In a much anticipated move, Sony unveiled the PS3 Slim at Gamescom this year. The new PS3, priced at $300, will be available in the first week of September. Compared to the original PS3, the new one is smaller and weighs less. It also sports a 120GB HDD, and consumes 34 percent less power.
In other good news, original PS3s have their prices dropped to $300. In India, the prices have been dropped from INR 24,990 to INR 19,990. IMHO, it would have been great if Sony India dropped another 3k INR to bring it closer to XBox 360 Arcade’s price. Apart from countries where the new one will be available at a later date, it really doesn’t make sense to pay $300 for an 80GB PS3 when you can get the new one with 120 GB HDD at the same price in a few weeks.
Here are the specs:
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CPU: Cell Broadband Engine™
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GPU: RSX
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Audio output: LPCM 7.1ch, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD, AAC.
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Memory: 256MB XDR Main RAM, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM
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Hard disk: 120GB 2.5″ Serial ATA
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USB 2.0 ports: 2
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Networking: Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T), IEEE 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 (+EDR)
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Controller: Wireless Controller (Bluetooth) x 1
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AV outputs: HDMI x 1, AV MULTI OUT x 1, Digital out (optical) x 1
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Resolutions: 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i (for PAL 576p, 576i)
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BD / DVD / CD drive (read only): BD × 2 (BD-ROM), DVD × 8 (DVD-ROM), CD × 24 (CD-ROM)
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Power: AC 220 – 240, 50/60Hz
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Power consumption: Approx. 250W
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External dimensions (excluding maximum projecting part): Approx. 290 × 65 × 290 mm (width × height × length)
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Mass: Approx. 3.2kg
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Included in box: PlayStation 3 system × 1, Wireless Controller (DUALSHOCK 3) × 1, AC power cord × 1, AV cable × 1, USB cable × 1
Things to note:
- You’ll need to buy a $24 stand if you want to stack the new PS3 in a vertical position.
- The upcoming PS3 3.0 firmware will NOT be preinstalled on the initial lot of units. It will be, however, available in the later lots.
- Your PS2 games will not work on it.
- You won’t be able to install Linux on it (yet) as Sony has removed the option to install other OS.
- The new PS3 slim features Bravia sync – a useless feature, unless you have a Bravia TV.
Here is a video of Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) showing off the new PS3 slim:
