There’s no other major item most of us own that is as confusing, unpredictable and unreliable as our personal computers. Everybody has questions about them, and we aim to help.

This week, I was swamped with questions about Apple’s hot new iPhone, so this is a special all-iPhone edition of Mossberg’s Mailbox.

Q: Can you physically remove the included AT&T SIM card from the iPhone and replace it with another AT&T card or one from another wireless carrier?

A: Yes, and no. The SIM card, which carries the iPhone’s account information, can be removed by inserting a paper clip into a tiny hole at the top of the phone. However, Apple says that if you replace the included card with one from another carrier, like T-Mobile in the U.S., or Orange in Europe, the phone won’t work. According to Apple, some non-iPhone AT&T cards may work, but some may not.

It’s possible that hackers will figure out a way to override this lock on other carriers’ SIM cards. But, as of now, the iPhone will work only with AT&T. Even overseas, at least until Apple does deals with foreign partners, you won’t be able to use SIM cards from other carriers. The iPhone will work overseas, but you will have to roam with AT&T and pay high charges. For instance, according to an AT&T spokesman, if you make a call in Europe, it would cost $1.29 a minute. It would cost 99 cents a minute if you are on one of AT&T’s $5.99 per month international plans.

Q: Since the iPhone battery is sealed in and can’t be easily replaced by the user, what happens when it dies? Will you have to buy a new iPhone?

A: No, but you will have to send the phone to Apple, or drop it off at an Apple store, to have the battery replaced. The battery is covered during the phone’s one-year warranty period. After that, replacing the battery costs $79, plus $6.95 for shipping, and takes three business days. Details are at apple.com/support/iphone/service/battery/. Some small companies may eventually offer to do this for less, or in less time, as they have for the iPod.

One twist: because a phone is a necessity, Apple is offering loaner iPhones for $29 while your phone’s battery is being replaced, or for the period of any other repair on the iPhone. You will have to switch the AT&T SIM card from your own phone to the loaner, and then back again. Details are at apple.com/support/iphone/service/faq.

In addition, Apple warns that all the data on your iPhone will be wiped out during a battery replacement, but notes that it can easily be restored by simply syncing again with the iTunes software on your computer once you get it back with a fresh battery. That’s because, whenever you sync your iPhone with iTunes, it backs up the data on the phone. You can also use this method to fill your loaner iPhone with your own data.

Q: Can I use the iPhone via a Bluetooth wireless connection in my car? Can I use Bluetooth to transfer files or other information between the iPhone and a computer?

A: In my two-week test of the iPhone, I succeeded in connecting it without much trouble to the built-in audio system and microphone on a friend’s BMW. Almost instantly, the over 700 contacts I had on my test iPhone were displayed on the car’s dashboard screen and calls could be made and received through the iPhone.

However, this first iPhone can use Bluetooth to connect only with cars and with wireless phone headsets. It cannot use Bluetooth to transfer any data to or from a computer, to play music through stereo wireless headsets, or for any other purpose. As with many other missing features, Apple has the ability to add these to the iPhone through software updates delivered by synchronizing with your computer.

Q: If the iPhone’s Web browser is so good, why can’t it play video on Web sites I visit?

A: At launch, the iPhone version of the Safari browser is missing some plug-ins needed for playing common types of Web videos. The most important of these is the plug-in for Adobe’s Flash technology. Apple says it plans to add that plug-in through an early software update, which I am guessing will occur within the next couple of months. However, a separate program included on the iPhone can play a limited selection of videos from YouTube, and the phone can play videos you purchase from Apple’s iTunes store, and certain videos you create yourself.

Q: You have been critical in the past of some smart phones that don’t allow you to delete emails with a single click. Can the iPhone do this?

A: Yes. If you are reading an email and want to delete it, you just tap on a trash can icon at the bottom of the screen and the message disappears into the trash can with an animation that resembles water being poured through a funnel.

However, in the iPhone email program’s list view, it takes two steps to delete an email. You have to swipe across the message header or preview with your finger, and then tap the red delete button that appears. You can also press an “Edit” button, which allows you to delete emails in the list view, but this still requires two taps per message.

Unlike on a BlackBerry or Treo, the iPhone doesn’t allow you to delete whole groups of email en masse by date, or even to select large groups and then delete them en masse. This would be a good feature for Apple to add down the line.

Q: Can you buy an iPhone and just use it to play music and videos like an iPod, and to surf the Web or get email over Wi-Fi, without signing up for an AT&T service contract?

A: No. None of the iPhone’s functions, except calling 911, will work unless the phone is covered by a two-year AT&T service contract, and has been “activated” by AT&T. That will cost you $60 a month at a minimum. If you are thinking of buying an iPhone, you should plan on being an AT&T customer, and if AT&T coverage is poor where you live, work and travel frequently, I advise you NOT to buy an iPhone.

Q: You and many others have criticized AT&T’s EDGE data network, which the iPhone uses, as slow. You have noted that AT&T has a much faster data network. Can the iPhone be upgraded to use that faster network?

A: No, it can’t. This first edition of the iPhone can’t use any cellular network faster than EDGE, which is much, much slower than the fastest cellphone data networks available from AT&T, Verizon or Sprint. It can, however, use very fast Wi-Fi wireless networks, when you are in range of them.

Apple hasn’t said anything about future iPhone models, but I fully expect a future model that can use these faster cellular networks, which are usually called 3G networks. So, if this is very important to you, I’d suggest waiting to see if such an iPhone emerges. But I don’t expect this to happen anytime soon.

In the past few days, AT&T seems to have tweaked its EDGE network, at least in some locations, so it runs faster than it has in the past. In my own speed tests, around Washington, D.C., I have seen repeated speeds of around 150 kilobits per second, roughly 50% better than the 100 kbps I have seen with EDGE in the past. However, I have also recorded speeds as slow as 82 kbps. And, even the new, faster speeds are way below those of the faster American cellular data networks, which can easily reach 500 to 800 kbps on a phone.

Q: How good is the iPhone’s To-Do list or Task function?

A: Awful — in the sense that it doesn’t exist. The phone does have a calendar, of course, which syncs with the most popular calendar programs on Windows and Macintosh computers. And it has a Notepad, which doesn’t sync with any program on any computer (though you can email notes to yourself and others). But it has no To-Do list function at all.

The iPhone is out and the experts are ranting and raving, some say it’s a technology breakthrough other say it’s slow. We bring you a wrap up of what the US media are saying of the phone.

Wall Street Journal
Walter Mossberg and Katherine Boehret write that “despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer.” The iPhone’s best qualities include the software, which “sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry,” and its clever finger-touch interface, along with its ability to roll intelligent voice calling, a full-blown iPod, the best Web browser seen on a smart phone and robust email software that synchronizes easily with Windows and Macintosh computers using iTunes into one phone. They say it “makes other smart phones look primitive.” The major drawback is the cellphone network — it isn’t able to use AT&T’s fastest cellular data network to sign online. Instead, it uses a “pokey network” called EDGE, which is “far slower than the fastest networks from Verizon or Spring that power many other smart phones.”

Boston Globe
Hiawatha Bray writes that he couldn’t trash the iPhone if he wanted to. The Globe sees the iPhone as unprecedented and says it leads the way for the newest cell phone technology: “For it’s not just cool; this phone is important, in the same way that Apple’s first Macintosh computer was important. The Mac showed us a better way to interact with computers, and forced the entire industry to follow its lead.” In the end he called it: “an elegant marvel that even a hype-weary journalist has to love.”

CBS News
Larry Magid writes “My overall thought is that the iPhone’s software represents a truly remarkable accomplishment… Regardless of how well this device ultimately does, it will always be remembered as the phone that broke the mold from which all others were fabricated.” He says the biggest difference in this cell phone compared to others is the lack of a physical keyboard which he said, “While my very first experiences with the touch screen were frustrating and — five hours later — I still find myself making some mistakes, I can certainly understand the advantage to being able to dynamically re-define the keyboard depending on the task at hand.” He also gave the phone a mixed review when it came to the Web. “The good news is that the phone’s version of Apple’s Safari browser is by far the best browser I’ve ever used on a hand held device,” but he said it’s hard to read the text since the screen is so small.

CNET
Kent German and Donald Bell give the iPhone an 8 out of 10 rating, which is equivalent to excellent and say the bottom line is: “Despite some important missing features, a slow data network, and call quality that doesn’t always deliver, the Apple iPhone sets a new benchmark for an integrated cell phone and MP3 player.” The positives are that “its Safari browser makes for a superb Web surfing experience, and it offers easy to use apps. As an iPod, it shines.” But it also has variable call quality and lacks stereo Bluetooth support and 3G compatibility. It also has “stingy” integrated memory for an iPod.

Engadget
The website’s review of the iPhone highlights a comparison chart between the phone and Helio’s Ocean handset. They say, “Quite frankly, the chart does make a few good points, most notably around the iPhone’s lack of GPS, strangely omitted MMS ability, and the obligatory removable battery; of course, we personally aren’t offended nor joyous about “MySpace integration,” but we suppose it could sway some folks tweens one way or another.” Other posts point out more iPhone deficiencies — it isn’t supported by 64-bit Windows XP or Vista and doesn’t work with most third-party headphones. However, another post points out a positive — the iPhone is “pottymouth friendly” and allows users to write curse words.

New York Post
Glenn Fleishman tells readers not to buy the iPhone at all. While he calls it “a technological marvel,” he says Internet and email are sub-par and the small screen makes it hard to read Web pages. He also criticizes the network saying “Modern cell networks use third-generation (3G) standards that are five to 20 times faster than the iPhone” and says the phone scrimps on storage. He urges consumers to wait until the 2.0 version saying “You can bet that iPhone 2.0, probably available withing the next year, will be faster and have more storage — probably for the same price.

New York Times:
David Pogue writes that much of the hype and some of the criticisms are justified — “it does things no phone has ever done before; it lacks features found even on the most basic phone.” He says the biggest achievements are the software, because the phone is “fast, beautiful, menu-free, and dead simple to operate,” and the Web browser because “you get full Web layouts, fonts and all, shrunk to fit the screen.” The downfalls are the AT&T network — call quality is average and they use an ancient EDGE network to connect to Web — and missing features like a memory-card slot, chat program and voice dialing. You also can’t install new programs from anyone but Apple and the browser doesn’t support Java or Flash.

San Francisco Chronicle
Ryan Kim writes that the iPhone deserves all the attention it’s getting and says, despite the flaws, “this is a device that will be defined by what it brings to the table, not what it leaves behind.” He says the simple design is inviting — “the lure of the iPhone is that it makes you want to use it. It’s actually fun.” He also says when he uses it “I keep coming back to the word ‘fluid’ because each action seems to flow into the next. Nothing is abrupt.”

TG Daily
Wolfgang Gruener writes “After spending a day or so with the phone, it is clear to us that Apple has created a special product that extends far beyond the definition of a cellphone.” They says it’s not just a phone, “it is a mobile communications device that will also entertain you.” However, they say, expect this phone to be a beta product and expect breakage to occur and that it shouldn’t be used as a communications device for your business.

USA Today
Ed Baig says “Yet with a few exceptions, this expensive, glitzy wunderkind is indeed worth lusting after… Apple has delivered a prodigy — a slender fashion phone, a slick iPod and an Internet experience unlike any before it on a mobile handset.” But he says that it may not be “the most ideal smartphone for every user. It’s pricey. It lacks certain features found on some rival devices. AT&T’s coverage was spotty in some areas I tested over the past two weeks. Your employer may prevent you from receiving corporate e-mail on the device.” The most remarkable thing missing is the physical dialing keyboard and instead, “finger-tapping takes getting used to.” But one of the best features is visual voicemail, which lets you prioritize the messages you hear first, instead of listening to them in the order they arrived.

The Xbox 360 was the first of the “next-gen” videogame consoles to hit the market in the fall of 2005. By the time the PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii hit stores–a full year later–the 360 had not only established itself as a top-tier game console, it was well on its way to becoming a full-service digital entertainment media hub for the living room, with built-in support for high-def TV and movie downloads as well as Vista-friendly media streaming. While Sony and Nintendo struggled with their respective launch issues–just as Microsoft had toiled 12 months earlier–the Xbox 360 has cruised to the No. 1 spot on the home console charts, with more than 10 million units sold worldwide.

So what does Microsoft do for an encore? Release a slightly upgraded Xbox 360, of course. The $480 Xbox 360 Elite is black instead of white, includes a 120GB hard drive (six times as capacious as the previous 360’s, twice as big as the PS3’s), and sports an HDMI output for easier hookups to HDTVs.

The question for current and prospective gamers: Is the Elite worth the extra $80? For anyone who owns the existing Xbox 360, the answer is probably no–the HDMI connector is more a convenience than a necessity, and the larger snap-on hard drive will be available to existing 360 users as a standalone $180 accessory. Moreover, there’s certainly a tinge of disappointment that the Elite’s higher price tag doesn’t deliver a few more bundled features in the box–the Wi-Fi adapter and the HD DVD drive still need to be purchased separately, for instance. In other words, the Xbox 360 Elite is just a warmed-over version of the previous model that doesn’t deliver any groundbreaking, PS3-killing features.

That said, the Xbox 360 currently has a larger and more impressive library of games, and until the PS3 can offer some compelling alternatives–and I have no doubt that eventually, it will–the Xbox 360 remains the better option. And if you’re going with the 360 for the first time, you might as well spend that extra $80 and get the Elite.

The hardware

Except for its black finish and HDMI port, the Xbox 360 Elite is cosmetically identical to the Xbox 360 Premium. When laid horizontally, the 8.8-pound console is 12.15 inches wide, 3.27 inches high, and 10.15 inches deep. Like the PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii, the Xbox 360 can also be propped up in a vertical position and can be customized with interchangeable faceplates that cost as much as $20. The 360 is neither as slick as the glossy PS3 nor as cute as the diminutive Wii, but the Elite’s matte-black finish is certainly a big step up from the “iPod white” color scheme of the earlier Xbox 360s. While the Elite blends in with the other black components in your A/V rack, however, it may not match all your accessories–you may need to mix and match some white 360 accessories, as not all accoutrements will immediately be available in black.

The Elite’s HDMI connector isn’t found on earlier Xbox 360 models.

The back panel of the 360 Elite includes an HDMI port (one of the big selling points), an A/V connector, a single USB port, and an Ethernet jack. Normally, we’d complain about a proprietary connection such as the Xbox A/V jack, but Microsoft includes an adapter breakout cable with both component (high-def) and composite (standard-def) connectors, plus analog stereo audio and an optical audio jack for surround sound output. An alternate audio-only adapter (RCA stereo or optical audio) is included just in case your TV or home theater system can’t accept audio via HDMI. The bottom line is that the Xbox 360 Elite can be connected to virtually any TV or home theater system in a variety of configurations, without the need for purchasing any additional accessories.

The HDMI output is a welcome addition, as it provides a single cable solution–digital audio and high-def video–for connecting to HDTVs and A/V receivers. Whereas the previous Xbox 360 could output HD video up to 1080p resolution via component (or optional VGA adapter), far more HDTVs actually accept that highest of resolutions via the HDMI input. The downside is that Microsoft seems to have opted for something less than the HDMI version 1.3 found on the PlayStation 3. That means that any movies played on the optional HD DVD add-on will be limited to standard Dolby Digital soundtracks, not the higher resolution Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, or DTS-HD Master Audio. On the bright side, Microsoft does include the HDMI cable in the box, unlike the PS3 and the Apple TV.

The Xbox 360 Elite comes with all the cables and accessories you’ll need to connect to any TV–but it lacks some extras found on the PS3.

Whereas the Nintendo and Sony game consoles have built-in Wi-Fi support, the older Xbox 360 was limited to a wired network connection. Sadly, that hasn’t changed on the Xbox 360 Elite–Ethernet remains the only built-in option. Yes, you can get the optional wireless networking adapter, which conveniently clips on to the back of 360–but it monopolizes the solitary USB port on the console’s backside.

On the front of the unit, you’ll find two more USB ports hidden behind hinged doors in the faceplate, as well as two memory-card slots. Unlike the standard flash memory formats accepted by the Wii and the PS3, however, Microsoft opted for proprietary memory cards–but you’ll never need them unless you need to swap saved games or other small files between two 360s. The USB ports provide connectivity to any wired controllers and other USB accessories (such as the Xbox Live Vision Camera); alternately, they allow for quick hookups to a variety of media devices, including digital cameras, MP3 players, or even your iPod or Sony PSP. Many USB keyboards are compatible, but for the most part, they are strictly relegated to communication and data entry functions, not gameplay. Another small design gripe: You won’t be able to connect some thumbdrive-style MP3 players, such as the original Apple iPod Shuffle, to some or all of the 360’s recessed USB ports. You’ll need a USB extension cable to connect them because the entryway to the port is too narrow.

The 360 Elite also includes on its front panel an infrared (IR) port, which lets you use a wide variety of compatible remote controls–both 360 specialty models and generic universal remotes–without the need for an external dongle. By contrast, the PS3 has no IR port, forcing you to use a Bluetooth remote.

The Xbox 360 Elite’s hard drive is located in the proprietary detachable module that snaps onto the side of the console. Since the 20GB hard disk on the original Xbox 360 filled up very quickly–download a 1GB game demo here, a 4GB HD movie there, and toss in a handful of TV episodes, and things get tight fast–so the 120GB of space on the Elite is essentially a necessity for anyone wishing to take full advantage of the Xbox 360’s media functionality. The same 120GB drive module will be available as a separate $180 accessory for existing 360 owners who wish to upgrade; likewise, a transfer kit accessory (a special USB cable/dongle and software) will allow existing settings and files to be moved from old hard drives to new ones.

As part of the $480 Elite bundle, you’ll also get a single wireless controller and an Xbox Live Headset, which connects to the controller. They’re identical to previous models except for the black color scheme–the Elite controllers don’t add any new functionality, such as the tilt sensitivity in the PS3 or the motion control of the Wiimote. They accept two AA batteries, or you can opt for a snap-on rechargeable model (available separately). Each 360 console can support as many as four wireless controllers. A green LED on both the 360 itself and the controller indicates exactly which controllers (numbers 1 through 4) are connected. This is also true if you are playing with a mixture of wireless and wired controllers; you know who has which controller. All in all, we really like the design of the Xbox 360 controllers, with the possible exception of the four-way D-pad, which occasionally slips axes when tapped (mistaking horizontal input for vertical, or vice versa).

Two other less-than-stellar aspects of the Xbox 360 that have been carried over to the Elite are the absolutely massive external power supply and the console’s noise. While the giant power brick can be hidden away behind the entertainment center, the exhaust fan and especially the DVD drive remain noisy to the point of distraction.

Dashboard

The Xbox 360’s onscreen Dashboard interface is truly stellar, and it’s clear that the folks at Microsoft looked less toward Windows and more toward the vaunted TiVo interface for their model. Yes, the 360 interface certainly has some ties to that of Windows Media Center PCs, but it’s slicker and more user-friendly, with color-coated tabs for the system’s various features, including gaming, media, system settings, and Xbox Live. To page through the various activities, you simply move the directional keypad on your controller (or the remote) left to right. With the increased processing power, windows open quicker than they do on the original; the system and interface as a whole just feels zippier. Like the faceplates, the Dashboard is customizable, with a host of themes preloaded on the hard drive and many more available to download.

Continuing the Xbox 360’s customization kick is the Gamer Card, which consists of a personal avatar–a picture chosen from a batch of Microsoft approved images or an image you’ve captured using the Xbox Live Vision Camera–as well as a motto 21 characters or less in length. The centerpiece of the Gamer Card is the Gamerscore: a point-total representative of predetermined goals, known as Achievements, met in each and every game. It’s a nice way to foster offline competitiveness between gamers, as even completely single-player games such as Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion include Achievements. But if Microsoft is planning on taking the personalization angle to the same sort of 3D level as Nintendo’s Mii avatars or Sony’s Home environment, it hasn’t yet made any such plans public.

Digital media and DVDs

While it’s primarily a game machine, the Xbox 360 Elite is a formidable digital media hub as well. Plug a digital camera, a flash card reader, a thumbdrive, or a music player into the Xbox 360’s USB port, and if it’s compatible with a Windows PC, you’ll likely have plug-and-play access to browse your photos, listen to your MP3s, and play WMV videos. Digital media on your home network are similarly accessible: just install Microsoft’s Windows Media Player 11, Zune software, or Windows Media Connect (all are free downloads) on any PC running Windows XP or Vista, and the 360 will be able to stream music, and access photos and WMV videos from the remote PC. If your PC is Media Center-enabled (certain versions of XP, Vista Premium, and Vista Ultimate), the integration is even tighter. The 360 doubles as a Media Center Extender, letting you access your TV recordings–including those in high-def–from the networked MCE PC.

Of course, the 360 is a capable CD/DVD player as well. You can’t copy music files from connected or networked devices, but you can rip CDs straight to the 360’s hard drive, then use those songs as soundtracks for pretty much any native Xbox 360 game.

On the DVD front, the Xbox 360 Elite offers essentially the same disappointing performance as the earlier 360. DVDs are generally soft and lacking in detail, and the Elite failed some of the basic HQV tests that even many bargain DVD players can ace. It’s fine for casual viewing, of course, but the HDMI connector seemed to offer no discernible improvement. (A forthcoming Dashboard update might offer some software upscaling improvements.) In happier news, the quality of the external HD DVD drive and the downloadable Xbox Live Marketplace videos (see below) were generally stellar. But the rub here is that the HD DVD drive remains an add-on, whereas the PS3’s Blu-ray drive is standard equipment.

Xbox Live

Every Xbox 360 model has a base-level membership called Xbox Live Silver. That offers the ability to create a list of friends, view their gamer cards, and communicate with them outside of a game via voice chat and voice messaging using the headset, or even video chat with the Vision Camera. In order to play multiplayer games, however, you’ll need to upgrade to Xbox Live Gold, which costs $50 a year. While Sony offers similar online multiplayer chat and head-to-head gameplay for free on the PS3, it remains a less polished experience than Xbox Live, which has had several more years to perfect its online capabilities to its current best-in-class state.

Xbox Live is much more integrated throughout the 360 than it was in the old Xbox. At any time, you can punch the Home button on your controller to bring up the Live message center. In theory, you can be playing an offline, single-player game of, say, Enchanted Arms, get an invite from a friend (think instant messaging), then pop out to the Dashboard while you swap discs and dive into F.E.A.R..

The in-game Xbox Live experience hasn’t changed drastically, but then again, the service was already near-impeccable on the Xbox 1. By virtue of the system’s processing power, games should be able to support more players online. Perfect Dark Zero, for example can handle 32 players, more than all but a few Xbox1 games. Test Drive Unlimited transforms the open roads of Hawaii into a gaming lobby, where you can pass by potential opponents on the road. Then there are games that support video chatting, such as the Xbox Live Arcade’s Texas Hold ‘Em. As developers have learned the ins and outs of the 360’s hardware, we’re starting to see more players and less lag in the many online-compatible 360 titles.

Marketplace

Both free (Silver) and paid (Gold) Xbox Live accounts have access to the Xbox Live Marketplace, which offers up free movie trailers and game demos, as well as premium (pay-per-download) content, such as Dashboard themes, gamer tag pictures, and extra content for full-featured games. Items are purchased by using Microsoft points, which is the proprietary 360 currency that’s purchasable through the system or via prepaid cards (the going rate for 1,600 points is $30, for example).

One big draw for the Xbox Live Marketplace is the wide range of titles available for Xbox Live Arcade. There’s a healthy mix of completely original titles and classic PC and arcade games freshened up with high-def visuals; some even include online multiplayer options. All of the games are playable as free demos, but to compete online and earn achievement points, you’re going to have to pony up the Marketplace dough.

The other major Marketplace feature is downloadable TV show episodes and feature-length movie rentals. Available in both standard and high-definition, videos will run 400 to 800 Microsoft points ($5 to $10); TV shows are downloaded “for keeps” (until you delete them), while movies need to be watched within two weeks and then disappear within 24 hours of being viewed. Judged against other downloadable or streaming video providers (Apple TV and its various competitors), the video quality of Marketplace content is good to excellent. While false contouring can be seen in transitions to and from scenes drenched in black (fade-ins and fade-outs, for instance), videos are largely free of most other offending artifacts, and resolution is noticeably enhanced in HD versions. In short, the Video Marketplace is one of the more promising TV/DVD alternatives to date, and the Xbox 360 Elite’s expansive 120GB hard drive is much better suited to power downloaders than the 20GB Xbox 360.

Games

The Xbox 360 Elite has the same basic guts as earlier 360 models: a customized IBM PowerPC CPU boasts three processing cores running at 3.2GHz each, each offering two hardware threads, while the ATI graphics processor is said to be able to pump out 500 million triangles per second. The console has half a gigabyte of memory that’s shared between the system and video card, plus an extra 10MB of dedicated video RAM just for good measure. We could go on, recounting the 360’s supposed 16 gigasamples-per-second fill rate using 4X antialiasing and 48 billion shader operations per second–not to mention, of course, the 48-way parallel floating-point dynamically scheduled shader pipelines and the 9 billion dot product operations per second. But, frankly, even if we understood what half those impressive-sounding specs meant, we’d have no way to verify or benchmark them.

What we can say is that Xbox 360 graphics, by and large, range from very good to spectacular. Yes, PCs can still deliver higher resolution and better frame rates than even HDTV offers, but you’ll need to invest in a video card that costs as much as the 360 itself. And while the PlayStation 3’s vaunted Cell processor is ostensibly “more powerful” than that of the 360, software developers have yet to tap the full capability of the PS3’s graphical prowess. In other words, 360 games tend to look as good or better than their PS3 counterparts (the less expensive and less powerful Wii isn’t even in the same ballpark). Consider the expansive environments of a game such as Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion or the amount of characters on screen at one time in Dead Rising. Similarly, Call of Duty 3 had us ducking for cover as we slogged through some of the toughest firefights of World War II. Meanwhile, in the more intimate confines of the ring, the boxers in Fight Night Round 3 looked astonishing–when a knockout blow was landed, a close-up replay would reveal the copious amount of spit, sweat, and blood emanating from the victim of pugilistic brutality. Furthermore, the 360 has its share of key exclusive titles; you won’t find the likes of Gears of War, Lost Planet, or the upcoming Halo 3 on the PS3 or the Wii.

Backward compatibility

While the 360’s library is constantly growing, it can also play more than 340 games designed for the original Xbox. The backward compatibility is enabled through downloadable emulation profiles; they’re free, but you’ll need the hard drive to install them. In fact, the software for Halo and Halo 2 compatibility is preinstalled on the hard drive. Unfortunately, while 340-plus sounds like a high number, that leaves hundreds of old Xbox titles unplayable on the 360 for the time being. Microsoft is working to broaden the list–it’s added dozens of new titles since launch–but there’s no announced timetable as to when the remaining games will be ported over, and it certainly seems as though not every game will be included.

The backward compatibility on the Xbox 360 has its benefits and drawbacks. Microsoft claims that it’s pumping up the resolutions and adding antialiasing effects to the older games, and both tweaks seemed in evidence while playing Halo 2. Also, playing an online-enabled Xbox1 game (such as Halo 2) lets you seamlessly interact with other Xbox Live players still using the old console. On the other hand, some games such as Fable: The Lost Chapters have brought along new graphical glitches and none of the Xbox1 custom soundtrack-enabled games (for example, the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy will recognize the songs imported onto your 360. Finally, there is no way to transfer your Xbox1 saves to the 360, so you’ll have to reconfigure your workout regimen in Yourself Fitness.

By comparison, the PS3 can play most (but not all) of the games published for the PS2 and even the original PlayStation–though the fact that Sony is constantly tweaking its underlying architecture (moving from hardware to software legacy support) may make future PS3s less backward compatible than earlier versions. The Nintendo Wii plays nearly all of the games published for the GameCube, though you need additional accessories (controllers and memory cards) to play them.

While everyone knows that the Apple iPhone is coming out in June, there has been a significant amount of speculation as to its precise date of release. Apple has been elusive as usual on the matter, stating only that the phone is “scheduled to ship in late June.” The Boy Genius Report received an interesting piece of information at our world headquarters today, and it may shed some light on the iPhone release date confusion. According to an official letter sent to all corporate AT&T employees, the Apple iPhone launch will take place on June 15th with the launch period extended until the 15th of July. AT&T isn’t even approving their employees from taking any vacations during that timeframe, due to what the company is referring to as “the biggest selling period we have seen in a few years.” Way to be humble, AT&T! The reality is an iron-clad contract with Apple dictating the launch, so not even AT&T could screw this one up. Now that that’s settled, why doesn’t everyone sit back, buy an accessory or two, and practice some deep breathing for the sales floor rush on June 15th. Take a gander at the full email after the jump!

By Achal Kapoor 

Reports have already emerged that the some Xbox 360 Elites are showing the red ring of death. This comes just a day after the model’s release in the US.

Apparently disc-scratching issues are also emerging, with the video below demonstrating that one unit (in the owner’s words) “always sounds like a screaming banshee on crack”. At this stage, however, SPOnG’s treating the reports as rumour only until we see more evidence.

That’s not to say, however, that the reports are implausible. The 360, in both its core and premium configurations, is notorious for dying for no apparent reason. Most recently the issue arose thanks to a patch released by Red Octane to fitch the Whammy Bar on Guitar Hero II.

Given that the 360 has been on sale for over a year now Microsoft ought to have been able to sort its hardware issues out. If the rumours prove to be true and the problem widespread could it be that consumers might have fallen victim to a rush job for the sake of PS3 spoiler antics? The Elite was announced just a few days after the PS3 launch and only a month before it hit retailers, after all. SPOnG, of course, would never suggest such a thing, but we know some people who might.

SPOnG has the footage of an Elite allegedly failing to read a disc, but remains sceptical. We tried filming our 360 and making ‘grrrrr’ noises next to it and achieved a similar effect…

Needless to say, we’ll monitor the situation and keep you informed of any updates.