New Xbox 360 dashboard update available now on Xbox LIVE

It's here! After a slight delay, the new Xbox 360 dashboard update is finally rolling out to all Xbox LIVE members, bringing with it cloud storage, improved Kinect support, new entertainment services, and more.

Announced back at E3 in June, the new update gives the Xbox 360 a fresh new look, as well as a few nifty new features. Here's a rundown of what's new and improved:

New Look

The dashboard has received a new look and feel (codenamed "Metro") that Microsoft hopes will make for a "more open, inviting and intuitive" experience. I must say from the time I've spent with the new dashboard it's really grown on me, although it does take some time to get used to the new layout in the beginning. More importantly though, I found it to be slightly faster than the previous dashboard.

Beacons

Beacons are a new way to alert Xbox LIVE and Facebook friends of games that you want to play online. It will also alert you when an Xbox LIVE friend plays a game that you've tagged, making it easier to party up for a good multiplayer session.

Cloud Profile

With the new Cloud Profile you can log into any Xbox 360 and access your games saves, friends lists and your Gold membership, including your Microsoft Points balance to make purchases. I've tested this myself and it's way faster than the previous Gamertag Recovery method. Just remember that game saves must be specifically saved into the Cloud storage option. Also, it's Gold exclusive and you're limited to 520 MB of cloud storage.

Voice Search and Controls

The new dashboard adds voice search, powered by Bing, which allows you to easily find games, movies or TV shows by just saying the search term. Unfortunately, this doesn't work in South Africa, as voice support still isn't available locally, however, if you have a UK or US account or don't mind using your controller, you're good to go.

In addition to the new Bing search, the update features improved Kinect support through out, so you're no longer limited to the Kinect hub.

Facebook Posting

You can now post Achievements and in-game experiences to your Facebook Wall, should you feel the need.

Improved Parental Controls

Parents can now manage their child’s console activity, sharing on social networking sites as well as regulate access to games, movies, television, and music.

New Entertainment Services

Back in October, Microsoft announced that nearly 40 new entertainment services were coming to Xbox LIVE (full list over here), and the new dashboard marks the beginning of the roll out. Not everything will be available at first, and being video content services, it's also limited to certain regions, however, it looks like South Africa will be getting YouTube and DailyMotion later this month and, oddly enough, MLB.TV, in "early" 2012.

Below are the services which are available now: