Microsoft's next-gen Xbox - also known as Xbox 2, Xbox Next, Xbox 360 or Xenon - will come with a removable iPod-style hard drive and feature customisable pop-on-pop-off covers like those diddy Smart cars.[br]According to internet reports, that is. The Xbox 2 rumour mill is on full grind right now, but it seems the speculation is homing closer and closer to the truth as the next-gen machine's expected late 2005 release date looms.[br][br]Most interestingly of all the whispers riding the winds of rumour, a report on gadget website Engadget suggests that Xbox 2 will indeed feature a detachable hard drive. This feature has been rumoured since Xbox big cheese J Allard spoke of such a removabel device last year.[br][br]According to Engadget's reports, the hard drive will slot neatly into a slick recepticle on the top of the system, "almost like the hood scoop on a muscle car". Furthermore, it's suggested that you will be able to buy Xbox 2 with or without the hard drive (with an option to pick one up later), an assertion that reinforces claims that the Xbox 2 will be available in three versions - a basic console, the console with hard drive fitted, and a PC-style version with additional features.[br]While this may sound strange considering the current Xbox has a hard drive, we imagine you'd still be able to hold your saved games on a memory card while the detachable hard drive would be used for multimedia files and memory-intensive applications.[br][br]So can we expect detachable hard drives? Engadget is quoting a source close to the product, and we've certainly heard whispers from our sources that we should expect a detachable storage device. Looking pretty likely, then.[br][br]But there's more. Gaming blog Kotaku is also carrying alleged Xbox 2 information, again from an "exclusive source". This little haul of details seems to confirm the Xbox 360 moniker (which certainly seems to be gathering legitimacy amongst powerful people within the industry), offers that the console design will look softer with "sweeps and curves" replacing the hard lines of the original Xbox, and suggests that the console's exterior can be customised with "designer face plates".[br][br]We've also heard that Xbox 2 will indeed strike a smoother, slimmer pose than its little brother. According to our sources, it'll weigh in with about the same size and weight as Sony's PS2 (the old one, not the wee one) and feature curved edges designed to slim it down even further.[br][br]And the official word on all this? Unfortunately, representatives from Microsoft UK were unavailable for comment at the time of press, but given the speculative nature of all these reports we think we can imagine the response we'd get...[br][br]We'll keep watching the rumours and bringing you the latest on Xbox 2.
