While the details are still somewhat sketchy, it can at least be confirmed that there will be - initially - two versions of the PS3... Of course don't expect to these versions to be the be all and end all, especially as Sony has to react to market conditions over the next few years.
Premium Playstation 3:
60gb hard drive
802.11 b/g internal
HDMI out
Memory Stick/CF/SD card reader
"chrome finishing" - yes, really. See our photos section for a "chromed-up" PS3.
Standard Playstation 3:
20gb hard drive
NO Wi-FI
NO memory card reader
NO HDMI
NO super-special deluxe "chroming" ;)
Around $100 US cheaper - how this translates to the Australian market has yet be determined.
So what does this mean for a PS3 buyer? Well, the standard PS3 will be upgradeable to just about all the Premium's features as add-ons. However the two things you won't be able to get is the HDMI output and the chrome finishing (although I'm sure determined modders will be able to change that themselves ;) ).
Considering the highly inflated prices of add-ons and upgrades, it'll most definetley cost you more to upgrade your PS3 to premium than shelling out the extra dosh in the first place. And of course, even then, you won't get HDMI output, at all. Right now HDMI is pretty useless - no one uses it, and while it's a "feature" of the new HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats, no studio has started enforcing encrypted HDMI movies just yet, and probably won't for many years to come. That said, if you've dropped the bucks on a HDMI enabled display, or plan to in the future, it's probably best to go with the Premium version.
The extra dosh for the premium version will certainly make the PS3 a pricey console indeed - above and beyond any other console ever released. Even the XBOX 360 will seem cheap compared to the PS3 premium version.
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