It's been three years since Microsoft released the Xbox 360, and with the release of new hardware and new services, huge gaming announcements, and price drops, suffice it to say that it's come a long way since then. But with all that was introduced, one thing that remained stale was the Blades interface. It actually was and still is a solid interface, but in an age where online content rules, Blades certainly could have used a few tweaks to give it a little more shine. Microsoft went one better, though. In the early hours of yesterday morning (Pacific time), a switch was flicked and the highly-anticipated New Xbox Experience (NXE) was made available to each and every Xbox 360 owner.

I had the pleasure of using NXE before its release, and used that opportunity to explore it in its entirety. This article focuses on some of the key features NXE brings to the table, so if you're interested in learning more, read on!

When you first turn on the Xbox 360 and connect to Xbox Live, you're prompted to download and install NXE. The upgrade process is a painless one and takes around 5 to 10 minutes on most broadband connections. Following installation, the Xbox 360 plays a short introduction video, then takes you straight to the Avatar Editor.

Avatars

Yes, the infamous Avatars. Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, think they're Mii-ripoffs or not, or believe they're too cute for your underground gaming attitude, they're here to stay. Fortunately for the haters, the Avatars aren't all that invasive; they only consume a tiny portion of the Dashboard (which you'll soon see) and reside in a small collection of new and upcoming games, as well as older, recently-upgraded games such as UNO.

Microsoft offers an extensive library of personal features that allow you to customize your Avatar from eyes and ears to freckles and nevi to face paint. The wardrobe is a little less extensive, although Microsoft is promising more clothes in the coming months.

So, you've created your Avatar, and put him/her into a bit of a dizzy spell with your LT and RT buttons. What's next? If you feel ever so inclined, you can create your very own personalized gamer picture with the help of your Avatar and a trusty on-screen camera.

And then it's straight to the new Dashboard.

The New Dashboard

This is the new Dashboard. It adopts a two-way scrolling interface: vertical scrolling cycles through a series of sections such as Spotlight (a listing of what's hot on the Marketplace), My Xbox (everything to do with your profile and libraries), Friends (an Avatar-representation of your friends and their parties), and the Video and Game Marketplaces; horizontal scrolling cycles through each section's options.

What's immediately noticeable is just how clean and vibrant the new Dashboard is. Unlike the older Dashboard, everything just pops out of the screen. NXE taps into Marketplace content and updates portions of the Dashboard accordingly. Meanwhile, themes stretch right to the edges of the screen. Four themes (Xbox 360, Spectrum, Day, and Night) are included by default; if you want more, the Marketplace offers more themes than you can poke a stick at.