Microsoft officially announces the rumored black Xbox 360 Elite.

The Xbox 360 Elite comes in black with 1080p HD output on the new HDMI interface. A 120GB HDD that also is available separately for $179.99, black headset, black wireless controller and Xbox live membership are part of the $479.99 package.

"Today's games and entertainment enthusiast has an insatiable appetite for digital high-definition content," said Peter Moore, corporate vice president for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "Xbox 360 Elite's larger hard drive and premium accessories will allow our community to enjoy all that the next generation of entertainment has to offer."

This is still not the big throw for Microsoft. If they stand behind HD DVD, they should have included the drive. I just heard yesterday from the Sony Europe President that the Sony sold 600,000 Sony PS3 consoles in Europe so far. This means 600,000 Blu-ray drives are now in the European market.
More details in this Microsoft press-release.