PlayStation 3

PlayStation 3 (プレイステーション3, Pureisutēshon Surī^?, trademarked PLAYSTATION®3,^[7] commonly abbreviated PS3) is Sony Computer Entertainment's third video game console. It is the successor to the PlayStation and PlayStation 2. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles.

The console was released on November 11, 2006, in Japan; November 17, 2006, in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong and Taiwan; March 7, 2007 in Singapore; March 22, 2007 in the Middle East; and on March 23, 2007^[3] in Europe, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. It is available in two initial configurations, the 20 GB Basic model and the 60 GB Premium model.

Lexar Professional SD 2GB 133X

If you haven’t already noticed, one of the key selling points of the 2GB Lexar Professional 133X SD card is the fact that it comes bundled with a dedicated USB2.0 SD card reader for only a little more than the Kingston SD Ultimate card. That and some excellent performance results make the value of this SD card very good. What we would suggest is to make sure it definitely comes with the reader, as some suppliers do not make that clear on their websites.

So let’s take a closer at the results. First, if you take the entire read AND write tests, average the scores and then rank them, the Lexar card comes out at the top. However, it is worth a look at each individual test.

As with the other cards, it joins the leaders in the tests involving the multi-slot card readers and the mixed files/multiple folders data – nothing unexpected here as we’ve put that down to bottlenecks introduced by the readers/card controllers and their general dislike to the 4,139 mixed files in 697 folders.

However, look at the SanDisk reader graph showing read and write rates for shifting 1.01GB of images in one folder. The Lexar card resides at the top at 9MB/s for both reads and writes. Not bad, but if you plug it into the supplied Lexar SD reader, those times increase to 16.2MB/s (read) and 15.7MB/s (write). Still short of the claimed 20MB/s (133X) maximum throughput, but otherwise quite impressive.

So while sitting at the top of most of the results, the only area where the Lexar card didn’t quite excel was in the Canon EOS-1D Mark II write test. At 6.5MB /s, it’s no slouch but both the SanDisk Ultra II and Kingston SD Ultimate were quicker.

Like the Lexar CF card, a copy of Image Rescue 2.0.5 is included to help recover lost or deleted JPEG, TIFF and RAW images even after formatting the card. This software can also permanently delete your photos from the card, as well as scan for file system errors and repair them. A 30-day trial of Photo Mechanic 4.3.8 is included too.

Verdict

At £68.50, you might think it’s a bit expensive, but a bundled SD reader doesn’t mean you have to go out and buy one. It also ensures you’re going to get the most out of the card, which in a world selling all kinds of readers, is usually far from certain. With some of the best read and write rates the Lexar Professional 133X SD card is overall, the preferred choice. And yes, a lifetime limited warranty is stated.

Kingston SD Ultimate 2GB 120X

For a little less than the Lexar 133X card, the 120X Ultimate SD card from Kingston put in a good overall showing in the tests. If you take all of the write tests, average the speeds then rank them the Ultimate only comes second to the Lexar 133X SD card.

Like its Elite Pro cousin, it joins the leaders in the tests involving the multi-slot card readers and the mixed files/multiple folders data. However, it also comes second with a figure of 7.4MB/s when writing images in a single folder using the SanDisk reader (and joint third at 8.4MB/s for reading the same images). Still some way off the 18MB/s figure denoted by the 120X label (but we’re getting used to that by now).

As with most of the other SD cards, its true potential became more apparent when it was plugged into the Lexar SD reader. Respectively posting average read and write times of 15.7MB/s and 11.2MB/s, the Ultimate is certainly one of the best cards for shifting images around quickly. To get an idea of its speed relative to the 50X Elite Pro, it took an average 1min 6secs to read 1.01GB of images, whereas the Elite Pro took 2mins 46secs.

In the Canon EOS-1 D Mark II, it also came second (to the slightly nippier SanDisk Ultra II) with an average write speed of 7MB/s.

Verdict

At only £17 or so more than its own Elite Pro SD card, Kingston’s SD Ultimate is recommended for its well-rounded performance. A lifetime warranty is also stated, as is free technical support.

New Chinese Concept Phones Revealed in CeBIT 2007

The Chinese mobile telephone company Huawei presented in CeBIT 2007 these cool concepts for new cell phones that may or may not be produced in the near future. The most interesting one is a mobile phone with an integrated USB connector that can be used without the need of an adapter or even a cable. The USB adapter is made with a flexible rubber that can be bent in any angle you need to connect it directly to your computer for transmitting data and charging your phone.