Sony Playstation 3 (40 GB) Black Console

I purchased my Playstation 3 for the holidays this past 2007. So far, at the price point I really do not have many regrets. I will spare you the technical details, as they can easily be found online.

Overall, the machine is very powerful and is much more similar to a modern gaming computer than a console. I would actually think that less technical people might actually have a bit of a difficult time understanding and setting up their machine.

The lan/wan integration is awesome. It easily finds your network (wireless or wired) and connects you to the web. It automatically informs you of system and game updates, to keep it patched. Also, it can scan your network for media computers and will stream the content from them. (for instance, if you have a pc with lots of mp3 files on it, you can play them through your PS3).

The wireless controllers work very well, and hold a charge for a while. However, they have to be plugged into the PS3 while the unit is ON to charge, which is a really stupid feature. They sell a stand alone wall charger, but it is expensive.

The web browsing capabilities are limited, but functional. You can use the controller, though I recommend getting a keyboard and mouse.

The system boots quickly and loads movies and games quickly.

I have about 40 hour of use on the box, and has locked 2 separate times on me (requiring a hard boot).

I would recommend getting the 80gig model, as it comes with more usb inputs and memory card slots.

The good:
Graphics are amazing.
Game load times are quick, much faster than a PC and most other consoles.
Online integration is excellent, no charge for network usage
Blue Ray DVD player works very well, and is a low cost alternative to stand alone units
Bluetooth integration (wireless controllers)
Allows you to install an open source version of Linux.

The Bad:
Only one controller in the box
No HDMI or component cables, that is $20 extra (will not display in hi-def without them either)
Not enough USB ports (only two)
Should have come with a keyboard
Occasionally locks up
Web browser does not support some current flash pages
Not enough codecs for watching video and video clips (cannot watch streaming video through web browser)
7.1 Channel optical audio not supported

Summary:
Overall, since you are getting a high-end gaming platform and blue ray dvd player in one unit, you cannot go wrong. This thing stands up to all but the best high-end gaming computers.

Update:
One of the moderators asked me my opinion on the games for the PS3. I believe this is a very subjective thing, as it really is up to the end-user as to which games they find appealing. However, my thoughts are as follows:
Racing games: work very well, and the physics of the platform supports very realistic game play.
Console games: (such as sonic the hedgehog) leave a lot to be desired. I would say that systems such as the WII are better suited. I experienced poor camera angles and clipping with this game. However, it is the only console type game that I have played.
Shooting games: This is where the PS3 takes the cake. I have played several different first person shooters, and with the exception of one (time crisis), the FPS games have some of the best physics and AI that I have seen in a gaming platform. Graphics and sounds are simply amazing.
Download games: The PS3 store has dozens of cool simple games that you can download for a small fee. They are simple games with standard graphics, but are good to waste time with.


****UPDATE****
I have not spent as much time using or playing games on the PS3 as I would like, but I thought I would include some notes on some recent things I have tried.

-Connecting to Windows Computer.
I recently connected my PS3 to a windows XP media server, which was a relatively simple procedure. Once connected, I was able to browse the "my pictures, my music and my videos" folders.
..Playing music through the PS3 from the windows machine was very easy. You simply navigate to the albulm or song and press play. The sound quality was excellent through my 5.1 channel receiver, in fact it is a little too loud.
..I was also able to navigate photos on my PS3 and see all of the picture on my big screen television. A nice way to give a slideshow to your friends, but a bit cumbersome and slow if you are looking for a particular photo quickly.
..Lastly, I was able to download a mp4 movie file from the net and stream it wirelessly to the PS3. The picture and sound quality was acceptable, and the speed remarkable considering everything that needs to happen over a wireless connection. However, there are lots of areas that could be improved.
-The video does not span (it will show black bars on left and right if not in widescreen format).
-Often it will tell you the file is not supported, if you exit out and try again it will work.
-fast forward and rewind can cause sound to lose synchronization.
--All in all, the integration with Windows machines is awesome, however it is a bit slow and the navigation system leaves a lot to be desired (it is similar to ftp file browsing). Once I have tried a few more things I will add to my reviews.