Timely analyst thought pieces on issues pertaining to digital media, home networks, and consumer electronics.

Being slammed as I am during the end-of-year madness of sales calls and report writing, I haven't had as much time as I'd like to look at the new PS3 Sony has loaned to me. And while you're likely to get much of the same points at the multitude of reviews on line of the PS3, I have to say it definitely comes across as a sleek box, if a bit heavy. Its noticeably quieter than the 360 and I think overall its a better looking box, with the shiny black and silver standing out against the iPod-esque look of the white 360.

The one thing I did spend a little time on was trying out the online components of the PS3. Given that the PS2 was so lacking in online capabilities outside of some basic multiplayer capabilities built into its games, I wondered how Sony had done out of the box for online for the PS3. My first impression overall is that its a work in progress, as the online store is a little slow (demo downloads right now take forever for me, but that could be a product of local caching rather than how it performs in other regions) and a little clunky. The "store" shelves are also a little bare, with a total of two game downloads available right now.  

So while the Playstation Network is about where I expected it (which is good - they actually have an online store and it is running), one capability that the PS3 has that the 360 doesn't is the included web browser. I was a little surprised when I heard they had this, but it makes sense given Sony's repeated assertions that this box is a powerful computer as well. And, after testing out the browser - despite the fact it is slow and doesn't work on all sites - I am convinced this will help Sony stand out and potentially give it a big differentiator vis-a-vis the 360.

Given my interest in the consoles as entertainment hubs, I immediately wondered if the browser could bring up online video streams, and it can. It runs flash video if the flash in embedded in the existing browser, but it had trouble bringing up flash pop ups as you would get trying to stream a drama at ABC.com. But while I couldn't get any prime time drama (all the networks destination portals seem to use pop up specialty flash players), I was able to get YouTube videos to play, as well as Google video. The streams on YouTube were a bit hiccupy, but the Google video ran well. Both looked pretty good scaled up to my 42" (which, admittedly, isn't HD). I was also able to bring up my Flickr page and run a photo slide show, which looked really good at full TV size.

Having the browser and allowing a consumer to stream Internet delivered video to the TV is a really important capability and potential game-changer overall for digital entertainment and distribution. I think that Sony realized this, but what they perhaps also realized and don't know how to get their arms around is how to keep the consumer in their own Sony walled garden of content. I love the fact I can go and get Google video and, perhaps over time, be able to stream the episode of The Office that I missed last week at NBC.com, but I don't think Sony is going to make any money off of that. That is perhaps why Microsoft didn't include a browser, because they wanted to gather money from every single type of content transaction from the consumer, and having the consumer go out on the open Internet wasn't the way to do that. The problem is, as a consumer, I think I want to be able to go out and seek my own content, rather than be told which shows to watch by Microsoft.

Not with a bang, but a whimper. Helio, Virgin Mobile and the quiet death of the ‘Youth’ MVNO (Alternative title: Death by iPhone)
Author: Nick Holland
Principal Analyst, Mobile Content
Posted: Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:38:18 EDT

iPhone 2.0. So Very Close, but No Cigar.
Author: Nick Holland
Principal Analyst, Mobile Content
Posted: Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:07:57 EDT

TakeTV - The Check is in the Mail.
Author: Steve Wilson
Principal Analyst, Consumer Video Technologies
Posted: Mon, 9 Jun 2008 10:32:01 EDT

tru2way - A Specification with no Reference
Author: Steve Wilson
Principal Analyst, Consumer Video Technologies
Posted: Wed, 4 Jun 2008 11:43:03 EDT

Goodbye Akimbo
Author: Michael Wolf
Research Director, Digital Home
Posted: Fri, 23 May 2008 14:01:51 EDT