If you're still in the market for a Blu-Ray player, then you might want to hold off for a few weeks. Last week Sony silenced critics and aggravated game companies alike with the announcement of a PS3 Slim, an updated version of the PS3 with a slimmer profile, faster processors, lower power architecture and a retail price that's $100 less at $299.
It also includes a 120 GB hard drive to save movies, games and music, an integrated web browser, free online gaming and other perks.
After the PS2 dominated the last round of the console wars with over 140 million units sold around the world, the PS3 is in a distant third this round with the Wii way out front and Xbox 360 still making huge gains at Sony's expense. One of the complaints from the beginning has been price, and the PS3 Slim answers that with a powerful, affordable system that will double as your home media centre as well as a games console.
Although Blu-ray has been slow to catch on following a protracted battle with the ultimately doomed HD-DVD format, sales of Blu-ray movies have started to increase lately. Technology that is supposed to replace the need for media such as disks is slow to market, and download services like Netflix have drawbacks as well - ever try to stream an HD movie? Downloading HD movies, which can be 30 GB in size, is not a practical option at today's Internet speeds, and most downloaded HD films are in 720p format rather than higher resolution 1080i and 1080p offered by Blu-Ray. The PS3 slim will also upscale your traditional DVDs into something approaching HD.
By the way, the cheapest standalone Blu-ray player at Future Shop these days in $249. An extra $50 will get you so much more.
Zune HD versus the iPod Touch 3G
Apple has dominated the portable media market for the last few generations, despite the best efforts of a dozen companies to build better, cheaper media players.
Microsoft - which was late to market with its line of Zune players - may actually do the impossible and give the iPod Touch a run for its money when its Zune HD players (www.zune.com) hit stores on Sept. 15.
There's really no contest when you compare the Zune HD with the first generation iPod Touch - it's cheaper, has a slightly smaller (but better- looking) screen, can play HD radio, can display and output HD video, can browse the web, download apps, has an on-board accelerometer for tilt control and gaming, and other features. It's also cheaper than the iPod Touch, at $219 for a 16 GB model or $289 for the 32 GB (vs. $399 for the 32 GB Touch).
The OLED screen looks great and requires less plower, and consequently you can play about eight hours of video on the Zune HD versus about six hours on the Touch.
The Zune Marketplace is also becoming a credible rival to the iTunes Store. Basically it's a subscription service where you get unlimited music downloads for $15 a month, including 10 songs that you get to download and keep free of restrictions even if you unsubscribe. By way of comparison it's $1 per song on iTunes, so in a way Zune only costs $5 a month for unlimited access to millions of songs. Like past Zune models, you also get the ability to share song libraries with other subscribers as long as you're in an area with wireless Internet.
The biggest drawback is that Microsoft insists on using its miserable points system, same as they use to purchase games and content through Xbox Live (which the Zune HD will be able to access). You can buy additional songs, download TV shows, etc. starting at around 79 points with an average cost of around 99 cents - although you can get songs for cheaper if you buy a massive amount of points up front.
At this point there is no App Store to rival what Apple offers, which is a huge drawback at the outset but one I don't think will last for long. There are probably 10 times as many software titles out there for PC users than for Mac users, and I don't think it will be long before Microsoft's App store catches up.
The Zune HD is also a neat looking media player with a solid aluminum backing, scratch resistant glass cover and your choice of five colours. Unlike the previous Zune players the HD model can compete with the iPod Touch in a beauty contest.
But while Microsoft has made a huge leap forward, Apple isn't standing still. The next generation of iPod Touch is rumoured to include a camera, which the Zune HD lacks, as well as a more powerful processor similar to the iPhone 3GS. Prices are also expected to drop, and Apple is expected to announce a 64 GB version.
Apple will be announcing its new lineup in September, around the same time that the Zune HD will be available. You should probably wait until then to commit either way, but I doubt many Zune HD purchasers will walk away disappointed.
