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By David Carnoy,Philip Wong
May 07, 2008

In the gaming world, being first to market has its advantages, but it also has some downsides. With its Xbox 360, Microsoft has staked itself a year's lead over arch rival Sony in the next-gen gaming wars and, just as importantly, the battle for living-room dominance--these powerful minicomputers also do double duty as digital media hubs.

Like the 360, the PS3 is available in two versions. Both feature the powerful Cell processor, inbuilt Blu-ray player, and HDMI video output. The baseline 40GB version retails for S$599 (US$394.08), while the step-up deluxe model boasts an 80GB hard drive, multiformat memory card reader and twice as many USB ports for S$200 (US$131.58) more.

The big question, of course, is whether the 80GB PS3 is S$100 (US$65.79) better than the flagship Xbox 360 Elite. From a pure gaming perspective, the short answer is: No, not today. The catalog of games is far from impressive with only a handful of hits such as Grand Theft Auto IV and the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4. However, in terms of design and in-the-box features, the value is here: The two versions of the PS3 are well worth their respective price tags.

Design: Back In Black

The PS3's sexy shape and futuristic look are ample evidence that the company's renowned design standards are alive and well. One look at its glossy exterior and touch-sensitive power and eject buttons on its face, and you can see why it might cost what it does. Like the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, the PS3 can stand vertically or lie horizontally in an A/V rack, though because of its curved top, it's not meant to have any other components resting on top of it. While its 40GB sibling is available in black, white and silver, the 60GB version is shipped in the dark shade.

There's no way to customize its look, too, as you can with Xbox 360's interchangeable, if overpriced, faceplates. As with the PSP, its glossy finish is a fingerprint and smudge magnet. If you handle it at all, you'll end up having to wipe it off, so you'll probably just want to stick it in a rack and leave it there. Dimensions-wise, the PS3 measures 325 x 97 x 274mm, which is roughly in line with the overall volume of the Xbox 360. That said, the PS3 does weigh a bit more at 4.99kg to 360's 4.49kg including power supply. Most impressively, there's no external power supply for the PS3; you just plug the included power cable into the back of the unit and you're good to go.

Another obvious difference between the Xbox 360 and the PS3 is the way you load media. As opposed to the more typical tray loader, the PS3 has a front-slot-loading, Blu-ray optical disc drive, which contributes to the unit's slicker appearance. Discs slide in and eject smoothly enough, so chalk one up for the PS3 here. On the front, you'll find four USB ports for connecting (and charging) controllers and other accessories, including USB keyboards, thumbdrives, and the PSP. It also offers a built-in memory card reader behind a door that supports not only memory cards from Sony's entire Memory Stick family, but CompactFlash and SD/MMC media as well.

Around back is where you'll find ports for network, HDMI, optical digital audio and proprietary PlayStation A/V output for analog audio and video. A composite-A/V cable ships with the unit, and because it uses the same connector as the PlayStation 2, that system's S-video and component cables will work with it as well. That's all fine, but we would have liked to have seen at least one USB port on the back for peripherals such as its EyeToy camera that spoil the PS3's otherwise clean lines by sticking obtrusively out of the front. On a more positive note, the internal hard drive is said to be user-replaceable.

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