Mock Super Slim PS3 design

It’s expected that, at Gamescon, Sony will announce a new Super Slim PS3 which will come in a 16GB, 250GB, and 500GB model with the 16GB surely being priced at $199. Thanks to Anatel, the Brazilian FCC, we even have some pictures of the new console though until Sony announces it, we should take such things with a grain of salt. With so many of the pieces falling into place, it does seem like a safe bet that such a console will happen and a lower hard drive size like a 16GB will allow Sony to drop the console price further and help it compete against the entry-level Xbox 360, which only offers 4GB.

Up ’til now, all PlayStation 3 models have used a 2.5-inch drive to fulfill the console’s hard drive needs while the community at large has been able to swap the default drive for any size drive they wish, thanks to a easy panel design from Sony. The question that needs to be asked then is, if Sony offers a 16GB model, which surely is not available in a 2.5-inch hard drive, does this mean that the new Super Slim PS3 will use flash memory?

We should first discuss how such a move would benefit PS3 owners. Flash memory, which powers devices like smartphones, tablets, and now a growing line of notebooks like the MacBook Air, is a preferred way to store and access information due to its lower power consumption. This results in better battery lifetime for those devices but for the PS3, this means running cooler than ever while eating less of your electricity. Flash memory also means faster download, install, and load times for all of your content. Whether you’re downloading something from PSN or installing a game from a Blu-ray disc, flash memory will speed things up. (It should also be noted that all PS3 models have the ability to have their drives swapped out for an SSD drive.)

Of course, the question that needs to be asked is, if such a thing pans out, how Sony will address the flash memory. Currently in the Xbox 360, users are given a 4GB card to stick in the consoles memory card slot. With the PS3 having no such slots and Sony having axes the consoles memory card readers and USB ports from 4 to 2, it seems unlikely that Sony will be offering a USB solution which indicates a built in solution.

It also seems unlikely that Sony will choose to build a version of the PS3 without a hard drive expansion bay, due to costs of manufacturing two different models while full games from PSN like inFamous 2 routinely use 15GB of hard drive space. This leads to the likely scenario that all future models might have some form of flash memory installed in them, alongside a 2.5-inch hard drive which again would be a big gain for the community, if only to allow the console’s OS to run on the memory for faster response times.

Discuss:

Do you think Sony will use flash memory in the Super Slim PS3?