Exactly as Shawn posted earlier in the week, Microsoft has confirmed the existence of the XBOX Slim, featuring a smaller casing, optimized internals, and a ton of extra features, the least of which is  a surprising ‘fix’ to the infamous Red-Ring-Of-Death problem.  From the spec sheets:

Old 360 vs New 360

(image via Joystiq)

There are quite a few bonuses in the Slim.  Aesthetically, it takes up less space on your desk or tv stand so it is easier to hide.  If you prefer to show off your nerd factor, it’s nice on the eyes too – only available in glossy black with chrome accenting. There are 2 additional USB ports, which is nice because those are always in short supply during Rock Band parties.  A 250 GB standard internal hard drive, 1080p HD, 802.11-N internal wi-fi, and lower power consumption all are welcomed new features.  Additional new features are a Kinect port and let’s not forget about TOSLINK.

A minor concern of mine is that there is no memory unit slot, however, it’s possible that the recent USB-hard drive enhancements to the console have eliminated the need for a MU.   Moving your profile from XBOX to XBOX is far easier with the MU in my experience.  I suspect that they have done this to try to eliminate Gamerscore cheating and hacking, as the MUs are notoriously known for.

Finally they have eliminated the Red-Ring-Of-Death completely from the console! Actually they have only removed the red LEDs from the rings, which is in itself probably one of the greatest fixes of all time. Can’t exactly call it the RROD any more can we?

The Slim is available any minute now at Amazon.