PS3 Slim
By: Smokyo7
Sony hopes that with the release of the new $299 Ps3 slim they can boost sales that have been slumped for months. As Microsoft toys with the idea of lowering the price of the Elite from $400 to $300, this places Sony back into the competitive market. The 'new' Ps3 will offer the same features as the 'old', but just comes in a smaller, lighter package including a 120GB hard drive (upgradeable/replaceable without affecting the warranty).
If you had a Ps2 you may remember when they came out with the smaller version of that console as well. This move helped boost sales for Sony and they are still selling for a mere $100 currently. By releasing the more compact, cheaper version of the Ps3 they are hoping to create the same kind of influx that they had previously, Nintendo and Microsoft are currently running the video game market leaving Sony trailing behind.
Some key features to note is the power consumption has been lowered by 2/3, the entire internal design was restructered to suite the new smaller casing (33% smaller/36% lighter), a brand new fucking logo for you to feast your eyes on, built in WI-Fi, dual USB ports, Blu-ray player, HDMI output with 1080p, built in web browser, and free online gaming service. The only real negatives that this has going against it are it's non-backwards compatable so no Ps2 games, it can only be used in the horizontal position unless you get the $25 stand for vetical use, you can't use non-Bluetooth remotes.
The Slim can play videos or music from a USB device such as an external hard drive, as well as having a slide show feature if you want to look at all those dirty JPEGS you've been collecting. The PS3 Slim acts just as the 360 does in the sense that it can be a media hub, it has the ability to stream music over the network for wireless use. There are Bluetooth keyboards which you can purchase to use with the built in web browser, which is decent, though if you are expecting something such as Firefox or Chrome you will be dissapointed.
All in all the Slim is a good deal for the price. It offers everything its predecessor did and gives you enough space to park the Ps2 that you'll be needing next to it nicely. Free online play compared to Xbox's $50 a year, Blue-ray, 120GB hard drive, MPEG/JPEG compatible (though Hulu is now blocked complain to them about that), and version 3.0 firmware make this something to jump on. If you have been waiting for Sony to lower the price of the Ps3 so you could grab one, Sept. 1st 2009 is your day, the positives of this little beast definitely outweigh the negatives.