5 things you need to know about the Sony PlayStation 3 Slim

Sony’s super-thin, super-light PS3 Slim is coming to the UK in September. Here’s the five things you really need to know about this gamine gaming machine.

1 It really is seriously slim

Sony has form for sending its consoles to weight watchers. The PS3’s older brother, the quaint looking PS2 was followed by its own less portly version the PS2 Slimline. But the Sony PS3 Slim has really shed the pounds and been shrunk in the gadget hot-wash.

It’s 3.5% shorter – dropping from 98mm to 65mm. 10.77% narrower – from 325mm to 290mm – and has dropped 26mm in depth. Weight wise, the Sony PS3 Slim swaggers in at 1.8kg lighter than the current PS3.  

2. It’s coming in a 120GB version but a 250GB monster could be on the way  

Sony’s presentation failed to mention any spec changes for the Sony PS3 Slim so it’s safe to assume the smaller console will come packing a 120GB hard drive and Blu-ray player.

However, mere moments after the announcement of the PS3 Slim, the blogs were ringing with rumours of a 250GB version prompted by details in an American petent filing. PS3 News predicts this larger capacity PS3 Slim will pop up some time next year and come at a premium price.

3. The PS3 Slim might be super-slight but the price isn’t

Like Microsoft, which is rumoured to be considering a price rise for the Xbox 360, Sony is suffering from a poor Euros to pounds exchange rate. The Sony PS3 Slim will also make your wallet light.

UK pricing was curiously absent from Sony’s presentation but the Euro price gives some idea of how much it’ll set you back. In Europe, the PS3 Slim will go for €299 Today’s currency catastrophes mean that’ll probably be around £255 in the UK.

On the plus side, the launch of the Sony PS3 Slim means a drop in the price of the original flavour Playstation 3. Expect good deals on the bulky old thing.

4 It’ll be much quieter. Finally watch Blu-ray films unbothered by the fan.

Engadget’s hands-on with the Sony PS3 Slim reveals that the new slighter machine is quieter than its predecessor.

When playing games the PS3 chunters along at around 53 decibels when playing games (compared to the original PS3’s 57 decibels).

Showing Blu-ray movies, the PS3 Slim makes around 60 decibels of distraction compared to the PS3’s decidedly noisier 70 decibels.

5 It runs new firmware but Linux lovers won’t be happy

The PS3 Slim will arrive with the new Playstation 3 3.00 firmware. The upgrade makes some changes to the user interface.

The changes also come with a downside – the PS3 Slim won’t allow you to install other operating systems like Linux. Most people will be fine but the hardcore homebrew and hacker fans of the PS3 will be sad. 

The firmware update adds support for new themes to tart your PS3 Slim’s backgrounds and interface up with. You’ll now be able to opt for fully animaed backgrounds and set themes to change according to time of day.

It also adds a new option to PlayStation Network menu called “What’s New” which will highlight new downloadable content and forthcoming titlle .

Avatars also get an update with a new set of icons and the ability to purchase premium avatars from the PlayStation store.

Original PS3 needn’t feel too jealous, the updated firmware is coming to your living rooms too. 

Let us know what you think of the PS3 Slim below. Is the weight loss worth the wait?