Yep, I bought it. Well, not what you're thinking ($480? Kidding, right?). But I did buy some accessories to it. Let's just say that the somewhat grainy images below don't do this sexy-black controller the justice it deserves. It's really a thing of beauty, with some other more worthwhile improvements as well.
As you can see it's all black, which is a plus already in my book. But noticeable improvments pepper the controller. For one, when taking these images I turned on the controller. You can slightly notice this in the first picture. Little did I know that when I hit the Guide button to turn it on it would turn my 360... which is a floor below me. It totally blew my mind when I went downstairs to find my 360 on, after looking at it "connect" in the upper left quadrant of the controller and wondering what the heck was going on. So, I surmise the wireless connectivitiy of the new controller is slightly better than the others (or maybe it's just because my other wireless is a Generation 1 -- 2005 controller).
Another thing I've noticed are great improvements in the button responses. And here's a good one for you -- the D-pad. I was able to navigate screens and other areas easily with it -- seems that right, left, up, and down are seperated a little bit more, and as such actually do what you want them to do.
Another nifty little improvement are the bumpers. I've noticed that they don't really... "click" like the old ones did. They feel much tighter and "sunken" into the actual controller itself to the point that all you have to do is silently tap it. Not sure where this ease of use will come in handy, but I suspect it will make reloading in Gears of War or perhaps Halo 3 a little different. ____________________________________________
Overall I love the new jet-black Elite controller. Another thing you don't have to worry about is finding dark little dust specks on the thing anymore, so that little peave is eliminated as well. If I had the cash, there's no doubt in my mind I would buy the Elite. That being said they could've just offered the Core system a new color, which current 360 owners who wanted the black look but no extra gizmos would love. I know I'd be willing to pay $300 for the black console, and then trade in or sell my current Core for around the same amount of cash.
I just... like black consoles more than white, I guess!
i'm stuck with my PC w/ core 2 duo and 5.2 ghz combined power, 2gb of ram, and geforce 7900 GS video card :) (probably gonna make that 2 of them soon).
not planning on buying a 360 anytime soon, spending all my money on cars :P
