Slimmer, cheaper, sexier PS3 coming in September

[cockney voice] Size - SLASHED! Price - SLASHED! Power consumption - VERY SLASHED! It's all got to go in the new PlayStation 3![/cockney accent]

Cheaper, slimmer, sexier.

That's the buzz around Sony's announcement of a new version of its PS3 console, which will be available early next month. And it's a buzz that's pretty hard to fault.

With the slimmer form factor - Sony's boffins have trimmed the internals, including PSU and cooling, down by about two-thirds - comes a much more competitive price: $499 in hard Aussie dollars.

At the same time, the PS3's system software will be updated across the board to version 3.00, bringing a host of UI improvements.

Other improvements include a 120GB hard drive (over the current model's 80GB HDD), lighter weight, and lower power consumption. The new PS3 uses two-thirds less power, in fact, and this also improves the unit's overall cooling, which means less fans, which means quieter operation. Bonus.

The great thing about the price drop (and the current model will drop to $US299, assuming you can find one) is that this places the PS3 in line with good Blu-ray players. Considering you get one of those as well, the new unit is pretty compelling just on that front. Treat it as a player that can also run the odd game, as well as access services like the awesome VidZone, and we're kinda hooked.

Here's the full spec-list:

And, of course, rest assured we're annoying Sony about sending us one to tear apart and photograph the hell out of. We want to see this sexy new internal design, and we're sure you do too.