Weighing about 11 pounds and measuring 12.8 inches wide by 3.86 inches high by 10.89 inches long, the PlayStation 3 is larger than the PlayStation 2, the diminutive Nintendo Wii, or the Microsoft Xbox 360. Like those consoles, it can be oriented vertically or horizontally. Either way, the PS3′s striking design looks right at home in the living room (admittedly, however, its polished top surface is prone to finger marks). The PS3 runs more quietly than the Xbox 360 but is a bit louder than the almost silent Wii. Though the unit itself doesn’t get too toasty, the air around it tends to feel warm after a few hours of continuous play.

The PlayStation 3 comes in two versions. The $599 model (which I tested) has a 60GB hard disk; built-in 802.11b/g wireless networking; and MemoryStick, SD, and CompactFlash slots. The $499 unit omits Wi-Fi capability and the media card slots, and has a 20GB drive. You can replace the hard drive on either version, and the supplied manual explains how to swap in your own 2.5-inch, serial ATA drive. Our sibling publication GamePro has posted scans of these instructions.

If you’re a fan of the PS3 or have been sitting on the fence, waiting for its price to drop to $299, the good news is that from a features standpoint, the 120GB Slim PS3 is nearly identical to the 80GB and the 160GB “fat” PS3 models that Sony’s in the process of phasing out. Aside from losing the capability to install another OS (Linux) on your PS3, nothing much else has changed. You still get built-in Wi-Fi connectivity (the Xbox 360 Wi-Fi adapter is a $100 add-on accessory), two USB ports for plugging in external storage devices and charging the PS3′s Bluetooth wireless controller (one DualShock 3 controller comes with the Slim), and the same built-in Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player with BD-Live capabilities.

Like its predecessor, the Slim also supports playback of MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4/h.264 video files from USB or disc-based media, as well as JPEG image viewing (the slideshow functionality is quite impressive). Like the Xbox 360, the PS3 can act as a digital media hub, with the ability to stream content from any DLNA-compatible network device, including PCs and network attached hard drives. And you also get a built-in Web browser (optional Bluetooth keyboards are available), which is serviceable, though not as good as any of the major browsers available for PCs.