New 80GB Sony PS3: limited USB connectivity

While I have had thoughts many times of how nice it would be to have usb ports on the backside, I don’t think it is a make or break decision on whether or not I would buy a console. If your clever enough all you gotta do it just tuck it in nicely next to the ps3 and it’ll be fine (your looking at the tv and not the ps3 remember).

Also, I doubt Sony sees it as a worthwhile investment to retool all their production machines, just to put some usb ports on the back. The idea of business is to cut costs and make profit.

In the round I’m being asked to pay going on £400 to purchase a PS3 and PlayTV together so as to form the hub of a home entertainment system.
For this outlay I’ve got to hang a device off the front of the PS3 and then to add insult to injury I’ve got to plug an aerial cable as well as the USB connection into the FRONT of the PlayTV unit!!
So my home entertainment system sitting below my Hi-Def TV looks like a dog’s dinner.
Nope, not for me.
I’ll wait until the design idiots at Sony get round to putting USB ports on the back of the PS3 (as the original design release photos indicated would be the case) and also put the aerial and USB sockets on the back of the PlayTV unit. What a design revolution that will be – connectors on the back- Jeez

I thought it would be good to have a USB port around the back of the PS3 but then it occurred to me that if you put the PS3 into a vertical configuration then the USB ports are hidden. I then bought a 9 quid USB2 hub (with 8 ports) and fed the cable to the rear of the TV where I can hide all the remaining cables..

So far I’ve two sixaxis joysticks, a PSP charging, a wireless key board dongle, buzz controller dongle and the Playstation eye plugged in.. Next up is the PlayTV..

lol

Exactly Wudang.

Hell – I’d even buy a PS3 with this tuner built inside it.. I’m sure they could cram the tiny innards of that USB dongle inside the case. – there’s an idea eh.

As I’m sure that one hasn’t been thought of / is years off – I hope we’re wrong and / or speculating, and this 80gb jobby will have ports on the rear. Daniel – can you email Sony and ask them at all?

you know why couldnt they make play tv bluetooth. Now i have to have a cable in front of my ps3 loocking all crappy.

you know why couldnt they make play tv bluetooth. Now i have to have a cable in front of my ps3 looking all crappy. If the make a new ps3 with a port at the back it looks like i will have a third ps3

biggest drawback now is now ps2 backward compatible

Bit of a pointless attempt at hijacking a relevant thread. If you want to play on PS2 games, turn your PS2 on and play them. I’d stick my neck out and say most people want to move with the times.

Sorry you feel that way, I use my PS3 as a blu-ray player almost everyday, I use it for PS3 games and there are several real good PS2 games I still play also that will never be made again

I think it’s a real shame that both $ony and M$ play numbers games with their HDDs, when they’re so cheap to make and supply. I’d much rather have a full featured 40gb system at this price, especially when considering how cheap it is to upgrade the P$3′s HDD to 200gb+. Personally I think the 60gb was better value for money at only £50 more.

I called their press office in London.

It’s the same at the 40gb model, with 80gb.

Shame.

Si.

Been searching for a well spec-ed hardware mod to add some usb ports to the rear of my old PS3 and came across this site. Interesting looking back on these over one year old comments.

Painful to see the ignorance of some people to suggest that it would have cost Sony too much to have added rear usb ports and playtv to the slim PS3.

If it would have been more than a few $ manufacturing cost to add such features, it would only mean Sony doesn’t know how to build well priced hardware.

One could argue it may have been opportunity cost that could have been lost by Sony if such features were integrated into the slim PS3. Sony would not be able to gouge their customers on price for things like the poorly designed playtv ($170AUD) and slim PS3 with no rear usb ports ($500AUD).

Those that work with product development would know better and it wouldn’t surprise if Sony engineers knew better but were ignored by management.

Remember, it was a commercial and strategic decision by Sony to add a Blueray drive to the PS3 and it was this that cost them dearly and this can never be recovered by not designing their products with reasonable features.

Remember, Sony had visions of the PS3 being the center of home entertainment but with their clumsy add on design principles, it’s a dogs breakfast.

The slim PS3 should have come with integrated playtv and rear usb ports period !

So please people, don’t accept poor design and excuse it on cost issues you know little about.