PlayStation 3 120 GB Review

1st off I'd like to thank all the reviewer's on this forum for your reviews. On the whole they were highly informative. No way anyone could read this forum and not come away with more than enough information to make a highly informed buying decision.br /br /A. Dent "Aragon" I've gotta give you a gold star in particular for your review. Well done! You covered the key feature and spec differences nicely and I'd like to build on your review, if I may, from a philosophical mindset POV.br /br /Some background.br /br /I'm a software developer of some years. I grew up with MS. I've been developing with their products since DOS 2.0 :D. I'm an MS boy through and through. pfft, Of course my cell runs Windows Mobile. Ya, Win Mobile has given me fits a time or two, ;), but I doubt I'll ever own a phone that doesn't run Win Mobile.br /br /I know exactly who MS is. Back in the day they kinda sucked on more than a couple levels but even then, they were still the best software company in the business. Not only has that not changed in my mind but there's no doubt to me that they are currently better at what they do than they've ever been. br /br /Sure, there's any number of SW developers out there working for other companies who are every bit as good as any MS developer out there and oft times better but eh... br /br /At this point, there's no other software company in the world even remotely close to where MS is at in terms of maturity and quality. When I look at what Win 7 is coupled with Visual Studio and the .net 3.5 development platform, eh, those 2 things have always been the heart and soul of who MS is and those 2 things are currently rocking it harder than they ever have, no doubts. br /br /I've always been a hard core gamer in the PC FPS world. So naturally I've known the xBox and played games on the xBox since it's inception. br /br /I'm just saying, I've never owned an xBox. I've known at least 6 peeps with xBoxes. Of those 6, 4 of their boxes failed. Two of them went the RROD route, another had some internal disk failure, and the other had some funky internal connection problem. None of those boxes lasted a year. All of the owners I know went through varying degrees of rig-a-ma-roll trying to get their boxes fixed and/or replaced.br /br /The HW issues and the reasons behind the xboxes unreliability are pretty well documented. Because MS decided to farm out manufacturing early on for the xbox they never really had any true quality control over the product they were tossing out to consumers. They never had a handle. They still don't have all that much of a handle now. Given what I know about MS from the SW world and the fact that they are brand new to the HW biz ...eh, to this day I'm not feeling compelled to pick up an xbox. And no, it's not hardly about money. br /br /To be fair, I am an FPS kinda guy. There's still never been a console + controller + game created that affords me the precision and control in the FPS genre that WASD on a keyboard and a mouse does. I'm still waiting for one? br /br /As I speak I think everyone who owns an xbox today or buys an xbox tomorrow is STILL an early adopter. As it happens I do have more than a passing familiarity with that dynamic. I've dealt and deal with MS product continually every single day. Like I'm saying, I know who MS is. I know how much research and dev went into the xbox.br /br /Speaking strictly within the framework of the FPS gaming genre, I think the xbox is currently the best console platform out there. As well it should be. And it starts with the box and the controller. While the xbox was not designed specifically for Halo, the thinking behind the box, gpu, and the controller were absolutely designed to optimize any and every FPS gaming experience created for the xbox platform. Again, who can argue with that strategy? In the video game industry, what's the best selling genre? br /br /I truly believe MS has the right idea about the console platform in terms of the idea of the overall gaming experience. Also, no doubt to me that various XBL$ issues aside, the XBL platform is superior to the PSN platform as I post. br /br /From MS's inception they've always been many things but fundamentally stupid and obstinate has never really been their hallmark. At least not for long. MS is a whole lot like the Borg. If you've got half a clue about anything they will consume your uniqueness and add it to their own.br /br /The above said I think the xbox 360 controller currently implements a design that exploits the FPS genre best. br /br /To also be fair to the PS platform, from the very beginning the PS controller in all it's incarnations was never designed to exploit any specific gaming genre. The PS controller has always been designed to cast a much broader net across gaming genre's.br /br /So the question remains, given the fact that I am and will always be an MS boy, why is it I've never ever owned an xbox? Why was my very 1st console purchase evar this slimboy PS3?br /br /Heheh, it's really a no brainier for me. This PS3 is absolutely THE best media center on the market today. br /br /Nothing else comes close to the PS3 at this price point given what it can do. I've already got a PC for serious gaming. That said I'm about to explore the latest exclusive PS3 gaming titles to eval where the state of the art is really at. br /br /Seriously, the xbox comes closest for about an initial 50-150+ but even then the xbox can't output any media in any format at 1080p. See, for me? That right there is a deal breaker. br /br /MS can KMA right now. The xbox is not there yet. br /br /I think MS might still be butt hurt to this day behind choosing the wrong side in the HD war. Whatever? Until they ship with Blu-Ray and built in WiFi at a competitiver price AND they can deliver a reliable abd quality product they're dead to me in this market segment. :)br /br /
PlayStation 3 120 GB Feature
- HDMI + Bravia Sync functionality that provides both 1080p output resolution, and instant in-synch connectivity between your PS3 and other Sony HDMI enabled products without the use of multiple remote controls.
- A new 33% slimmer, 36% lighter PlayStation 3 entertainment system that is also more energy efficient.
- Includes a Dualshock 3 wireless controller and a built-in 120GB HDD for storing games, music, videos, and photos.
- Built-in Wi-Fi for connectivity anywhere and multiple media format compatibility, including Blu-ray for crystal clear video on High-Definition TVs, CD-ROM, DVD, and others.
- Free membership and access to all the events, as well as game, movie, TV and other media content available on the PlayStation Network (PSN).
PlayStation 3 120 GB Overview
With the PlayStation 3 120GB system, you get free PlayStation Network membership, built-in Wi-Fi and 120GB of hard disk drive storage for games, music, videos and photos. And every PS3™ system comes with a built-in Blu-ray player to give you pristine picture quality and the best high-definition viewing experience available. Whether it’s gaming, Blu-ray movies, music or online services, experience it all with the PlayStation 3 system.
PlayStation 3 120 GB Specifications
table border="0"trtda name="product_description" The fourth generation of hardware released for the PlayStation 3 entertainment platform, the PlayStation 3 120GB system is the next stage in the evolution of Sony's console gaming powerhouse. Loaded with a mix of multimedia features and functions available on earlier PlayStation 3 models, as well as a series of new advancements and refinements, the PlayStation 3 120GB system is destined to push the envelope in the realm of Next-Generation entertainment. style type="text/css" .caption { font-family: Verdana, Helvetica neue, Arial, serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; } ul.indent { list-style: inside disc; text-indent: -15px; } table.callout { font-family: verdana; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1. 3em; } td.vgoverview { height: 125px; background: #9DC4D8 url(http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detail-page/callout-bg.png) repeat-x; border-left: 1px solid #999999; border-right: 1px solid #999999; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 10px; width: 250px; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px; } /stylep/table align=left width=265 cellpadding=0trtd valign="top"img alt="The PS3 logo" title="The PS3 logo" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/videogames/detail-page/B002I0J4VQ.logo.250.jpg" border=0 align=top width="250" height="36"/td/tablebWhat's Under the Hood/bbr/ As with previous models, the PlayStation 3 120GB system features an IBM "Cell" processor and a co-developed NVIDIA graphics processor that together allow the system to perform two trillion calculations per second. Yet the 120GB system manages to improve on this with its 45nm version of the processor, which although running at the same 60+nm speed as previous PS3 versions, uses less energy. This makes the unit's smaller size and quieter fan possible. Along with the traditional AV and composite connections, the 120GB system also boasts an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) port, which delivers uncompressed, unconverted digital picture and sound to compatible high-definition TVs and projectors. (The system is capable of 128-bit pixel precision and 1080p resolution for a full HD experience) This console also provides for an extreme sound experience by supporting Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, as well as Linear PCM 7.1. Finally, it features cross connectivity with your PC network and PlayStation Portable (PSP) and its pre-installed, 120GB hard disc drive allows you to save games as well as download content from The Internet. Unlike The some other models of The PlayStation 3, The 120GB system does not offer backwards compatibility. p/table align=right width=310 cellpadding=10trtd valign="top"div align="center"img alt="The PlayStation 3 120GB and included Dualshock 3 controller" title="The PlayStation 3 120GB and included Dualshock 3 controller" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/videogames/detail-page/B002I0J4VQ.01.sm.jpg" border=0 align=top width="300" height="336"br/divcenterspan class="caption"The same functionality now in a smaller, more quiet and energy efficient packagebr/ View larger./span/center/td/trtrtd valign="top" height="211"div align="center"img alt="The upright height of previous PS3 models compared to the smaller of PlayStation 3 120GB system" title="The upright height of previous PS3 models compared to the smaller of PlayStation 3 120GB system" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/videogames/detail-page/B002I0J4VQ.02.sm.jpg" border=0 align=top width="300" height="164"br/divcenterspan class="caption"Space saving when placed upright...br/ View larger./span/center/td/trtrtd valign="top" height="110"div align="center"img alt="The horizontal height of previous PS3 models compared to the smaller of PlayStation 3 120GB system" title="The horizontal height of previous PS3 models compared to the smaller of PlayStation 3 120GB system" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/videogames/detail-page/B002I0J4VQ.03.sm.jpg" border=0 align=top width="300" height="65"br/divcenterspan class="caption"As well as when horizontalbr/ View larger./span/center/td/trtrtd valign="top" height="211"div align="center"img alt="The PlayStation 3 120GB system's textured finish" title="The PlayStation 3 120GB system's textured finish" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/videogames/detail-page/B002I0J4VQ.04.sm.jpg" border=0 align=top width="300" height="297"br/divcenterspan class="caption"A textured, no fingerprint finishbr/ View larger./span/center/td/tr/tablebBlu-ray, PlayStation Network Downloads and Beyond/bbr PlayStation 3 utilizes The Blu-ray disc media format, which gives you The best high-definition viewing experience on your television, by way of The format's ability to hold six times as much data as traditional DVDs. This tremendous capacity, combined with The awesome power of The system's processor and graphics card, promises an endless stream of mind-blowing games, and other multimedia content. This doesn't mean though that The PS3 is limited to Blu-ray discs. It also supports CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD+R formats. In addition, PlayStation 3 system software includes BD Live support that allows you to play discs that support Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0 (BD-LIVE), meaning you can also connect to The Internet while playing discs that support this format to obtain additional features. And of course PS3 owners also receive free access to The PlayStation Network (PSN), where through The PlayStation Store and PlayStation Home, they can download games, game demos, movies, and other content, as well as chat with friends, play mini-games, compete in tournaments and explore dedicated game spaces. p/bSensational Controller/bbr The Dualshock 3 wireless controller included with The PlayStation 3 120GB system provides The most intuitive game play experience, with pressure sensors in each action button and The inclusion of The highly sensitive Sixaxis motion sensing technology. Each hit, crash and explosion is more realistic when The user feels The rumble right in The palm of their hand. It can even detect natural movements for real-time and high precision interactive play, acting as a natural extension of The user’s body. Dualshock 3 utilizes Bluetooth technology for wireless game play and The controller’s detachable USB cable to seamlessly and automatically charge The controller when connected to The PlayStation 3. By integrating all of these features into The popular PlayStation controller design, The Dualshock 3 further enhances The advanced gameplay experience only available on The PlayStation 3 system. p/bSynch with Your Other Sony HDMI Devices/bbr The PlayStation 3 120GB system features HDMI + Bravia Synch functionality. Bravia Synch allows connectivity between Sony HDMI products, without having to utilize multiple remote controls. This means that with The push of one button users can control compliant Sony devices connected to your PS3 via HDMI cable. p/bWhat's in The Box/b: ulliNew slimmer and lighter PS3 system with a 120 GB HDD, Internet-ready built-in Wi-Fi, 2 USB ports and HDMI + Bravia Synch output for 1080p resolution and connectivity between other Sony HDMI products./liliDualshock 3 wireless controller./liliAC power cord, AV cable and USB cable./liliFree PlayStation Network membership./li/ulh4System Specifications:/h4table border=2 cellpadding="2" align="center"trtdCPU /tdtd colspan=2Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/B.E.) /td/trtrtdGPU/tdtd colspan=2RSX/td/trtrtdSound /tdtd colspan=2LPCM 7.1ch, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTs, DTS-HD, AAC /td/trtrtdMemory /tdtd colspan=2256MB XDR Main RAM, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM /td/trtrtdHDD /tdtd2.5" Serial ATA /tdtd120GB /td/trtrtd rowspan=4Networking /td/trtrtdEthernet /tdtdX1 (10BASE-T,100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) /td/trtrtdIEEE 802.11 b/g /tdtdIncluded /td/trtrtdBluetooth 2.0 (EDR) /tdtd colspan=2Included /td/trtrtdController /tdtd colspan=2Dualshock 3 wireless controller included /td/trtrtd rowspan=4AV Output /tdtdResolution /tdtd1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i (for PAL 576p, 576i) /td/trtrtdHDMI OUT + Bravia Synch /tdtd1 /td/trtrtdAV MULTI OUT /tdtd1 /td/trtrtdDIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) /tdtd1 /td/trtrtd rowspan=3BD/DVD/CD Drivebr(Read Only) /tdtd rowspan=3Maximum Read Speed /tdtdBD 2x (BD-ROM) /td/trtrtdDVD 8x (DVD-ROM) /td/trtrtdCD 24x (CD-ROM) /td/trtrtdUSB Ports /tdtd colspan=22 /td/trtrtdBackwards Compatibility /tdtd colspan=2No /td/trtrtdDimensions /tdtd colspan=213.385"(w) x 13.385"(h) x 6.299"(d) /td/trtrtdWeight /tdtd colspan=2Approx. 7.05 lb./td/tr/table/td/tr/table
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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Feb 19, 2010 18:39:21