Yesterday, Dale reported on a rumor originating at Ars Technica which suggested that Microsoft might be fitting new Xbox 360s out with HDMI capability as standard rather than reserving the luxury for the Elite model. Speculation was that the new versions of the console would start to quietly appear in stores around the end of this month, but it seems no-one told the 360s that.

A buyer in Australia has just become the smuggest man alive by unpacking his newly purchased Premium machine to find an HDMI port on the back, fully referenced by the instruction manual. So far we haven't got any confirmation on whether or not the 65nm processor has come along for the party, but all in all, this is great news to those of us wondering how long we'd have to hold off buying one of the beauties. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be annoying the staff in Gamestation by asking to inspect every machine in their warehouse.  

[Update: Microsoft has released official confirmation in an e-mail to Shacknews, which said:

Yes, we are offering an HDMI port for Xbox 360 simply as another choice in Xbox 360 owners’ games and entertainment experience. Retailers are gradually introducing HDMI-enabled Xbox 360s into the channel to meet demand.

It seems the HDMI capability is limited to the Premium line though, as the e-mail also stated 

We have not announced any plans to add HDMI to the Xbox 360 Core System.

And as for the issue of the smaller processor,

We are constantly updating the console’s more than 1700 internal components and therefore will not comment on details of specific components or manufacturing processes

Pesky blighters.]