Culture

New XBox Console Unveiled

Plans to integrate just about everything you do in the living room

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The new Xbox One console aims to integrate everything you do in your living room into one seamless experience, with TV, games and the Web equally accessible and controllable from the couch. Between gestures, voice control, and Smart Glass, it's probably the most powerful set-top box out there.

Watching TV isn't always the simplest proposition these days, with multiple controllers and devices between you and your game or live show. The Xbox One makes this easy by using speech recognition. Want to watch TV? Just say: "Xbox, watch TV," and the Kinect hears your voice and responds. Instantly, you're watching — just plain watching TV, no nonsense.

It doesn't stop there, of course. You can say "Watch ESPN," or "Go to music," or a bevy of other phrases. Perhaps most useful is "Show the guide," which brings up a nice channel-by-channel breakdown of what's on right now.