Product Description

With the PlayStation®3 250GB system, you get free PlayStation®Network membership, built-in Wi-Fi and 250GB of hard disk drive storage for games, music, videos, photos, and PlayStation Network downloads. And every PS3™ system comes with a built-in Blu-ray player to give you pristine picture quality and the best high-definition viewing experience available. Whether it’s gaming, Blu-ray movies, music or online services, experience it all with the PlayStation®3 system.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #143 in Video Games
• Brand: Sony
• Model: 98018
• Released on: 2009-11-03
• ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
• Platform: PLAYSTATION 3
• Dimensions: 6.30" h x 13.39" w x 13.39" l, 9.92 pounds

Features

• 250GB HDD for storing games, music, videos, and photos
• High-Definition Blu-ray player for the best movie experience
• Free PlayStation Network membership
• Plays DVDs and CDs
• Internet ready with built-in Wi-Fi

Amazon.com Product Description

The fourth generation of hardware released for the PlayStation 3 entertainment platform, the PlayStation 3 250GB system is the next stage in the evolution of Sony's console gaming powerhouse. Loaded with a mix of multimedia features and functions available on earlier PlayStation 3 models, as well as a series of new advancements and refinements, the PlayStation 3 250GB system is destined to push the envelope in the realm of Next-Generation entertainment. What's Under the Hood As with previous models, the PlayStation 3 250GB system features an IBM "Cell" processor and a co-developed NVIDIA graphics processor that together allow the system to perform two trillion calculations per second. Yet the 250GB system manages to improve on this with its 45nm version of the processor, which although running at the same 60+nm speed as previous PS3 versions, uses less energy. This makes the unit's smaller size and quieter fan possible. Along with the traditional AV and composite connections, the 250GB system also boasts an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) port, which delivers uncompressed, unconverted digital picture and sound to compatible high-definition TVs and projectors. (The system is capable of 128-bit pixel precision and 1080p resolution for a full HD experience) This console also provides for an extreme sound experience by supporting Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, as well as Linear PCM 7.1. Finally, it features cross connectivity with your PC network and PlayStation Portable (PSP) and its pre-installed, 250GB hard disc drive allows you to save games as well as download content from The Internet. Unlike The some other models of The PlayStation 3, The 250GB system does not offer backwards compatibility. The same functionality now in a smaller, more quiet and energy efficient package View larger. Space saving when placed upright... View larger. As well as when horizontal View larger. A textured, no fingerprint finish View larger. Blu-ray, PlayStation Network Downloads and Beyond PlayStation 3 utilizes The Blu-ray disc media format, which gives you The best high-definition viewing experience on your television, by way of The format's ability to hold six times as much data as traditional DVDs. This tremendous capacity, combined with The awesome power of The system's processor and graphics card, promises an endless stream of mind-blowing games, and other multimedia content. This doesn't mean though that The PS3 is limited to Blu-ray discs. It also supports CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD+R formats. In addition, PlayStation 3 system software includes BD Live support that allows you to play discs that support Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0 (BD-LIVE), meaning you can also connect to The Internet while playing discs that support this format to obtain additional features. And of course PS3 owners also receive free access to The PlayStation Network (PSN), where through The PlayStation Store and PlayStation Home, they can download games, game demos, movies, and other content, as well as chat with friends, play mini-games, compete in tournaments and explore dedicated game spaces. Sensational Controller The Dualshock 3 wireless controller included with The PlayStation 3 250GB system provides The most intuitive game play experience, with pressure sensors in each action button and The inclusion of The highly sensitive Sixaxis motion sensing technology. Each hit, crash and explosion is more realistic when The user feels The rumble right in The palm of their hand. It can even detect natural movements for real-time and high precision interactive play, acting as a natural extension of The user’s body. Dualshock 3 utilizes Bluetooth technology for wireless game play and The controller’s detachable USB cable to seamlessly and automatically charge The controller when connected to The PlayStation 3. By integrating all of these features into The popular PlayStation controller design, The Dualshock 3 further enhances The advanced gameplay experience only available on The PlayStation 3 system. Synch with Your Other Sony HDMI Devices The PlayStation 3 250GB system features HDMI + Bravia Synch functionality. Bravia Synch allows connectivity between Sony HDMI products, without having to utilize multiple remote controls. This means that with The push of one button users can control compliant Sony devices connected to your PS3 via HDMI cable. What's in The Box: New slimmer and lighter PS3 system with a 250 GB HDD, Internet-ready built-in Wi-Fi, 2 USB ports and HDMI + Bravia Synch output for 1080p resolution and connectivity between other Sony HDMI products. Dualshock 3 wireless controller. AC power cord, AV cable and USB cable. Free PlayStation Network membership. System Specifications: CPU Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/B.E.) GPU RSX Sound LPCM 7.1ch, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTs, DTS-HD, AAC Memory 256MB XDR Main RAM, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM HDD 2.5" Serial ATA 250GB Networking Ethernet X1 (10BASE-T,100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) IEEE 802.11 b/g Included Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR) Included Controller Dualshock 3 wireless controller included AV Output Resolution 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i (for PAL 576p, 576i) HDMI OUT + Bravia Synch 1 AV MULTI OUT 1 DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) 1 BD/DVD/CD Drive (Read Only) Maximum Read Speed BD 2x (BD-ROM) DVD 8x (DVD-ROM) CD 24x (CD-ROM) USB Ports 2 Backwards Compatibility No Dimensions 13.385"(w) x 13.385"(h) x 6.299"(d) Weight Approx. 7.05 lb.

Customer Reviews

Supersized Slim - consider the alternatives
< BEGIN REVIEW >

Briefly, the PS3-250 is the exact original PS3 'Slim' with a twice as large hard disk.

I had the opportunity to actually see and use a PS3-250 on the Sunday prior to its launch. As I expected, the only difference between the ps3-250 and the PS3-120 is the larger disk with everything else the same. Many reviews of the PS3-120 are HERE.

< END OF REVIEW >



Once the decision was made to get a PS3, 2 important questions might be:

- Which model to buy? PS3-120 or PS3-250?

- To upgrade or not to upgrade to a 500/640GB PS3?

Based on personal experience and the experience of other PS3 owners that I know, the options are the following - remember, these are my views:



PS3-120, no upgrade
---------------------
Buy a PS3-120 and do not upgrade if you use it mainly to play movies and you rarely download games from the PSN store. It will take you very far and it should have sufficient room for storing thousands of pictures and a lot of music besides it playing Blu-ray content and CDs.

I found that 120GB would not be enough for me. After a couple of years of use, with a few downloaded games, many more demos, lots of pictures and songs and some videos the kids made with the PS3 Eye we've breached the 120GB threshold. I would not worry about that if all I wanted was one of the better Blu-ray players. In addition, anybody comfortable with backing up/restoring the PS3 and upgrading the disk can postpone the upgrade step for later.


PS3-250, no upgrade
---------------------
Buy a PS3-250 and do not upgrade if you do plan to download a few movies and games but not a lot of them AND/or you don't feel comfortable with upgrading your PS3 yourself.

Anyone who is not an almost-exclusive movie viewer and doesn't want to mess with screws and OEM disks should buy the PS3-250. It should have enough capacity to last for quite a few years with good disk space management (delete the demos and downloads you no longer need).


PS3-120 upgrade to 500/640GB
------------------------------
Buy a PS3-120 and upgrade it to 500/640GB IF you don't mind swapping the PS3's disk. You get to upgrade your PS3-120 to quadruple capacity for very little expense and probably for less than a PS3-250 would cost you (see next paragraph). This should buy you peace of mind for the rest of your PS3's lifespan.

Keep in mind that a 500GB HDD such as the 500GB Scorpio Blue Mobile Sata 5400RPM 8MB 2.5IN or the Western Digital 640 GB SATA OEM Notebook Hard Drive WD6400BEVT (Scorpio Blue) if you don't mind the extra expense can be had for about 90 dollars at the time I am writing this. That would make a 500GB upgraded PS3-120 appear a little more expensive than the PS3-250 BUT you are left with a brand-new 120GB HDD (the drive originally in the PS3) when you are done and you can either sell it or use it as an external USB-powered backup drive or maybe to upgrade your laptop's drive. This would effectively set the price of the 500GB upgraded console to match that of the PS3-250.

There are many online guides that detail the process. I will post a couple URL's in a comment to this review.


PS3-250 upgrade to 500/640GB (not recommended)
------------------------------------------------
Do NOT buy a PS3-250 if you are planning to upgrade it to 500/640GB unless you really need a spare 250GB external HDD instead of a spare 120GB HDD and think that the price difference is worth the larger spare drive.



EVALUATION

The PS3-250 while not for everyone, deserves its 5 stars. In my view, there is enough value added by doubling the storage capacity to justify the price difference over the PS3-120.


______________________________________

NOTE: If you want to upgrade you are better off if you upgrade immediately.

This way you avoid the backup/restore hassles and therefore greatly simplify the process. I would include the upgrade HDD on the same order with the new PS3 and maybe add a HDD enclosure if planning to use the drive I removed from the PS3 as an external drive.

Great value, great upgrade
Hi there,

Let me give you some background:

I purchased a PS3 60 GB model at launch back in November 2006. I have loved everything about it ever since. I even upgraded the hard drive to a 250 GB hard drive about a year and a half ago.

Why did I choose to purchase this new, slim, 250 GB model?

Honestly, it's a great deal for what you get. It's cooler (temperature wise), more energy efficient, and it takes up MUCH less space than my previous model. (Not to mention the much nicer, matte black finish as opposed to the older piano black finish which is a scratch/fingerprint magnet.)

Thinking about the new 120 GB vs. this 250 GB model? Maybe this will help:

Originally, I had planned to buy the 120 GB model and upgrade to a 250 GB or 320 GB hard drive myself. However, at the $349.99 price point, there's no need to perform the upgrade myself. For a quality Western Digital or Seagate 250 GB hard drive, you'll be spending anywhere from $50 to $70 plus shipping and/or tax, and for a 320 GB hard drive you'll be spending upwards of $75. Honestly, there really isn't any reason for that with this model. Why go through the hassle when Sony offers a great package at the perfect price point?

I for one am happy with my purchase which I received today from Amazon and am happily inagurating it with the GI Joe: Rise of Cobra blu-ray. For almost anyone that I can think of, the 250 GB hard drive will be more than enough space. However, should the need arise in a year or two (or three), a 500 GB hard drive will be dirt cheap and easy enough to install.

Incredible technology but complex
OK, I admit I'm new to the PS3, but I'm quite knowledgeable about technology in general and I am a certified PC technician.

First of all this is an amazing piece of technology for the money. An IBM cell 8 way processor with built in Blue Ray, Wifi, graphics, bluetooth, 250GB hdd etc., for $350.00! I would have only dreamed of being able to buy this at this price point ten years ago. I had preordered this thing on Amazon and was surprised to get delivery of it the day after it was released. Bravo Amazon!

I did find the setup of this beast a little intimidating. OK, I admit, I didn't read the directions, but knew intuitively what needed to be done. Connect the cables, power it up, then try and get it on my wireless network. First of all I have a very strong security framework on my router. I use a 64 bit random WPA key with MAC filtering. The first thing I did is have it auto detect the network. No problems here, found my network name just fine. Then it asked for my security key. Here is where the fun began. I know I could attach a USB keyboard, and in retrospect, that would have been much easier to input the key. However, I didn't have a USB keyboard laying around anywhere. So - on I went with inputting it using the dual shock controller. This was a bit unintuitive to learn how to use. Once I got the hang of it, no problem. I then inputted the key and told it to connect. It wouldn't connect. Then I figured out I had MAC filtering and would need to find the MAC address on the thing. That was pretty straight forward but now I found it didn't keep the security key I had spent 20 minutes typing into it before. ARGH!!! So I went through the process again and this time it connected.

Next, I found it was using an older operating system so I had it update it online. I guess I was kind of dissapointed that Sony didn't have the latest operating system on this thing since it was so new - but guess it missed the cutoff on that one. This took about 45 minutes sice I have a pretty slow connection out in the country. That worked fine. Now I had to input and register on the PlayStation Network. Also no problem, but time consuming.

Now, I'm just about done, but I found out I had to register the bluetooth controllers. This also was not very intuitive. You mean it doesn't just find them and register them on their own? Nope. So I went through the procedure of registering the dual shock controller on separate channels. BTW, you also have to charge them up through the USB connectors while the PS3 is powered on.

I also bought one of the BD bluetooth remotes. I put the batteries in and went through the procedure of holding the start and enter buttons until the menu changed on the screen. Nothing happened. I held it for five minutes. Still nothing happened. I tried literally everything and it still didn't work. I got on the forums and didn't find much out here so I could only assume it was a bad remote. Then I pulled the batteries that came with the remote and tested them. They tested perfect. Hmmmmm....very frustrating. For grins, I thought I would change the batteries with a fresh pair of alkaline batteries. Guess what - now it registered! Go figure!!! I'm glad I tried that because otherwise I would have sent the remote back. Why would Sony put batteries in this thing that won't drive the remote properly?

So - Hooray - now it is set up and everything works. Only took me about 2.5 hours. Granted, I have a very secure network, didn't read the directions, and have never used a PS3 before but to be honest, I think Sony needs to do some work to make this thing easier for people to set up. I couldn't imagine giving this thing to my parents and expect them to set it up without them screaming and throwing it through the window in frustration.

I still give it 4 stars, but for a new user, I think Sony still has some work to do on making the setup process and menus easier to use. Now that it is set up, everything works great.

The technology, graphics, and capabilities of this console are awe inspiring. You can find used games on Amazon for a song, and the blue ray player in this thing is excellent. Probably as good as any player out there. I really like the wireless controllers and also like the stealth size of the PS3. I hear virtually no noise from it that others have complained about and actually think it is very well built. I like the capability to upgrade the hard drive in the future and only wished I had a faster network where I live as downloading demos takes me forever.

All in all this is a killer device. If Sony would make the setup process a little easier I think this thing would be perfect and a solid 5 stars. To be fair, it is a very complex piece of gear and with this much functionality, there is a lot to learn.

Your mileage may vary from mine, but this was my experience with it as a brand new user. If you are looking for a gaming console and need a blue ray player anyway - this is a no brainer.