New Xbox 360 gets official at $299, shipping today, looks angular and ominous (hands-on!)

At first we were doubtful that a edgy box appearing in a little Flash ad from Italy last night could be legit, but Microsoft just got real with the new Xbox 360. (That's all it's called -- just "the new Xbox 360.") It'll launch today priced for $299, while the old Elite will stick around for $249 and the Arcade will drop to $149. The new box is crazy sexy in glossy black with touch-sensitive buttons, and it's got integrated 802.11n WiFi and 250GB of storage -- we're told the hard drive is removable, although it's not a standard drive or same drive as the old console, which makes us wonder how upgrading will go. On the same tip, older Memory Units won't work, either. There's also a "custom Kinect port" on the back that looks like an HTC-style ExtUSB port, and it also seems like the power supply has moved inside the case, which is a welcome change. New Xbox 360 units are shipping to retailers now, with availability expected later this week, and MS conference attendees are actually getting theirs shipped today.