Although Apple’s latest update to its 3G iPhone (including video and editing, but not-yet-HD video) typically gleaned nearly all the media attention at this week’s E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) in San Francisco, Microsoft said it has upgraded its Xbox 360 game console, among other things, to play 1080p content.
Other than Xbox's brief flirtation with the failed HD-DVD format, this is Microsoft’s first foray into HD with its gaming device; competitor Sony has long-provided a Blu-ray Disc drive (also 1080p) as standard equipment within all of its PlayStation 3 consoles.
Xbox 360, which has always trailed PS3 and Nintendo’s popular (albeit HD-less) Wii console in global sales, will upgrade to allow streaming 1080p movies and TV content to PC monitors and HD television screens—along with other enhancements such as interactive connections to social network sites, notably Facebook.
