• Outline

The Playstation 3 is Sony Computer Entertainment’s 3rd console which made its debut in Japan on the 11th November 2006, in America, November 17th 2006 and in the UK and Europe, 23rd March 2006. The PS3 is current in a “console war” competing with the Microsoft Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii.

• Versions

It is available in two models. The 20GB version and the 60GB Version. This table weighs up the differences:

As you can see, there are notable differences, though for alot of people i’d imagine the built in Wi-Fi would be a decider. However, the 20GB Playstation 3 will not be available at the launch in Europe, only the more expensive 60GB version. A Sony rep has stated that Europe might be getting the 20GB version if there is a demand for it.

• Specifications [Thanks to PS3.net]
  

CPU
Cell Processor
PowerPC-base Core @3.2GHz
1 VMX vector unit per core
512KB L2 cache
7 x SPE @3.2GHz
7 x 128b 128 SIMD GPRs
7 x 256KB SRAM for SPE
* 1 of 8 SPEs reserved for redundancy
total floating point performance: 218 GFLOPS

GPU
RSX @550MHz
1.8 TFLOPS floating point performance
Full HD (up to 1080p) x 2 channels
Multi-way programmable parallel floating point shader pipelines

Sound
Dolby 5.1ch, DTS, LPCM, etc. (Cell- base processing)

Memory
256MB XDR Main RAM @3.2GHz 256MB GDDR3 VRAM @700MHz

System Bandwidth
Main RAM 25.6GB/s
VRAM 22.4GB/s
RSX 20GB/s (write) + 15GB/s (read)
SB< 2.5GB/s (write) + 2.5GB/s (read)

System Floating Point Performance
2 TFLOPS

Storage
Detachable 2.5″ HDD slot x 1

I/O
USB Front x 4, Rear x 2 (USB2.0)
Memory Stick standard/Duo, PRO x 1
SD standard/mini x 1
CompactFlash (Type I, II) x 1

Communication
Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) x 3 (input x 1 + output x 2)
Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR)

Controller
Bluetooth (up to 7)
USB 2.0 (wired)
Wi-Fi (PSP)
Network (over IP)

AV Output
Screen size: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
HDMI: HDMI out x 2
Analog: AV MULTI OUT x 1
Digital audio: DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) x 1

Disc Media
CD PlayStation CD-ROM, PlayStation 2 CD-ROM, CD-DA, CD-DA (ROM), CD-R, CD-RW, SACD, SACD Hybrid (CD layer), SACD HD, DualDisc, DualDisc (audio side), DualDisc (DVD side)
DVD: PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM, PlayStation 3 DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW
Blu-ray Disc: PlayStation 3 BD-ROM, BD-Video, BD-ROM, BD-R, BD-RE

• SIXAXIS Controller

The SIXAXIS controller is the official controller for the Playstation 3. It will be wireless and connect via Bluetooth technology and will have motion sensing functionalities which were shown of at the E3 demo of Warhawk. As of launch, the SIXAXIS controller has no vibration function, however, resent reports suggest that vibration will be implemented at a later date.

• Playstation Portable Connectivity

The Playstation 3 will be able to directly link to the Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) via Wi-Fi. Once connected, you can communicate with the Playstation 3 and stream media right from your hard drive onto your PSP such as music, pictures and video. As well as this, comes with a very popular feature among PS3 owners. The Playstation Store will allow you to download old PSOne games and play them on your PSP. (Resent firmware upgrade now allows you to play them off your PS3 aswell)