Xbox One

The Xbox One is Microsoft’s entry into the eight-generation of video game consoles. Its main competitors are the Sony PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Wii U. The Xbox One was announced May 21, 2013 at a private press event at Microsoft’s campus. The release date for the Xbox One was November 22, 2013.

At launch the Xbox One was available in North America, several European markets, Australia and New Zealand. It’s scheduled for release in 26 other markets like China, Japan, the remaining European markets and the Middle East – all scheduled for September 2014.

Internally the Xbox One is stronger than the Wii U, but slightly weaker than the PlayStation 4. Here are the specs for the Xbox One:

• Custom 1.75 GHz AMD 8 Core APU
• 8GB DDR3 memory
• 500GB internal hard drive for storage
• 853 MHz AMD Radeon GCN graphics inside the APU
• HMDI in and out - capable of outputting at 720p, 1080p and 4K resolutions
• 1080p Kinect for Xbox One camera.
• 802.11n for Wi-Fi,
• Ethernet
• Three USB 3.0 ports.

The Xbox One runs three operating systems at once. There’s the Xbox OS for the games, a modified version of Windows 8 for apps and Windows Hyper-V for switching between the two other operating systems.

The Xbox One is available for $499 and includes the console, an Xbox One controller, the Kinect for Xbox One sensor, an HDMI cord and more. An Xbox One SKU without Kinect was announced in mid-May 2014. This Kinect-free Xbox One will retail for $399 and will be available on June 9, 2014.