Hungry for a snack – November 22, 2013 –
Microsoft makes arguably the biggest leap toward an all-in-one entertainment future with Xbox One, a stellar system with an impressive set of features to make consuming entertainment more fun. However, the Xbox One could use a bit more polish before it dominates the living room.
The big question is whether Xbox One is worth $499, which is $100 more than Sony’s rival PlayStation 4 launched last week. After all, PS4 boasts many of the same features and will play many of the same video games.
What that extra money gets consumers is a vastly improved Kinect sensor and a variety of clever features that truly feel like you’ve stepped into the next generation –when they work.
Setup is straightforward. Using a Verizon FiOS cable box, I connected it to Xbox One through a HDMI port, and used a second HDMI port to connect to the TV. After setting up your account, calibrating Kinect and adding model information for your TV and cable box, Xbox One takes over. The box is bigger than the Xbox 360, but quiet. If not for the illuminated Xbox logo, it would be hard to tell if its running.
A core piece of this setup is the revamped Kinect, a smaller, more powerful version of the sensor Microsoft released for Xbox 360 in 2010. It tracks users more effectively, especially when sitting down, and will even check your heart rate for apps such as Xbox Fitness, a suite of fitness videos incorporating Kinect. The sensor’s range has also been tweaked, so users can be closer to their TVs and utilize smaller spaces.
The real draw of Kinect is the improved vocal recognition. Using “Xbox” to alert the device, users can adjust the volume on their TV, view channel guides and even request channels (Example: “Xbox, watch ESPN.”) While inside the OneGuide, the Xbox equivalent to a TV guide, users can add channels to their favorites, create special app channels combining apps such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Instant Video.
