Sony PlayStation 3

Out of the box, the PS3 will have the capability to support seven Bluetooth controllers, which can be used for nearly 24 hours before they require charging. The PS3 will also have six USB slots for peripherals such as the wireless HD IP camera - the successor to the EyeToy: four up front and two in the back. As rumored, the PlayStation 3 will also have Wi-Fi connectivity to the PSP, which in turn can also be used as a remote screen and/or controller.

The Sony PlayStation 3 is also expected to support some impressive multimedia features, such as video chat, Internet access, digital photo viewing, and digital audio and video. Since the console has two HD outputs, The Sony PlayStation 3 can be hooked up to two side-by-side HDTVs to project video in a 32:9 extra-widescreen format. Like a gigantic version of the Nintendo DS, the dual digital outputs also allow for an extended game display, with the action on one screen and either game information or video chat on the second.

The media format that the PS3 will use will be the new Blu-ray disc. The discs can hold up to six times as much data as current-generation DVDs. The PlayStation 3 will also support CR-ROM, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD+R formats. The machine will be backward compatible all the way to the original PlayStation. It will also have slots for Memory Stick Duo, SD slot, and a compact flash memory slot.

Sony claim that the PlayStation 3 CPU, codenamed "Cell" will be up to 35 times faster than the PS2, 10 times faster than a PC and will significantly out gun its nearest competitors the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Revolution. Reports suggest that the "Cell" processor will run at a staggering 3.2GHz, along with 256MB XDR main RAM at 3.2GHz, and 256MB of GDDR VRAM at 700MHz.