Isaiah's Tech

Today's the day. If you're looking to get a Windows Phone 7 handset on Telus then today would be the best day to do so. If you purchase a Windows Phone 7 handset from Telus today (until December 19th) they'll throw in a free Xbox 360. Of course, it's going to be the new 4GB model (the cheapest model) and you will be tied down to a 3-year contract. So, it's your choice now, will it be the HTC 7 Surround or the LG Optimus 7.

[TNW]

In case you still don't have an Xbox 360 there is a new model on the way. The interwebs has been buzzing about the 4GB Xbox 360 Arcade model lately and it's now official. The 4GB model will ship starting on August 3rd and it'll be available for $199.99. The motion-sensing Kinect peripheral will be available this November for $149.99. Don't be too sad though because there'll be some bundles coming for the holiday season which will include a 4GB Xbox 360 console, a game, and Kinect, this will cost you $299.99.

[Engadget]

It looks like you can purchase your very own Kinect for Xbox 360 if you look on the right website. There's a bundle on Walmart that includes the $150 Kinect, a $60 launch game, and a $30 Walmart gift card. You now pre-order the $220 value for $199 on Walmart's site here. We don't know when Walmart plans to ship the bundle but it's still months away from launch.

[Crunch Gear]

We've heard about the price of the Microsoft Kinect for the Xbox 360 before and it looks like it's just about confirmed now. It has just been spotted on Microsoft's own website (here) for $149.99 so that's more than likely the MSRP. Look out for it to hit shelves in the next couple of months (November 4th).

[Engadget]

Well, it's E3 and Microsoft has just announced something pretty juicy. A new Xbox 360 has just been announced and it has integrated WiFi 802.11n. Inside you'll also find 250GB of storage and it's actually launching today, so you should find it in stores extremely shortly (like now). There's also five USB ports on this new Xbox 360 along with a custom Kinect port. Engadget has just pointed out that you can pre-order the 250GB Xbox 360 S at GameStop (here), Newegg (here), and Amazon (here). They're all going for $299.99 so there aren't any price differences for now. Folks in Europe will have to wait until July 16th to get their hands on it. Hopefully it won't have any Red Ring of Death issues though...

The Kinect was made officially official by Microsoft as well and they demoed it quite a bit at their press conference yesterday morning. Gizmodo has pointed out that Microsoft's Kinect for the Xbox 360 will be available on November 4th. Slash Gear had a keen eye and also pointed out that GameStop (here) actually has the Kinect up and it'll cost a whopping $149.99, which is a major let down.

Update: Kotaku has listed a bunch of "specs" for the new Xbox 360 below.

• Touch Sensitive Buttons - turn the Xbox 360 on or off and eject a disc with the swipe of a finger
• Whisper Quiet - Whether you're playing a DVD disc or from the hard drive or navigating the dashboard, with the all-new and much quieter Xbox 360, the only noise you'll hear is your own laughing, cheering and playing
• Wi-Fi - Built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi for fast, easy connection to your friends and entertainment on Xbox LIVE.
• Hard Drive - 250GB internal, swappable hard drive for even more storage. To access, remove the bottom panel by pushing the small tab toward the front of the console.
• Kinect-ready - Custom Kinect port on the back of the console that directly hooks up to the Kinect sensor for controller-free fun.
• USB Slots - Five USB ports, three in the back and two in the front.
• Power Supply - Smaller and more efficient. Xbox 360 250GB and Xbox 360 Original power supplies are not interchangeable.
• Wireless Controller - The award-winning Xbox 360 Wireless Controller matches the console in all black with color-matched thumbsticks and directional pad with a touch of gloss and chrome to complete the look.
• Backward Compatible - Your favorite accessories and games will work with Xbox 360 250GB. Xbox 360 external hard drives and Memory Units are not compatible.

The New Xbox 360: Engadget
Kinect Gets Official: Gizmodo, Slash Gear

Project Natal has just been made official as the Microsoft Kinect - for the Xbox 360 of course. As you can see in the picture above it's pretty darn shiny. Engadget has mentioned that this device will have a video chat app called Video Chat which isn't all that surprising. I'm not feeling this new name, but I guess we'll all have to live with it. There are still rumours of this device going for $150 which is definitely a bit much but we'll see if Microsoft decides to launch it for cheaper than that. The new Xbox 360 should be on the way as well...

Update: Gizmodo has just mentioned that Kinect will hit at least one country sometime in November.

[Engadget]

There's a new rumour going around that Microsoft's Project Natal will be launching for the Xbox 360 on October 26th and it'll be priced at $149. This "source" also mentioned that there'll be a new bundle on that day which will include the $199 Xbox 360 Arcade console and Project Natal - the bundle will be priced at $299. It's just a rumour for now and it seems quite expensive - at least I think so.

[1 UP, Engadget]

There's a new rumour going around that Microsoft's upcoming Project Natal will be priced around $200 thanks to some retailer in Scandinavia. As you can see in the picture above it's priced at 1,499 kr which is around $191 USD. I highly doubt that Microsoft is planning to make this so expensive, but you never know with this full body motion-sensing gadget. Of course, foreign prices are usually much higher than what the US actually gets them for so here's to hoping that it'll be priced under $100.

[Slash Gear]

It's no doubt that Microsoft will be showing off their Project Natal at E3 this year and they have just confirmed that they'll release it before Christmas. They have confirmed the rumoured October date, however, the price wasn't announced. Microsoft confirmed this in a short video that you can check out if you head over to the link below. It's not the most exciting news in the world, but it's something that all Xbox 360 owners should know.

[Engadget]

Two things from Microsoft are rumoured to be announced at this year's E3 event, which takes place in June. Apparently, it'll be the Xbox 360 Slim along with a couple of Project Natal bundles -- obviously. To add even more fuel to the fire, Microsoft will be making the primary colour for the Xbox 360 black which looks pretty slick. It looks like Microsoft could also be announcing a Metal Gear Solid game for the Xbox 360 which will be capable of running on Natal. Could it be true? We'll have to wait and see.

[Engadget, Surfer Girl]

We don't know what Capcom and Microsoft are planning announce, but they're going to mention something on January 26th, next Tuesday. There's actually no hints as to what it will be but we know that it won't be a Japan-only thing - the photo above was spotted on the Xbox Japan website. Maybe it's something to do with some Capcom games supporting Natal, but we'll see what happens next week.

[1 UP]