Microsoft details upcoming Xbox dashboard updates

By Ryan Fleming October 12, 2010

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Xbox dashboard will be sporting a slightly modified look when the long awaited additions, including ESPN, Netflix search options and an upgraded Zune marketplace are released, but along with those significant changes, several smaller ones will also be included.

The website 1up.com has a full list of the changes, and they include:

-Updated audio codecs to improve voice quality in Xbox Live Party chat.

-More options for changing your gamertag; including an availability search that will offer five more options if the name is taken.

-An upgraded in-dashboard keyboard.

-Avatars will be modified to make them easier to use with Kinect.

-Better wireless network connections, including a list of all available networks that you can then manually configure.

-Easier to sign out controller through menus.

-More browsing options for achievements on games that you completed 100-percent of the achievements.

The changes are not major, but they all should help with the Xbox Live experience. No official release has been given, but the update will be available before the release of the Kinect on November 4.

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Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…

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