From there onwards, it seemed like most places ran with the name Xbox Next, most likely due to it being a logical name for an unnamed successor more than anything else.
The rumoured Xbox Next would differentiate itself from the base model by having jukebox style functionality, TV recording and even original Xbox backwards compatibility - something the website claims would not be possible on the base 360 due to it launching with optional hard drive kiosks.
Expected for an Autumn 2006 launch date, the machine was reported to run on a media focused Windows OS to run PC software and games due to sporting a CD burner and wireless keyboard and mouse support.
What gives the article some weight is they're 100% spot on with their rumours on the two other kiosks being the arcade and premium bundles; one having a HDD with a release date of 2005. Unfortunately there's only two articles I could find reporting this story with the other being a Czech website reiterating the same information.
Nevertheless, even in Dean Tekahashi's book, 'The Xbox 360 Uncloaked',
Microsoft were experimenting with a 'home station'. This device would fulfil
all your media needs within the home, however it was ultimately cancelled as
it would clash with the Xbox and the last thing Microsoft wants is two similar
devices fighting for your attention.
I for one think there may be some weight to this as Microsoft's end goal was
to have Windows in the living room. However was the answer really a
PC/console hybrid? Multi-media consoles was on the rise, something which
Sony was really pushing for in the PS2 and the upcoming PS3.
Microsoft was already playing around with this idea
on the original Xbox and with Windows XP. Where this rumour may have come
from, may have been the 2005 Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005,
which provided a more console like UI like that of a console for multi-media
functionality.
Whatever this rumoured device was, it's most likely an early vision for the Xbox 360, which innovated in bringing multi media functionality and PC connectivity to the living room.
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