The prices I mentioned are not low. They are correct. With the release of the elite was also the release of the 120 gigabyte hard drive sold separately. Again, the 20 gigabyte hard drive is $100 and the 120 gigabyte hard drive is $180. Both these products are sold specifically for the Xbox 360. Also these prices will most likely not drop in six months. Microsoft sells these products not for direct profit. The profit they make is from the games themselves. The Xbox is sold at a very reasonable price and will probably remain there until a new series of game system is released in a few years. When buying an Xbox 360, regardless of being a core, premium, or elite system, you will get what you pay for and that will not change. In other words, the price will remain to be fixed on these consoles.
Secondly, there is no main drawback to swapping hard drives ( other than the one I mentioned previously about the old Live content that can only be accessed once signed-in ). The 120 gigabyte hard drive will come with a transfer disk and a hard drive connectivity cable. All you have to do is hook up two hard drives to one console using the included cable, pop in the transfer disk, follow the on-screen instructions, and then you wait until the transfer is complete. The previous 20 gigabyte hard drive will be wiped and your old data will now be on the 120 gigabyte hard drive. Obviously, since this process was intended to happen, one will not get banned from Live.
In conclusion, if someone is debating over buying a premium or elite console, I will strongly advise them to buy the elite. It's very well worth the extra $80. The extra storage will be very handy especially since there is so much to download for FREE from Live ( game demos, game trailers, game extensions, and miscellaneous items).
~ecnerd09