(Credit:
Sony Computer Entertainment America)
Sony Computer Entertainment America on Thursday announced that a new 250GB variation of the PlayStation 3 Slim will be available beginning November 3 for $349.99. The PS3 hardware will otherwise remain the same as the 120GB flavor of the Slim, which costs $50 less. The console maker will also continue to sell the physically larger, previous model of the PS3 which comes with either an 80GB or 160GB hard drive.
The extra 130GB of storage in the 250GB model gives PS3 owners more room for downloaded movies, game installs/saves, music, and photos. According to Sony, "more than 600 million pieces of content have been downloaded from [the] PlayStation Network as of September 2009." (Note: "content" could be anything from 5MB themes to HD movies which can take up gigabytes of storage.) For most though, the extra storage will keep users from having to offload these files onto external drives when they run out of space, or manually replace the included hard drive with something bigger.
The increase should not be a surprise to most gamers though. It's coming just in time for the holiday season where console makers stand to sell more hardware than at any other time of year. Also, at the Tokyo Game Show last month, the company announced a special 250GB version of the console to coincide with the release of Final Fantasy XIII. Shortly thereafter it said Australia would be getting a 250GB variation of its own. There had also been purportedly leaked shots of holiday bundles acquired by blog Engadget, depicting 250GB versions of the consoles with games like Uncharted 2, which was just released this week.
The Sony PlayStation is finally getting a price drop, but some dummy retailers in Europe are actually increasing the price of the Xbox Arcade console set. In other news, a Twitter user is offering his followers a line to God, Starbucks says OK to freeloaders, and we also debate the most prolific technology of our time! You'll never guess what Wilson has up his sleeve...
In case you haven't heard, our economy is in a little bit of hot water right now, and while most companies like Sony are slashing prices to keep up with the competition, the geniuses at Microsoft EU are actually increasing the price of the Xbox Arcade from £129.99 to £159.99. Furthermore, the five Xbox Live Arcade games will no longer be included in the bundle. The company's excuse is that it is to "counteract the poor pound-to-euro currency exchange rate." Who allowed this to happen at Microsoft? At least fix the failure rate before you increase the price!
In other news, Starbucks is opening its doors to Wi-Fi freeloaders. We reported in the past that several cafes in New York are banning cell phones and laptops, cutting off Wi-Fi access to discourage freeloaders from just hanging out and surfing the Web for free. Starbucks has always been an easy place to gain paid access to the Internet, and it will continue to provide a welcoming environment for customers to enjoy their $68 cups of flavored coffee.
Many more stories to get to today, including a Twitter account that gives followers a direct line to God and a hilarious poem from our buddy CHRISTOPHER WALKEN!
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Due out September 1, the "Gladiator" Blu-ray should do big numbers.
Back in April, we reported that sales for Blu-ray Discs had nearly doubled in the first quarter compared with the year before, according to Adams Media Research. Now the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) has issued a press release saying that U.S. Blu-ray sales are up 91 percent in the first half of 2009, which indicates that the format is maintaining its growth pace despite the recession.
Blu-ray and digital downloads were a bright spot in the DEG's report. Overall, consumer spending for prerecorded entertainment was down 3.9 percent compared with the same period last year, with net profit down 2.2 percent. However, the DEG noted that spending was up in the second quarter and that higher margin products like Blu-ray and digital downloads had a favorable impact on the bottom line.
"Although consumer spending on sellthrough packaged media was down 13.5 percent in the first half of 2009," the release says, "this was partially offset by the growth of Blu-ray (up 91 percent to $407 million) and digital distribution (up 21 percent to $968 million, which includes $196 million for electronic sellthough)." Additionally, rental spending was up 8.3 percent for the first half of 2009, "boosted by an increase in Blu-ray rental spending, which was up 62 percent."
Comments? If you own a Blu-ray player, what's your ratio on renting vs. buying? And, Blu-ray detractors, do you think digital downloads will make Blu-ray a niche product sooner rather than later?
3G phones allows for fast data speed and simultaneous data and voice connections.
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)ComScore, a global company that measures the world's digital usage, reported on Thursday that the U.S. is no longer trailing behind Western Europe in the adoption of 3G mobile devices.
3G is the third generation of mobile standards, used primarily in cell phones, that allows for fast cellular data speed and simultaneous data and voice connections.
After a slower start, 28.4 percent of American mobile subscribers now have 3G devices versus 28.3 percent in the largest countries in Europe. The report is based on the changes in 3G device penetration between June 2007 and June 2008. During this time, U.S. 3G subscribers increased by 80 percent to the current total of 64.2 million. The only European countries that still outdo the U.S. in 3D penetration are Italy and Spain.
The report credited the increase to the fact that mobile carriers in the U.S. have been rolling out their enhanced networks and new generation of 3G enabled devices.
It's important to note that the increase in device penetration doesn't necessarily translate into the same increase in 3G usage. Some users don't use the 3G features of their mobile device and others, like me, might not be able to use it as often as they can.
The demise of the HD DVD format has been bad news for both bargain hunters and at least one big-time technology company.
The Sony BDP-S300
(Credit: CNET Networks)In the three short weeks since Toshiba announced that it was pulling the plug on the high-definition technology, prices for standalone players using the rival Blu-ray format have been headed north. In fact, as noted by PriceGrabber.com, Blu-ray prices are at their high point for the year, at an average of about $400 apiece for the devices. The Sony BDP-S300, for instance, was just a small mocha latte above that level, at $403 as of Wednesday.
Prices for Blu-ray players had been dipping down to around $300. Just last week, Sony Electronics President Stan Glasgow said that the company would be "at a $300 rate" through this year--and would even hit the $299 mark in 2008. Apparently, though, retail outlets haven't gotten that message just yet. (Glasgow also allowed that the price might reach $200--next year.)
If you're a penny-pincher who's of a mind to buy technology on the endangered species list, you could of course go out and buy a $99 HD DVD player.
You might also do well to heed the advice of TGDaily, which in musing about the Blu-ray price increases is also looking ahead to later this year when Blu-ray players gain some advanced features and the ability to connect to the Internet: "Many of the current Blu-ray manufacturers have announced new players that will support BD Profile 2.0, so my advice would be to buy a PS3 or wait for the next-gen players." (The PlayStation 3 game console offers Blu-ray and Internet connection already. But don't go looking for Blu-ray on the Xbox 360.)
But if you're still buying Blu-ray today and ruing having to shell out a few extra bucks, imagine how Toshiba feels. The consumer electronics giant, a leading backer of HD DVD, could see a whopping $986 million loss in its high-def DVD business for its current fiscal year, according to Japan's Nikkei business daily. Correction: This sentence initially had a "b" instead of an "m" in the dollar value of the loss. The expected loss is $986 million.)
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