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We could barely believe what we were reading, but there's a decent rumour going around that Microsoft are planning to announce a new Xbox One console configuration in October.

Chinese Windows Phone site WPDang are reporting that in October, Microsoft will hold a big event to announce the launch of the new Lumia 940 and Lumia 940 XL smartphones, the next version of the Microsoft Band and the availability of a new Surface tablet - the Surface Pro 4. The word is that alongside these more or less expected announcements, the Redmond-based giant will announce that the Xbox One Mini is in the works.

The Xbox One Mini is reportedly one third of the size of the current Xbox One and is a digital-only device that does away with the Blu-ray drive entirely. It'll apparently be much quieter as a result.

Now, The Verge's Tom Warren has confirmed pretty much everything that WPDang are claiming, APART from the Xbox One. In fact, Warren says "there may be a slimmer Xbox One, but a lack of rumors around Microsoft's console plans suggest this is unlikely."

Following on from that, the longstanding WPDang site has mysteriously disappeared, with the entire thing being taken offline in the early hours of Friday morning. What this suggests is up to your perception of things.

In some senses, it would be a good idea to bring an all-digital version of the console to market - especially if the price is correct. In others though, it would be a tough sell. We can't imagine that retailers - who make large percentages on the price of physical games - would welcome the move. Plus October is definitely strange timing, right in the middle of the busiest time of the year for videogame sales. The only way that it wouldn't damage the holiday push would be if Microsoft were to come up with an Apple-style "...and it's available right now!" kind of move. Anything else could cause prospective console buyers to hold onto their cash until the new model was released.

As always, we'll keep our ear to the ground to see what goes on and we'll let you know just as soon as we do.