Customer Reviews

Xbox One Console

The following is written in the context of X360/PS3/PS4 -all consoles I own and enjoy in their own right.

I start with a summary in [1] and if you want more in depth coverage please continue on to the other sections:
[2] Improvements vs X360/PS3
[3] What's worse vs X360/PS3
[4] Exclusive Features
[5] Missing Features
[6] Debateable Features
[7] Useful notes if you are considering buying an X1 or have bought an X1.
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[1] ***SUMMARY***
The Xbox One deserves 4.5 out of 5 as the games are gorgeous, the dash is clean & crisp and combined with Microsoft's attempt to innovate further via Kinect 2.0 & TV control, the X1 is worthy of a next generation label. Moreover, the console is impressively quiet even while playing games or watching blu-ray movies and looks wise, while it is just a box it is understated and elegant in my view. A further innovation, that I haven't tested personally, is the ability to access games you have purchased digitally, on another X1 console while you are present in front of the Kinect. Very smart. Microsoft have also tried to future proof certain aspects of the console's capability with 3 USB3 ports, 1 HDMI in, 1 infra-red in, WiFi direct and 4K video capability.

There is however room for improvement on the small gaming library and apps, Kinect is only integrated to the gameplay in some of the launch games and there is the limiting factor of the console not being made to stand vertically. The first two are admittedly a non-issue for me as I still have my old consoles, as is the vertical orientation but I can see this being a problem for some people. Therefore I think it's fair to take off half a star for these issues as they are minor. The highlighted areas for improvement (app and gaming library) should drive your decision about when or if to consider a next gen console yourself, since most other things are terrific.

I personally think all consoles are too expensive when they're released as the better games and experiences won't come for at least 6-12 months, at which time the price may even have dropped sufficiently for the console to be a better value proposition.

As a technology junkie though, I couldn't help myself in buying day one. Think of me as your guinea pig =)

[2] ***WHAT'S IMPROVED vs X360/PS3***

CONSOLE LOAD TIME: the dash loads and signs me in to Xbox Live in 12 seconds from standby mode. This compares to previous gen of around 1 minute. FYI I am using WiFi n @ 5Ghz (built in this time) connected to 60Meg fibre optic broadband in case you're wondering about my internet setup.

DASHBOARD IS SIMPLE, organised and generally intuitive in relation to 360 and PS3; just three tabs (pins) (home) (store). The first of which consists of icons which are essentially a list of favourites and the others are self explanatory. You can choose the colour for the tiles/theme (away from green), which is a nice touch. Otherwise text and objects look sharper generally.

KINECT VOICE CONTROL WORKS WELL ~90% of the time, as long as you learn the commands and the room doesn't have too much background noise/other people speaking. You can request "Xbox On", Xbox use a code, Xbox go to settings, Xbox go to <GAME NAME>, Xbox Turn Off. At the same time Kinect can read QR codes, useful for activating digital game codes, extra game DLC content or the X1 day one achievement! I hope all redeemable codes are issued with an equivalent QR format in future as it saves a lot of hassle and time, not to mention being very clever.

KINECT BODY TRACKING, is truly amazing. It picks up on every part of your body moving and twisting. Fitness, Dancing and physical action based games should be a blast. Kinect can even see in very low light, due to IR sensors. I hear that it can even track your heartbeat based on changes in your skin complexion!

GRAPHICS ARE A BIT SPECIAL! The amount of step up vs past gen depends on the game, Forza is real eye candy (if you didn't think it was before), Battlefield 4 looks amazing as are the physics of destruction and `levolution' events, FIFA 14 looks a bit better (improved player faces and stadium fans are in 3D now), COD Ghosts looks somewhat better but also like it was cross built for previous gen and touched up and maybe rushed in parts....I think the developers can do even more given where Battlefield 4 and PC exclusive games are at. Importantly though, each game I play is really smooth -no frame drops, no stuttering or slowdown....just smooth gameplay. That's how console gaming should be. PC gaming has always suffered a lack of consistency on this front (regardless of specs).

CONSOLE RUNS VERY QUIETLY, even quieter than the best in class Noctua fans in my PC....and easily quieter than previous gen consoles and even the PS4. The air pushed out the vents on top of the X1 console consists of slightly warm, very light airflow -think of the minimum amount of air you would have to blow to disperse dandelion seeds from the plant/flower and reduce that by half. Relative to last gen, the expelled air from an X1 is cooler.

CONSOLE LOOKS LIKE IT IS BUILT WITH QUALITY TO LAST. Reminds me of the original Xbox, but with visible vents contrasted with piano black surfaces over half of the console. FYI Microsoft claim that the thing is built to be on non-stop for 10 years. Make of that what you will. I can say that the 360 and PS3 to some extent looked like cheap plastic but the new X1 and PS4 look like they're made of durable stuff. Otherwise in terms of defining features, I like the way the Xbox's X logo glows white consistently on the console/Kinect/controller. A* for branding. I also like the minimalist approach to design.

NEW GAMES CAN BE BOUGHT DIGITALLY ON DAY OF RELEASE. If you are lazy, don't want to venture in to the cold/rain or you forgot to pre-order a copy of a highly popular game (GTA5 anyone?) you can now download a digital copy of the game on the day of release.....at midnight if you cant wait until the shops open!

GAMES ARE PLAYABLE WHILE THEY DOWNLOAD OR INSTALL, but only after you have downloaded a certain amount. My experience was that for Forza5/Battlefield4 I needed 10% completed but for COD Ghosts I needed 51% and if connected to the internet I needed to download up to 500MB of initial game patches before being able to play. Useful Tip: As of writing date, you should know that for some reason disc based games install much faster if you disconnect the console from internet first.

EVERY "TASK" CAN BE SWITCHED OUT OF AND THEN RESUMED QUICKLY. If you switch out of a game/movie/app to do something else (internet explorer, browse online store, run another app etc) the X1 keeps the original task in paused mode while you do something else -the home screen has a main window or a tile from where you can reselect what you were originally doing after your done with your secondary activity. Very very handy. You can also choose a setting, whereby you can resume exactly what you were doing after having switched off the console! Also quite handy.

YOU CAN HAVE TWO "WINDOWS" UP/SNAPPED AT THE SAME TIME. This means you can play a game or TV over four fifths of the screen and have skype or another app on the right. You can even have internet explorer on the right, but I found the window to be too small for general surfing the internet at the same time. It could be useful for Skype message/video pop up, xbox party chat or leaving self refreshing web pages open (such as BBC football) however.

TRIGGERS HAVE INDEPENDENT RUMBLE BUILT IN. If the game supports it, only Forza 5 appears to at this point, each respective trigger will rumble as necessary. E.g. When the car is wheel spinning because too much "gas" (or accelerator) is applied, the right trigger rumbles. When you brake harshly with the left trigger, it rumbles. But when you accelerate or decelerate smoothly the triggers don't rumble! This is a really smart feature.

X1 PAD. The pad feels more ergonomic overall; thumbsticks have grains around the edge to stop them slipping during vigorous gaming sessions, the d-pad clicks in directionally (up down left and right) with more accuracy and less wobble, the labelling on the X Y A B buttons is clearer, the Xbox button (glows white) is further up the pad and requires a firmer press which has resulted in no accidental presses so far, buttons are a little closer together I think and the back of the pad is flush -no battery compartment sticking out.

SMARTGLASS SMARTPHONE APP. This upgraded app connects the X1 to Windows/Android/iOS smartphones & tablets much faster this time around due to a WiFi direct connection. The app allows you to control onscreen activity with swipes, button presses and you can even use your device as a keyboard input device (messaging or other text based input). More importantly you can use your device as a second screen -E.g. in Dead Rising you can view the in game map and as you move around in the game your position moves on the map just like it would in a SatNav/GPS system!

PLAY & CHARGE KIT (separately available) DOUBLES UP AS A "WIRED" LEAD. When the X1 pad is connected to the console through the provided wire, the wireless signal from the pad goes to sleep and data is sent directly through the wire instead, which results in a "lag-free" connection. This may or may not be the case with the PS4 (TBC).

CHAT/CONFERENCE CALLING, is clearer than before. Skype really shines in 1080p with HD audio. I hope MS provide for multi-person conference calling in future. I suspect it is a matter of time.

XBOX LIVE GOLD BENEFITS; provided the main console user's profile has an active Gold account, then the Gold benefits are extended to all other profiles on the console as well.

USB 3.0 PORTS instead of 2.0; there is one on the left side of the console and two at the rear. I see these as a future proofing measure for when Microsoft release a patch to allow connections of external hard drives/media devices. The only device that I am aware of, that utilises the USB port at present is the play and charge kit.

[3] ***WHAT'S WORSE VS X360/PS3***

LESS APPS; currently restricted to Internet Explorer, Skype, 4OD, Netflix, LoveFilm and Eurosport. One notable exclusion is BBC iPlayer. My understanding is that `high value' apps, such as this, are not available yet because they are being programmed to work with Kinect functionality (e.g. "watch Doctor Who"). Prelaunch MS have spent a majority of their time on US apps (thumbs down I know), but hopefully this will change in the near future.

OPTIONS AND SETTINGS HAVE EITHER BEEN MOVED OR REMOVED, for better and for worse, so there is some re-learning to do. Although things are generally intuitive, I didn't like certain things to change. E.g. The overlaid menu when you hit the xbox button on the 360 has been eradicated. But this used to be my go to place for redeeming a code, checking my achievements, playing a bit of music or seeing who was online. Admittedly hitting the button does now take you from whatever you're doing directly to the dash from where you can do the same functions, while being able to quickly resume what you were doing. The Kinect has also helped out at certain times when I couldn't find something, so I guess it's not too bad all things considered.

CONSOLE SIZE @ 33cm width x 27cm depth x 8cm height is larger than X360, X360s and PS3 slim and about the same as PS3. Against the PS4, the X1 is about 3cm wider and 2-3cm taller. Console sizes have never been an issue for me as I am not space constricted, but might be for you. Whether bigger means better airflow over the expensive internal parts/cooler internals is to be seen. But the airflow out the case is definitely cooler than previous gen consoles.

CONSOLE at ~4kg feels heavier than the slim version of previous consoles, but about the same as full sized PS3, X360 and PS4. Weight is also irrelevant to me since my consoles just sit in their allocated homes and when I do take them to a friend's place for some LAN gaming, say 3-4 times a year, I just take them in my car. Plus I am a mannn!

CONSOLE CANNOT BE PLACED VERTICALLY, only horizontally. This makes the console less versatile in terms of where you can put it. Obviously the reason for this is because MS want the hot air to rise directly out of the top of the console on the right side where the vented area is. The PS4 (and previous gen) can handle both inclinations, so this is a definite annoying limitation in my opinion.

PAD BUMPER BUTTONS (LB and RB), have to be pressed in from the front firmly whereas the previous bumpers could be pressed in from a front or side angle using a lighter touch. Sure it results in less accidental presses but that was never an issue for me in the past and now I have to readjust the way I press the buttons.

LACK OF CROSS-GEN CHAT. This isn't really part of what's worse, but it is annoying that you cannot have party chat with friends that are online on their X360.

[4] ***EXCLUSIVE FEATURES***

+ KINECT 2 - already discussed. I would say however that the Kinect 2 does perform better than the PS4 camera. My short experience of the PS camera showed that the functions were limited to only a few tasks such as "Play <GAME NAME>" and "Start" to confirm, but when there was other noise present it would do random things that I didn't want. I think over time Sony may improve the PS camera, but right now it doesn't stand up to the accuracy of Kinect.

+ X1 HAS BUILT IN DUAL BAND WIFI, i.e. runs with both 2.4GHz and 5GHz signals.
Provided your router supports dual band wifi as well, 5Ghz provides a better more stable connection vs 2.4GHz (used in previous gen standard devices and ALSO THE PS4) but 5GHz has a slightly shorter range. I have had online gaming issues with 2.4GHz in the past (random disconnects or low speed) for previous consoles, regardless of my router's "channel" setting.

This problem is more likely in the presence of other 2.4GHz devices such as computers/laptops/cordless telephones/microwaves/mobile phones/etc. Not to mention neighbours' devices that can also cause interference / dropped internet connection. This may or may not be an issue for you, but it has been enough of a nuisance in the past that I bought a good dual band router and a wireless adaptor respectively. I am glad that I don't need any additional WiFi equipment for the X1.

+ X1 TRIGGERS RUMBLE, individually and separately to pad which also rumbles -this works nicely in Forza 5 (as discussed already), but other games such as COD Ghosts and Battlefield 4 haven't made use of this feature yet which is a real shame as it would provide another dimension to being shot while you are aiming for example.

+ KINECT ACTIONS IN GAME, such as peaking around corners by leaning your body to one side. I quite like this and didn't expect it to be helpful, but it is and it works. However I note that certain games have already started to feature leaning by simply facing the edge of a wall and then aiming down the sights (COD Ghosts).

+ HDMI IN PORT, you can pass through another HDMI signal; your X360/PS3/PS4 (with around half a second of lag, so not good for competitive online multiplayer), your Cable/Sky (choose a straight pass through or load a tv guide on the X1 and potentially use Kinect for voice commands such as change channel).

+ WiFi DIRECT, which enables extremely fast data connection to smartphone/tablet e.g. for smartglass app which lets you control on screen action. There are other possible uses of this technology such as wireless HD connections to TVs in the future, but this is unconfirmed at this point. As it stands WiFi Direct is overkill for current uses, as opposed to RF/WiFi used in X360 and Bluetooth which is the primary method used for wireless comms in the PS3/PS4.

+ SKYPE, you get 100 minutes of call free for 6 months after activation. The usefulness of this is situation dependent.

+ Dedicated Microsoft servers on the X1. Microsoft has made "300,000" servers for online services/multiplayer available for free to ALL games developers. (apparently this is equivalent to the total amount of servers globally, across all companies, back in 1999!) If the software developer takes advantage of this, for their game, then it should result in a smoother and more stable online multiplayer. Xbox live has always been exceptional for online play, so I see this as future proofing and levelling the playfield for games developers if anything. Online play on PS3 wasn't as stable as X360, mostly because of a lack of investment by Sony since they offered the service for free while Microsoft charged and made the necessary investment. Sony still wont have their own dedicated servers for PS4 (although games developers can make their own servers available if they so wish), but are charging for online play this time around so general online connectivity should be improved nevertheless.

[5] ***MISSING FEATURES***

- Touchpad(PS4)/Screen(Wii U)/speaker (PS4) on pad. Touchpad (per PS4) could be useful in the future, even though it's underutilised by launch games. The usefulness of having a screen on the controller (per Wii U) seems limited to me and is more of a distraction of what is on screen. Also, it will likely be negated in the near future given second screen functionality on tablets and smartphones that is being worked on for X1 & PS4, depending on the game. These devices can at least be put on a surface in front of you, but a screen on a pad requires me to look further away from the screen. Having a speaker (PS4) on the pad is a bit of a gimmick in my view as I want to either hear and/or feel sound through full sized speakers or via a gaming headset.

- Friends list is no longer a list on X1, but now appear as tiles scattered across and down the screen. The PS4 layout shows friends in a list (like the old 360), which is clearer in my view.

- You cannot view a live video feed of your friend's current activity and jump right in to the game with them. This is something the PS4 has, but the X1 doesn't appear to (at least I haven't figured out how to). I would have quite liked to see this feature on the X1 at launch, but I think we'll have to wait before Microsoft decide to upgrade the software.

- X1 does not have an inbuilt power supply. It comes with a separate power supply, just like the 360. Sony however managed to fit it in to the PS3 and PS4 chassis. I have seen inside an X1 and there is empty space in there....whether this improves the console's temperature/durability or not is to be seen.

- X1 does not have a replaceable hard drive. PS4 apparently does (I don't know what the size limit is or if it voids the warranty though). This may be more of an issue in the future if you decide to go discless in this generation. Besides game install sizes are ballooning this gen, ranging from 8Gb for Fifa to 39Gb for COD Ghosts, which could fill up the drive quickly. Admittedly most folks don't play `older' games again but some might. Microsoft said that they will allow external hard drives in future, but I don't know if that applies for game installs. I am also sure that new iterations of X1 will be released with higher capacity harddrive configurations, but right now you only have the option of 500Gb (=PS4 capacity).

- STREAM GAMEPLAY TO PS VITA, the PS4 lets you do this. If you own a PS Vita and other members of the household get their way over the TV connected to the PS4 you can stream the gameplay to your handheld instead!

[6] ***DEBATEABLE FEATURES***

= TV/other input - I haven't tested it fully, but being able to control the TV channel and volume via Kinect would be convenient. X1 did manage to show my Virgin cable guide and Kinect controlled a few channel changes. However additional features, such as viewing fantasy football etc, are (as announced) US centric @ launch. I am not as interested in this feature since I moved the X1 out of the living room and into my own room and I don't watch TV much these days -I prefer to stream using Netflix, Lovefilm, 4OD or BBC iPlayer.

= Dashboards on PS4 and X1 are an improvement over last gen. I personally prefer the X1 vs PS4 and it was the same with X360, I preferred it to the PS3's. The PS4 has admittedly closed a large part of the gap vs Xbox, but many things remain in one big horizontal line of boxes (or sometimes vertical list on left) on the PS4. I get the impression that Sony haven't put as much effort as Microsoft in to simplifying things for launch.

= Exclusive games, including indie games. PS4 has it's own and the X1 has its own. These come down to personal preference. I am looking forward to exclusives on both. More specifically though, in terms of multi platform games, Japanese RPGs have always performed better on Sony's consoles and I will continue to buy those on PS's always. Also the indie game selection on PSN offers a bit more variety, with more free games. I understand though that Microsoft will continue to offer free games through Xbox Live Gold, but I haven't seen anything exciting on X1 yet except 2 games that failed to entice me away...although that could be because I had other games waiting that I had bought.

= Friends activity feed, like twitter or facebook. I don't personally like this. I care about what my friends are doing right now, not about what they have been doing since I last logged in....(feature is a bit stalkerish in my opinion)

= The LS and RS (the click in on the thumbsticks) feel a bit better on the PS4's dual shock 4 controller, but I like the thumbstick placement and triggers on the X1 pad a bit better. Which you prefer will be down to how the pad feels in your hands.

= CONTROVERSIAL POINT ALERT......Horsepower difference vs PS4. Much like the PS3 vs X360 before it, the PS4 has been documented ONLINE as being the more powerful system due to extra GPU cores and potentially faster reading memory. But some sources say that the X1 has extra memory in the form of eSRAM (I have no idea how this works, PCs don't use it), a faster clock speed per CPU-GPU core, a separate audio chip to offload calculations and etc. This whole debate is um, debateable and I don't think we will know which machine runs games better or importantly what the bottlenecks of each are for at least 12 months. E.g. There have been reports of the PS4 dropping frames/juddering on COD Ghosts or Battlefield 4, I can't remember which of the two (source e.g. Polygon).

I personally have not been able to view the X1 and PS4 concurrently, side by side in real life to comment. I have however watched a few youtube clip comparisons in 1080p and the graphical difference isn't particularly apparent to me.

If you didn't hear about it already this was all brought to the forefront via "resolutiongate". It was all about (COD Ghosts on X1@720p native upscaled to 1080p vs PS4@1080p native) or (Battlefield 4 on X1@720p upscaled to 1080p vs PS4@900p upscaled to 1080p). From the youtube clips I have seen, from Digital Foundry and IGN, COD Ghosts looks fractionally better on the PS4 (mainly the lighting and colour palette) while Battlefield4 looks fractionally better on X1 (textures). You can't review frames per second on Youtube because it is locked at 30, while the consoles put out 60. During the separate time I have had with each console, I couldn't recall any game differences. However, i'll end up with both consoles and will play a given game on the console on which whichever set of friends asks me to play, so thankfully "which console is better" doesn't matter to me. I just want to have fun! High-end PCs have the best graphical experience anyway so I will always be losing out graphically, that is until I upgrade my PC's graphics card or build a new PC!

= X1 has an over the head headset, similar to the X360, but the headband is flatter. This compares to an in the ear headset with the PS4. I care for neither as I prefer proper gaming headphones with a boom mic.

[7] ***USEFUL NOTES***

On day one, you will need internet connectivity to download and install a 500Mb software update, before you can do anything on the console. Download (@60Meg) took less than 30 seconds and install took about 2 minutes. Going through the console's initial setup (region, language, xbox live account login etc) and Kinect (video and sound calibration) setup took about 10 minutes.
Most if not all games need to be partially installed, even if you are trying to play them from disc.

Disc based games install faster if you disconnect from the internet first (not sure why).

A "high speed" HDMI cable and single ear piece headset are included in the box (similar to the X360).

The pad is wireless and takes 2 x AA batteries (comes with 2 duracells, lasted about 25hrs). A separate play and charge kit is available to buy, which consists of a rechargeable pack (which can be replaced down the line if necessary) and a micro-usb to usb cable. Microsoft claim a 30hr dissipation time.

The system outputs digital video and audio via HDMI @720p, 1080p and 1080i. There is no analogue video (SCART/component) or analogue audio (2x RCA phono) connection this time around. Your only options straight from the console are HDMI with the added option of outputting digital audio via an optical S/PDIF connection. Otherwise you will require video/audio adaptors.

Be sure to play with the display settings on the console dashboard, since you may be able to improve the picture just by making a few button presses. E.g. After selecting "Full RGB" instead of "Partial RGB", the colours on my display really came to life. You can also select "Colour bit per pixel", I upped it from 24 to 36 but I don't know if more really is more or not / noticeable in this setting.

If you already have a Xbox Live membership on your X360, it automatically applies to your X1 console as well. You can use the same account across two consoles at the same time, but I haven't tested whether you can play multiplayer games on both consoles simultaneously under the same profile.

A full set of Kinect commands can be found on Tumblr [...]

LASTLY I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE REVIEW - Kudos to you if you made it through to the end =)

This is an in depth product review for Microsoft's newest games console, the Xbox One. I purchased the Day One edition, but the overwhelming majority of this review will be relevant to all Xbox Ones. Where there are comparisons to be made, they will be against the Xbox 360 Slim (the black one). I realise many people reading this will be hoping for a direct user comparison between the Xbox One and the PS4. Unfortunately I don't own a PS4, and indeed never owned a PS3, so for a Microsoft vs Sony review, you'll have to look elsewhere. I'm sure this review will get the mandatory negative votes from Playstation owners, thinking that I am just another Xbox 'fanboy'. I am not. Not that I should have to justify my reason for purchasing, but I will. In the past I have always leant slightly toward Microsoft in the games console world for two main reasons. 1- the people I play online with own an Xbox, and so I would be lonely if I bought a Playstation. 2- The main connection between you and the console is the controller. I have always massively preferred the Xbox controller as to me, it just 'feels' better. With that out the way, let's get on to the main chunk of the review...

***AESTHETICS AND ACCESSORIES***
It's beautiful. Simple.
Whilst I can understand others saying it's just a box, lacking any personality, I disagree. I see it as an attractive, minimalistic, function orientated device Yes, it's larger than the 360 - but that will only be an issue if space is limited. Yes, it's rather box like - but I still prefer the look of it to my 360. Personal preference I guess.
Accessories of note included in my Day One edition are:
- Chat headset
This is comfortable enough for a thin plastic headset. I can't really complain as it was free. It gets the job done. I just hope they will bring out an Xbox One wireless headset soon. (If you have an old headset, it won't work with the Xbox One, not for at least a few months anyway, if ever).

- HDMI cable
Surprisingly good quality and length.

- Code to download free game
None of us like typing in those ridiculously long codes. Well, now you don't have to. This comes with a QR code that you simply hold up in front of the Kinect sensor, and within seconds it's all done. Very impressive.

- Commemorative controller with batteries
The differences between this and a standard controller - this has a chrome D-pad, and "Day One 2013" written on it. (More about the controller later).

- Kinect sensor
Very impressive, but again, more about this later.

***EASE OF INTIAL SETUP***
From turning on the Xbox One, to actually starting the initial setup was longer than I had hoped. This is due to the mandatory system update of 507MB that every One requires.
Once this was done, the setup process was painless and walked you through the Kinect initialisation as well. This included a few sound tests and verifying that the Kinect can actually see you.
Connecting to my Xbox Live account was as simple as entering my username and password.
Other than the initial 507MB system update, the whole process was as simple as following the steps on the screen.

***DASHBOARD***
From the very beginning you can choose your main colour. This will turn a large portion of tiles and menus into whatever shade you choose. At the moment there isn't a massive amount of customisation options, but hopefully things like background colours/pictures etc will come along later. For now it's fairly basic.
I've never used Windows 8. Starting up the Xbox and being greeted with a million squares is a little confusing. What's more confusing is when you try and find what you are used to finding on the 360. I've actually found that it's often easier to just say `Go to Settings', for example, as opposed to hunting its little square down. I'm sure with time this will get easier to work with, but for now, I feel like an old man and am not hugely enjoying the change.
One thing which I'm finding annoying is that as far as I can tell, there is literally nowhere showing you how much battery your controller has. I've read similar things from other reviews, so it's certainly not just me.
On a side note, I liked that when I installed the Netflix app, I didn't have to enter any of my login info, it just knew it all, and signed me in.

***CONTROLLER***
As the Xbox controller is the most evolved accessory, I thought it deserved a section all to itself. The D-pad is lowered and loses its border, the thumb-sticks have shrunk ever so slightly and moved closer together, the four main coloured buttons are now a lot easier to read and the battery pack no longer sticks out but instead is flush with the rear of the controller. Another big difference is that the `Start' and `Back' buttons are replaced with nameless pictures. The right picture, or `Menu' acts as a start button when you need it to, but also brings up contextual menus, dependent on where you are in the dashboard or game. The left button is called `View'. This changes the view in certain games, as well as providing more information when it's available, which so far, rarely is.
The main difference in my opinion are the triggers. They are of a completely different design, and much more `moulded to your finger'. They have individual vibrating motors inside them as well, that sounds a little gimmicky, but works a treat. For example, when playing Forza 5, if your right wheels stray onto rumble strips or onto the grass, just the right side (including the right trigger) of the controller will vibrate. You could almost drive without looking at the screen. Almost. The shoulder buttons have changed too. They are now more of a `click', and seem quite a bit harder to press.
The main `Home' button (the big X in the middle that glows) is now further away from the user, meaning accidental presses in-game are a lot less likely, and it works. A single press of this button will take you back to your main page on the dashboard, this works irrelevant of where you are, and does it really well.
For the hardcore competition gamers, you can purchase (with the play and charge kit) a cable that will essentially turn the wireless controller into a wired one.
All in all, the new controller is a welcome evolution from the 360's, and feels great in the hand.

***KINECT***
I haven't used this for motion controlled games as of yet, so can only comment on the voice commands.
What's almost worth the �430 price tag alone, is being able to walk into the room and say, "Xbox on", and have the console and your TV automatically turn on. Yes, I'm lazy.
In addition to this, you can also say, "Xbox off", waiting a second and saying, "Yes". This will turn the console off as well as the TV (if you have it set to).
I thought that I would end up using the controller to switch between apps, after seeing some of the YouTube videos illustrating the Kinect's shortfalls. I am however surprised to find that it's a lot easier to be in the middle of a game, and simply say, "Xbox go to settings", or, "Xbox go to friends". This could be because I can't readily picture where these menus would be if I were to return to the main dashboard. Either way, it's quick and handy. I find that by trying too hard to enunciate, Kinect doesn't understand you. I simply talk fairly quietly, like I were conversing with someone sat a couple seats away, and so far it has a 90% success rate, on the first time of asking.
I was upset to learn that you cannot switch between two games that are both paused. You can however switch from a paused game, to any other app - the game will pause itself. Returning to said game is instantaneous, not just quick, but instant - which is very impressive.
For those of you paranoid types, or those who have a lot to hide from the NSA, the One will work just fine without the Kinect plugged in, and you can also tell it to turn off completely with the console. This option obviously removes the functionality of turning it on with your voice.
In the Kinect settings, you can correct any inaccuracies that you may have experienced. You can see what the Kinect sees, in normal picture mode, night vision, and heat vision. You can also tell it exactly where the floor is, which is rather impressive to look at, even if not all that necessary as mine was already correct.
Another handy and clever feature is its ability to immediately recognise you when you walk in front of the console, and sign you in to your own profile. It can also tell who is holding which controller.
The Kinect is a great piece of kit that is massively improved from the previous generation.

***GAMES***
I have decided that for this generation, I'm going completely disc-less.
My first download was of Forza 5 which was a whopping 31.76GB of data. After 11 minutes and 13% downloaded, it informed me that I could start playing. After 4hrs 34mins it completed its download. This would have gone quicker if I hadn't been playing online during that time. I am a little annoyed that I'm still paying the exact amount of money for a digital download, as a physical copy. It doesn't cost them anything to mass produce and ship around the world etc, and I'm not getting the option of selling it at a later date. I was hoping for at least a 10% price reduction.
My second download was of Fifa 14. This was a comparatively minuscule 8.7GB. After 12mins and 24% downloaded, it was ready to play. It took a little under an hour to fully download.
These download times and speeds are obviously all relative as you may have faster/slower broadband than I do - but it was just to give a rough idea of how long you have to wait to play.
The actual loading times of games (initial and in-game) seems largely the same as the 360. I'm guessing this is due to the fact that as well as the Xbox's hardware being much improved, the size and graphical weight of games have also increased.

***CONCLUSION***
This next generation offering from Microsoft is certainly one large step in the right direction. It's not perfect, but then I don't think anybody expected it to be.

Over the past few months Microsoft have been the butt of many Playstation owners' jokes. Mainly based upon the opinion that this isn't a proper games console as it does too many other things as well. I disagree strongly with this. I think it is certainly a proper next-gen console, and on top of that it is at least part of the way to becoming a properly configured entertainment hub as well. You certainly can't knock Microsoft for taking this daring first step into the mostly unknown and coming out the other end with some failures, but a solid platform nonetheless, that they can build upon in the coming months and years.

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OVERVIEW
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Would I recommend this product to a friend? Yes
If I could go back... would I still purchase it? Yes

PROS:
+ Beautifully minimalistic console
+ HDMI cable
+ Dashboard and UI look good (but are a little confusing to being with)
+ Controller (hugely improved)
+ Being able to turn it on/off with my voice
+ Kinect (pretty much everything about it)
+ Ability to go disc-less
+ Can say, "Xbox on"

CONS:
- Little annoying length of initial setup/update (not a huge issue)
- You can't see how much battery power your controller has left
- Dashboard and UI can be rather confusing to begin with (give it time though)
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(PS : If you've managed to get this far, I applaud you. As a reward, you get an Xbox related laugh - check out my response to someones fairly pointless review, here - http://goo.gl/Vzzbkd )

Well.... I've owned the console since launch day and I have a Day One Edition, it's now time to write my review and share my thoughts.

Unfortunately my console was one of many that was a Day One Disk Cruncher and it took me 2 MONTHS (65 days to be exact) to get a replacement. I could still play download games and since getting a replacement I've played quite a few disk games.

The console itself has a glossy black finish with vents grooved into the right side on top. The left side houses the optical drive where the disks slide into the hole, as opposed to the old 360 disk tray system. On the left side of the console is the USB connection for the inevitable external hard drive upgrade that you'll have to perform after you own more than 15 games due to the paltry 500GB non upgradeable hard drive.

The Xbox One hardware is a very hard one to judge, after all how can you critic a system that's only been on sale a few months? But herein the problems lies, spec for spec in terms of raw processing power the PS4 can do 25% more and every cross platform game released so far has graphically been superior on PS4. Only time will tell with this one as once the game developers are fully accustomed to the XB1 APIs it will be capable of some beautiful games.

The system is not backward compatible with Xbox 360 games and the 'HDMI in' suffers from about 1.5 seconds of input/output lag, meaning if you want to continue playing your Xbox 360 games you're going to have to keep it connected up to your TV.

The new controller is probably the best one Microsoft have ever made. The layout is pretty much the same as the 360's but the new triggers are it's best feature, they give you a level of accuracy that I've never experienced outside of specialised gaming pads. While playing Forza 5 you can accurately change the throttle and brake in 5% graduations, they're big enough and very comfortable to use for hours on end. The two thumb sticks have a grooved rim which adds to their grip and the d-pad is also a huge improvement as its now an actual cross shaped d-pad.

The Xbox One dashboard is now very similar to Windows 8, it takes a little to get accustomed to it but after 30mins you'll be able to navigate it with ease, I still prefer the 360's old dashboard though. The console needs a 9GB Day One patch so the internet is a necessity even to play offline games. You'll also need to download a Blu Ray media player and codecs in order to play BR disks, I also still cannot get my Panasonic BTT-590 5.1 surround sound system working with the XB1 as Microsoft STILL haven't released a 24 bit sound patch...

Kinect is probably the worse thing about the whole package, it's just absolutely useless. Every function that it has in games are just pure gimmicks and it doesn't actually add anything to the experience. In Dead Rising 3 you can bark gibberish that will grab the zombies attention and in Forza 5 you can use head tracking, that is literally it... oh yeah, you can say Xbox on...

My conclusions from the Xbox One are mixed at best, there's the obvious evolutionary advances over the 360 but with that comes the misdirected attempt by Microsoft to turn Xbox from a gaming console into a multimedia centre. Here again is another problem for gamers outside of the US as pretty much all the multimedia features will only work on the US Mainland. At this moment in time the XB1 is not worth �425 and there isn't a single game worth buying the console for. My advise for any prospective customers would be to wait for a price drop and a couple of good games.

The 'One' and only box you'll require under your TV, year right, not unless you want to play your old 360 games....

Ordinarily an XBox console isn't something I'd necessarily review, but I feel it necessary to post a balanced view here to offset the obvious trolling from people who have nothing better to do than go around posting 1 star reviews of products they've absolutely zero intention of buying. Such is the arrested development mentality of large parts of the gaming demographic, sadly.

But back to the XBox One.

Firstly, I make my choice of gaming platform based solely on games, not specs. I honestly couldn't care less about how the XBox One compares to rival consoles on a technical spreadsheet, because for me it's all about the exclusive titles, and since I'm a fan of series like Gears of War and Halo, having played and enjoyed all the previous titles in those series, that pretty much makes my decision for me.

I was initially skeptical of several aspects of the XBO. Like many, I was unhappy about the inclusion of the Kinect, which inflates its price, I felt the inclusion of a Blu-ray player unnecessary (I already have a Sony player that I'm more than happy with), and I'm not particularly fussed about stuff like TV, although in the case of the latter, I may well find that eventually the XBO will become more of an entertainment hub for me as opposed to a purely gaming one. Suffice to say that some of the features underwhelmed me. I was also (and still am) disappointed about the lack of backward compatibility, even though I understand why it's not possible at this point.

Furthermore, considering I went through three 360 boxes, I'm also wary of potential problems with the XBO, and was dismayed to read upon launch of the various issues facing many gamers.

However, having had my console for several days now, I can say that my experience thus far has been extremely positive. Yes, it took a while to set up the box and download the updates and migrate my profile (a process which was hampered by the fact that XBox Live's XBO servers started having issues with new profiles at that exact point), and yes installing games takes much, much longer than it should. But these are minor niggles offset by the fact that the console is incredibly slick to use, and the games that I've played so far have been impressive. My initial reservations about the necessity of the Kinect have dissipated, having now discovered how useful voice commands can be, and how much fun their inclusion in gameplay is (I've been playing a lot of Battlefield 4). I'm really curious now to see how the role of the Kinect will evolve along this console's lifespan and beyond.

I'm impressed with the noticeably faster performance and responsiveness of the XBO, particularly with things like going to the dashboard from the game, which is now instant (and doesn't require you to quit your game - a big plus), and navigating through your Home/Pins. The entire UI experience has evolved in a very positive way, making the 360 feel pretty clunky by comparison; I think Microsoft has done a very good job with this particular aspect of the console.

Of course, in terms of the games themselves, it's still early days and I'll reserve my extended reviews for the games' individual pages themselves, suffice to say however that Battlefield 4, in particular, has satisfied my desire to see something "next gen", with an obvious increase in the quality of things like texture resolution, poly counts, and lighting and particle effects, clearly boosted now by the increased processing performance of a new generation of hardware. I'm excited to see how developers will push the new envelope in this regard, and am greatly looking forward to the first true next gen titles that will be developed specifically for these new capabilities. Titanfall, in particular, is one that I'm really anticipating.

So at the end of the day, I'm giving the XBO a solid four stars. It's a bigger and slicker evolution of the XBox than I was expecting. It's not perfect (pricetag, long installations, etc) but for someone who just enjoys kicking back with some fun games at the end of the day, I'm more than happy with my purchase. Speaking of which, sadly you won't see "Amazon verified purchase" on this review as I cancelled my order with them after locating stock at the XBox shop in Shoreditch this week.

I've been a gamer for over 30 years and got the Xbox on release day as a "family" purchase. I would have gone for (another) Playstation but my son has always wanted an Xbox as many of his friends use Xbox live and so I went with his preference- plus I liked the look of the Xbox's "stable" of early issue games,especially Forza. Thankfully, the Xbox has turned out to be a fantastic choice. There are already plenty of technical reviews, so suffice to say when it comes to gameplay and graphics the Xbox is an eye-opening pleasure to use. Also, being able to give voice commands to the Kinect and being recognised and "logged in" automatically by its face-recognition are both novelty touches (loved by my kids!) and time-saving conveniences which bode well for future game releases. Having had PCs and games consoles which sound like helicopters, we also love it that the Xbox is virtually silent when running, and so can be used as a decent blu-ray player. Only drawback for us is that the kinect sensor looks a bit bulky and eye-catching sat under the TV screen, though that is easy to forgive when you think about how well it works.

After more than a week with my Xbox One, I can tell you that it really is a fantastic bit of kit. The console itself is quite large, though it was intentionally designed this way to maximize airflow within the case and keep it nice and cool, even after long hours of use. The Kinect 2.0 is also slightly bigger than I was expecting but sits nicely at the foot of my TV.

Now I know there are some people that are a little uncomfortable about having Kinect in their living room, but that is purely down to paranoia in my opinion. Why on Earth would anyone be interested in watching you sat on your setee? Do you really think your life is so unbelievably interesting that someone would somehow illegally hack into your Kinect and start watching you? Get real. Even if you are that paranoid you can simply unplug the Kinect sensor and throw it in the bin if you so wish, though you would be missing out on a large part of what makes the Xbox One so impressive.

Kinect 2.0 for me is a game changer. The most basic feature of course is the voice commands, which allow you to effortlessly navigate your Xbox One without lifting a finger. You can use voice to navigate pretty much all aspects of the Xbox One interface, and even play movies and watch TV, all without touching a controller. Even after more than a week I still find it incredibly impressive how I can walk into a room with the TV on and say "Xbox, go to Forza Motorsport 5", and have the console instantly switch from TV to game before I can even pick up the controller! Amazing.

Kinect also adds other little conveniences like the ability to scan in game codes. Typing in 25 digit codes for downloadable content is a thing of the past. Just say "Xbox, use a code" and hold the code up to the camera and Kinect will automatically scan it in. Kinect will also automatically sign you into your gamer profile whenever you or your friends walk into the room. It's amazing technology and opens up a whole new world of possibilities for the future.

Another thing I should talk about is the Xbox One controller, which thankfully isn't too different from the 360 controller. It feels a lot nicer in the hand and also features a dramatically improved D-Pad. The triggers also feel a lot smoother and more comfortable, and now vibrate your fingers in certain games such as Forza 5. Best of all though is the battery life. The included batteries lasted at least 30 hours, which for me was about a week of hardcore gaming.

There are an absolute wealth of software features available on Xbox One, such as game DVR and Snap mode but this review is getting long enough. I will say though that when playing around in the menus on FIFA, the ability to say "Xbox, snap TV" and have Sky Sports News come up in the top right of the screen is an absolute joy. The ability to keep an eye on the football scores whilst playing a game is a killer feature. And then when I score a really amazing goal, I can say "Xbox, record that" to save that exact moment forever without touching a button or pausing the game. Just sensational.

Finally I will talk about the games, of which there is a great variety to choose from at launch. My personal favourites are Forza 5 and Assassin's Creed 4, but there is something for everyone, and of course the games library will improve significantly over time. Ryse: Son of Rome gets a mention purely as a technical demonstration of what the Xbox One is capable of graphically. It looks astonishing. There are also great looking games coming out next year such as Metal Gear Solid 5 and TitanFall, which is a Microsoft exclusive.

All in all I absolutely love my Xbox One, and the best thing is, it will only get better over time.

Theres been a lot of talk about gaming only being focused on by Sony but i can tell you this isn't the case. I have had the Xbox one since launch and couldn't be happier. (I have owned almost every console and home games computer spectrum / c64 / amiga / nes etcetc) The reason I am primarily an Xbox fan is because of Xbox Live, the online offering, the ability to communicate with freinds no matter if you are all doing different things and the ability to then all jump into one game easily is killer functionality. I owned a PS3 and apart form of the killer exclusives, it was a blu-ray player, I played maybe 7 games in its entire lifecycle.

Kinect

So onto this gen, let's get the one issue out of the way the Xbox is a lot more expensive and that cost comes in the form of the 1080p kinect. Yes it adds a lot of cost but what do you get, well walk into your living room in the morning say "Xbox On" and watch the power light come on. Now if your sky box or cable box is plugged into it, you can now say "Xbox Watch TV" and in a second the interface will be replaced with live tv. Say "Xbox Go Home" and you are back to the Xbox Dashboard with Live TV running in on e of the panels so you can still see what you watching. Once you say "Xbox" most features are now voice controlled (including saying volume up or down once you have set it up). You have Skype, as soon as installed skype from the apps list, I video called my best friend and he answered on his ipad mini and i was sat on my sofa. Theres loads more but lets cover of some other bits.

Gaming

Put your game in and the console starts installing automatically, and you can get gaming before the game is even fully installed, once ready your Xbox will tell you with an on screen notification. You can switch between gaming and live tv and dashboard at a voice command and on the gaming front it will pickup right where you left off. Graphically the product is amazing and all you have to do is look at where the 360 was at launch and what the games looked like 7 years later. Looking at Battlefield 4 now i cannot even imagine how good games will look in 4 or 5. The Xbox controller is excellent and a great refinement on the 360's which was in my opinion the best one ever made. At launch, there is something for everyone, hack and slash with Ryse, racing with Forza and Need for Speed, fighting with Killer Instinct and Shooting with Battlefield 4 (arguable the most impressive title at launch)

The Machine

Yes its larger than the PS4 but its also quieter, if the white Xbox circular logo wasn't lit you wouldn't know it was on. Personally I like the functional rectangular box and it looks great under my TV. The fact you can choose to or choose not to run your cable or sky box into what is a great games console as well makes this machine a killer addition to your home for the next 5-7 years.

Highly recommended

Got my xbox one, day one edition with Fifa 14 yesterday, and I have to say it is great!

Downloaded the title update/patch, and was ready to go. I never knew you had to install the games to your hard drive right enough, but it can take quite a fair amount of time. Seen loads of peoples getting stuck at around 0 or 1% percent for a while, but most games you have to download an update as-well. And after a bit of research, this seems to be the problem, it has to download the update first, then it will start to download.

I really quite like the design, and feel of the new dashboard. Being Scottish, the kinect sensor, can pick up my voice with no problems at all! I was quite surprised at this to be honest, and it is a good, simple, quick way to navigate around. Although, when in the games marketplace, it can be hard to find what you are looking for, it almost feels quite cluttered, mainly just because it is showing the same games shown, in the different categories. Hopefully, when there is alot more games out on the market, it will have different sub-categories. Such as Indy games, Arcade games, Shooters, FPS etc etc. The game store seems to be having a few difficulties right enough, as I was wanting to download the Lego Super Heroes game, but I was not getting the option to pay for it, there fore I could not download it. I could for all the other games tough. There also seems to be an error, when trying to view some of the trailers for games too which is a pain.

Netflix has got a really large improvment, over the 360 version. I really like how it feels so much smoother, and seems to be faster to load content aswell. The design of it is so much better too, and with Kinect, saying Xbox pause. Xbox play and mute. Fast forward, just the normal things you would expect to be able to do. I can't seem to find any way of navigating through the different films tough, so you will need your Xbox One controller to do that.

The controller feels very good. Much better than the old 360 ones. The bumper buttons arent as good as the 360 ones, they feel harder to press, and make a loud clicking noise when pressed. Trying to hold them down, sometimes, the pop out in screen. Such as in Battle field 4, when using the spotting binochulers. The d-pad is a lot better now too, and is much more acurate, much similar to the playstation D-pad. The analouge sticks seem to be ever so slightly smaller, and are alot better to use. The have grip around the out side of them, and are smooth in the middle. Tough playing Forza 5, They seem to take just a little bit longer for the car to turn. I miss having the guide button in the middle of the controller, and having it as a solid light, isn't to my choice, especially when you are playing in the dark.

I am fairly disappointed, that you cant chat to other players, who are playing on the xbox 360, but that was to be expected. Though I do wish that they could somewhat implement that. When your friends come online, you down get a notification. You have to go into your friends list. The way the achievements are, I am not a fan of this way, but I like how it gives you the progress of how many more kills, how much more items you need and so on. It can take quite a long time to be able to see all the achievements for a game. And the new challenges seem pretty good. Not sure on what you can get for completing them, but I like that MicroSoft has added them in.

The games are pretty good too. Mainly the reason why people will be buying the console. The graphics, are a large step forward compared to the 360. I only have a 720p tv, but you definitely do notice them. The forza graphics are amazing. Even when in cockpit mode, you see the reflections from the dashboard of the car, shining onto the windscreen. Fifa 14, is great too. Looks much more realistic and vibrant. Even the crowd is in 3d now. Games like Call of Duty Ghosts, and Battlefield4, you can see tiny details in rocks, grass etc, but the lighting is far far better. Things like levolution in battle field, with the graphics on the xbox one, are just so good, and detailed. Although I simply cannot wait for more games to come out, and the future of the xbox one is going to be great. Games like Titanfall, and Destiny. and much more like Halo. Graphics are going to be getting so much better in the future, much like with old gen consoles. And I think that games are going to get so much better with Kinect accessibility too. I love being able to lean around corners and look around while in vehicles with it just now.

I have read alot of complaints, such as console not starting, freezing allot, and much more. I personally take the disc out of consoles, when they are not being used, or even just to watch netflix etc. There are reports, of the disc drives failing to take the disc into the console too, so you guys may want to do the same, just in case your disc drive fails.

Overall, the xbox one is a great bit of kit and I would highly recommend you to get it. But for players who are only going to want it to play Call of duty, I ould personally wait for the price to drop, but if you want to play launch titles, such as forza, dead rising and ryse, then I would get it. Even as an entertainment system, it is great, and I can't wait for more apps to come out on it. And with time, things can only get better. But right now, just at launch it is not the best. I would say around Spring 2014, things will be getting a hell of a lot better.

Despite the shipping box looking like it had been kicked from the Amazon warehouse to my home, the console itself works fine and I've had no (hardware) problems, at this time.

Setting up is straight-forward enough, although took a fair amount of crawling about on the floor, plugging in the power brick and Kinect.

I had a few issues with downloading the initial update, but following a call to the (very helpful) Xbox support line, these were sorted out (I had to reset the console and re-run my initial set up using a wired internet connection, rather than WiFi).

Once up and running, the console worked well. I had a little difficulty downloading DLC for BF4, but a hard reset (press the power button, on the console, for 6 seconds) sorted that out.

Kinect (voice commands) works well and actually adds to the console experience, in my opinion.

The new controller feels similar to the 360's controller, which you might expect. The reduced size of the battery compartment is great and the trigger rumble is fun, but some of the other changes are not so great and I prefer the old sticks and ergonomics around the trigger areas. The bumper buttons are still not the greatest, but they were a weak point on the old pad too, in my opinion.

The console itself is a huge hulking slab of a thing, but looks built to last and is very quiet during operation.

Unfortunately, there is some functionality which doesn't yet work, such as optical surround sound output and the TV throughput is still a work in progress, but these will almost certainly be sorted fairly soon. Still, these issues are enough for me to knock a star off the XB1's rating.

I have a PS4 too, and whilst I agree that the Sony console is more powerful and has a nicer form factor, in my opinion, Xbox One has a better range of exclusive launch titles.

If you are debating which console to get, my advice would be to wait a while and see what happens early next year.

By that time the bugs should be ironed out and both consoles should be getting into their stride. By then we should be starting to see who will be the real king of this generation.

I did not buy my Xbox One from Amazon, i purchased them from Simplygames purely because they had some in stock prior to release. I'm gonna be 100% honest in this review, i was not expecting the console to be this good especially after reading the reviews it was getting prior to release. The graphics are better than i thought they would be and its an amazing all in one console that is great at multi tasking and so on. I never had a kinect on 360 and was not expecting this to be that good but it has its faults, i have a small bedroom and my console is in there and sometimes it has problems recognizing who is talking and who is putting your hands up if you have your mates round, but if you calibrate it right and its only you using it it works lovely.
I would not recommend buying dead rising with this as i did when i pre ordered it, it was disappointing overall, i traded that in and got Battlefield, Call of duty and Ryse and i can assure you they are much better games that show the potential of this great machine. For any gaming fan and particularly a Xbox fan this is a must buy