED Pac Man running over Addy's tits. And LED Pac Man over her breasts won't damage anyone's eyes, unlike lasers. In fact, my theory is that her LED'ed breasts may even cure the blind. UnLED'ed too.

Update: Moritz Waldemeyer wrote to us to tell us that the lasers were harmless, perfectly "safe class 2M lasers that have been defocused for additional safety." OK, Moritz, but would they cure the blind like LED'ed breasts? I didn't think so. [Waldemyer via Dezeen]

Neither Sony nor Hulu has come forth with an explanation, though the timing is linked to the PS3's latest firmware 2.8 update and it's hard to see the statement "the video is not available on your platform" as anything less than pointed.

But back when the PS3 did have Hulu, how well did it actually work? The few times I tested it out, the slightest misstep led to memory error messages and I'd need to restart. Is Sony improving the Hulu experience? Is Hulu blocking someone like they did Boxee. Or is Microsoft making deals to score Hulu exclusively on the 360?

Time will tell! [CrunchGear and Engadget via Kotaku]

During his last podcast, Xbox spokesperson/kind guidance counselor Major Nelson revealed that a "faster" dashboard update would be coming later this year with "a lot of very cool new features." (We're guessing those features include apps like Twitter and the capability to stream 1080p content—both shown off at E3—though some other unexpected goodies would be welcome.)

Of course, many have already forgotten that NXE promised to end these seasonal dashboard updates, allowing new features to unroll all year. Apparently that's just not happening. But hey, a faster dash in 2009! [Major Nelson via CVG via Kotaku]