by Leroy McLean, Contributor

In the high race to compete against Sony and Nintendo, Microsoft recently released yet another version of their powerful game console - Xbox 360.

The Xbox 360 Elite is a total upgrade to the current versions on the market. This edition sports a 120GB hard drive moving from a mere 20GB.

I guess black is the new 'white', because this baby is docked in it. While LCD and Plasma televisions are on the increase, so too is the need for connected components. The Elite comes with a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), and a wireless controller all coated in Black of course. If you decide on getting one, then you can expect the package to come with the following:

- Xbox 360 Elite console: The console is equipped with a premium black finish and an HDMI port and like all Xbox 360 systems, comes with three powerful core processors, 16:9 cinematic aspect ratio, anti-aliasing for smooth textures, full surround sound, and DVD playback with upscaling capabilities right out of the box.

- Xbox 360 120GB hard drive: The 120GB detachable hard drive lets you save your games and store television shows, movies, music, pictures, trailers, levels, demos, and other content available from Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

- Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (black): This award-winning, high-performance wireless controller, now in black, features the Xbox¨ Guide Button for quick, in-game access to friends and music. It has a range of up to 30 feet and a battery life of 30 hours on two AA batteries.

- Xbox 360 headset (black): Now available in black, the headset lets you strategise or trade taunts while playing games and send voice messages to friends on Xbox LIVE.

- Xbox 360 HDMI cable: New to Xbox 360, HDMI enables a single cable to deliver HD video (up to 1080p) and multichannel surround sound.

- Xbox LIVE Silver Membership: With this, you can chat with friends online, collect achievements and gamerscores, send and receive voice and text messages, and access Xbox LIVE Marketplace content such as game demos, HD movies and TV, as well as the best in downloadable games from Xbox LIVE Arcade.

- One-month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold: An Xbox LIVE Gold Membership provides a complete online entertainment experience.

Xbox 360 Elite has a price tag of around $450 and is available now for purchase online or your local retail store.

Send your comments or suggestions to thestartech@yahoo.com . You can also write to StarTech c/o The Gleaner Company, 7 North Street, Kingston.