Xbox One: ten key things you need to know

The tech giant shows off new Xbox in an attempt to lead home entertainment

Technology player Microsoft has revealed its next-generation video game console, the Xbox One, which not only integrates television, internet and gaming but also measures your heartbeat and recognises your voice.

The company said Xbox One will revolutionise its users' lifestyles by integrating the cloud, voice control and gesture technology into a simple, intuitive machine. Xbox One will be available worldwide 'later this year’. There are no current details on pricing. Xbox is one of Microsoft’s better-performing businesses.  Sales in the entertainment and devices unit, including Xbox, rose 56% in the quarter ended March 2013.
Here are ten things you should know about Microsoft's new updated gadget

1) Xbox One will primarily compete with Nintendo's new Wii U and Sony's PlayStation 4 for a bigger slice of the $65 billion-a-year computer game market. Console gaming still accounts for the largest share, of about 42%, of the $65 billion world gaming market, according to Microsoft. The unveiling  of Xbox One follows Nintendo's launch of the Wii U in November and Sony's tease in February of the upcoming PlayStation 4.

2) The console will come with 8 gigabytes of RAM, a Blu-ray drive, USB 3.0 connector and HDMI in and out. The system runs on three systems in one: Xbox operating system, Windows kernel and a combination of the two that enables multitasking. The Xbox One Guide is an interactive TV directory that is intended to help users find, discover and watch television. The new machine is black and horizontally oriented. It is eight to 10 times more powerful than the Xbox 360.

3) The company announced that acclaimed movie maker Steven Spielberg will be producing a TV series based on the best-selling Halo games, exclusively available on Xbox One, which suggests that Microsoft sees itself as a content creator as well as a platform provider.

4) The Xbox One’s wider focus also nods to the fast-growing preference among consumers to do their computing and gaming on smartphones and tablets. For example, Microsoft has added interactive smartphone and tablet features to the console.

5) The Xbox One won't require a constant connection to the Internet, but having it will be useful for many of the gaming and entertainment features.

6) The Xbox One's new controller looks a lot like the old one, but Microsoft says it has made some 40 design tweaks. The device's triggers, for example, can deliver feedback to users during game play.

7) Voice activated controls means that just saying "Xbox watch TV" switches to a live TV broadcast instantly. Users can switch between different applications, telling the Xbox to switch between live TV, games, music or movies.

8) It is still a key weapon in Microsoft's strategic battle with Google, Apple, Amazon.com and others for a central place in consumers' lives.

9) Microsoft struck a deal with the National Football League, letting the company develop applications like fantasy football games for use on the Xbox and mobile devices. Microsoft plans to offer 15 exclusive games in the first year, including eight completely new titles.

10) Microsoft has completely redesigned its Xbox Kinect sensor to be more responsive to movement and voice controls. The new sensor uses 'time of flight' that records photons bouncing off your body.

How does the Xbox One compare to Xbox 360 
Xbox 360

CPU: 3.2 GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon

Capacity: 64MB, 256MB, 512MB

Memory: 512 MB 

Display: up to 1080p

 

Xbox One

CPU: 8 Core

Capacity: 500GB 

Memory: 8GB System Memory

Display: up to 4K HD resolution