CES: IPTV-Enabled Xbox 360 confirmed

We’ve long been hearing rumors about a new-and-improved version of the Xbox 360, and it looks like those rumors may get stopped in their tracks as Microsoft has just formally announced their – guess what – new and improved Xbox 360.

The biggest thing that Bill Gates and Robbie Bach may have talked about (among the many other announcements the company made during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las vegas) would be the new, IPTV-Enabled Xbox 360. So yes, while you play your games on this trusty console, you will now also be able to watch and/or records TV shows in the background. Many recognize this as a blessing, as Bach has pretty much correctly noted that,

Our goal is to make entertainment more personal, more interactive and more social … IPTV on Xbox 360 and Xbox Live are powerful examples of ways we are bringing together the worlds of gaming, TV viewing and community to make it easy for people to access and discover their favorite content and share their personal experiences with the communities they are part of.

Yes. Video games, voice and text chat, AND television. Together. In one box. At the same time. Sigh. It’s a couch potato’s dream, we tell you.

In any case, the “Xbox 360 with Microsoft TV IPTV Edition” is expected to be available in time for the 2007 Holidays, and will be “offered by providers that are deploying TV services based on the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software platform”.

Now whether this machine that we’re talking about is also the exact same one which is supposed to have the 1080p capability, HDMI port and 120GB HDD, is yet to be confirmed.

We’ve long been hearing rumors about a new-and-improved version of the Xbox 360, and it looks like those rumors may get stopped in their tracks as Microsoft has just formally announced their – guess what – new and improved Xbox 360.

The biggest thing that Bill Gates and Robbie Bach may have talked about (among the many other announcements the company made during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las vegas) would be the new, IPTV-Enabled Xbox 360. So yes, while you play your games on this trusty console, you will now also be able to watch and/or records TV shows in the background. Many recognize this as a blessing, as Bach has pretty much correctly noted that,

Our goal is to make entertainment more personal, more interactive and more social … IPTV on Xbox 360 and Xbox Live are powerful examples of ways we are bringing together the worlds of gaming, TV viewing and community to make it easy for people to access and discover their favorite content and share their personal experiences with the communities they are part of.

Yes. Video games, voice and text chat, AND television. Together. In one box. At the same time. Sigh. It’s a couch potato’s dream, we tell you.

In any case, the “Xbox 360 with Microsoft TV IPTV Edition” is expected to be available in time for the 2007 Holidays, and will be “offered by providers that are deploying TV services based on the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition software platform”.

Now whether this machine that we’re talking about is also the exact same one which is supposed to have the 1080p capability, HDMI port and 120GB HDD, is yet to be confirmed.