It has been quite a few years since Sony put the Playstation 3 gaming console on the shelves. As a successor to the Playstation 2, the Playstation 3 has had a steady run, holding off competition from the likes of Microsoft?s Xbox and Nintendo?s Wii. This has largely been due to the fact that the PS3 has a wider range of games than the rivals and also because it has been more reliable.
The PS3 Slim is a lot different from its elder brother, on the outside. The glossy finish has been replaced with black matte, which makes it less prone to catching dust, fingerprints and scratches. It is also slimmer than PS3 and has no vents on the two side panels. But the fact that it is slimmer than PS3 means that it would not be stable if kept vertically on one side. This is a chance for Sony to start selling the PS3 Slim vertical stand accessory, or you can keep the Slim flat on the shelf!
The rear panel has the video, audio, LAN and power ports, and so is the cooling fan. Setup is simple. Connect to the television using either HDMI or the proprietary video cables and you are ready to start playing. The resolution of the display will be set accordingly. However, in case you are having a problem, you will need to turn the PS3 Slim completely off, press the power button and keep it pressed for 5-6 seconds (or till the second beep). This will reset the video display.
There is not too much difference in terms of the gaming capabilities. The display is high quality and it plays all games that the PS3 plays. However, the new PS3 Slim comes with the DualShick 3 controller which offers extensive vibration feedback during game play. Drive a car off the track in NFS Shift and it will feel as if the controller wants to escape from your hands!
But the fact that the PS3 Slim keeps cooler than the earlier version helps performance during gaming marathons. The PS3 Slim can play back your videos, music and display images without breaking a sweat. The 120 GB hard drive offers a lot of space for storing media, and can connect an external HDD via the 2 USB ports on the front. The PS3 Slim still won?t detect NTFS formatted external HDDs, so ensure that they are formatted in the FAT32 format.
The video quality is absolutely fantastic. The videos get up scaled to an almost heavenly level of high definition ? whether it is being played back from the internal HDD, external HDD, or even over the network. This reminds me that you can connect to the Internet and the home media network via both a wired and a wireless connection. BluRay playback is the crowning glory of the Playstation 3 and the Playstation 3 Slim series. The playback is simple, be it using the controller or the optional BluRay remote accessory.
Value for money depends. If you have a PS3 already, then the PS3 Slim does not offer any performance or feature upgrades. However, if you are in the market for a Playstation 3 console, then you may want to choose this one. This is because this one runs cooler, is less prone to dust or scratches and consumes lesser electricity since it has a new cell processor.
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