First off, it's not actually called the PS3 Slim, that's just it's nickname. It's officially called the PS3 120GB. Either way, I plan to buy one myself. I like that the matte finish is more scratch and fingerprint resistant, even if it comes over as a little retro Chinese knock-off. In the same vein, these 10 considerations may not affect how you plan to use the Slim—but knowing is half the battle, right?

1. Available September 1, Prices Already Dropped (North America)
If you prefer your PS3 fat and glossy, the existing 80GB model has now dropped to $300—that's how much the new 120GB PS3 Slim will be in September. (The current 160GB PS3 has also been reduced, to $400.) And be on the look for bargains as retailers wind down stock: Today's Gadget Deals of the Day has an 80GB bundle that includes LittleBigPlanet and a Blu-ray copy of Wall-E for $299 (normally $400).

2. You'll Probably Want the Stand
As Jason said in his hands on, the Slim isn't really stable enough to balance vertically without its stand. Problem is, the stand is sold separately, and at $24, seems over priced. You also won't be able to pick one up until 2 days after the PS3 Slim first goes on sale. Expect to eventually see third-party alternatives in a Skittles-rainbow of colors.

3. Hard Drive Upgrades
As we've mentioned, FCC records indicate that Sony may also have plans for 150GB and 250GB versions of the PS3 120GB. Either way, it only takes one screw (now located under the front, instead of the side) to swap in your own SATA laptop hard disk (and doing so won't avoid the warranty).

4. PS3 3.0 Firmware Not Initially Pre-Installed
That's because it's released on September 1, the same day the Slim goes on sale. So to get the 3.0 Firmware goodness, you'll need to sit through a software update out of the box. Sony says it'll preinstall 3.x in later units. Sounds fair to me.

5. It Won't Play Your Old PlayStation 2 Games
That won't be returning," Sony's John Koller recently confirmed. Likely not a big deal unless you've got a massive collection of PS2 titles that you don't want to part with. If so, the launch PS3s with hardware PS2 Emotion Engine are your best bet (for greater compatibility), but the second-generation 60- and 80GB models will also play PS2 games using software emulation.

6. No Linux for You!
In its infinite wisdom, Sony has removed the "Install Other OS" feature (Settings -> System Settings -> Install Other OS) and official Linux support along with it. The current 80- and 160GB PS3s support Linux, but Sony's cut the cord on the Slim because it wants to "standardize" the OS. Counting down to open-source hack in 3, 2…

7. No On-Off Switch
The Slim has no on-off switch at the back, so now relies on the standby power button at the front. Both the power and eject buttons are no longer touch-style; they've been changed to physical buttons.

8. No Media Card Reader
No surprise here: PS3s haven't had media card slots for ages. Why not just stream photos from your laptop to the PS3 wirelessly, or copy them to a USB drive? Speaking of which…

9. Two USB Ports, Not Four
Not what we had hoped for, but again, not surprising. Not only is this a slimmed-down model, but all third-generation PS3s have only 2 USB ports (and skip the media card reader).

10. Bravia Link
Connect the PS3 Slim to a Bravia Link-capable Sony HDTV (via HDMI) and you'll be able to control the XMB interface with your TV remote. The TV will even automatically power down the PS3 when it gets turned off.

11. It Plays The Same PS3 Games!
Slim or not, it's still a freakin' PS3 and will play the same PS3 games and Blu-ray movies you throw at it! Plus, the smaller 45nm Cell chip helps it consume less power, and may potentially even be a little faster.

The dock uses only one USB cable, and it has been certified by Apple to work natively with iTunes. [Parasync]

As of now, this "Ford Work Solutions" system seems aimed at construction workers who need on-site computer systems to track inventory and schematics. While the system's screen seems a bit small, Ford promises that one can "review and edit graphically-rich blueprints" from the cab of their truck.

I can't say that this is quite the dashboard computer we've been waiting for, but it is actually coming out soon (this spring) for an undisclosed price.

SPRINT JOINS WITH FORD TO LAUNCH SOLUTION SUITE TO INCREASE FIELD WORKFORCE PRODUCTIVITY AND REDUCE COSTS

Ford F-Series and E-Series vehicles will be equipped with in-dashboard PC
with internet connectivity via the Sprint Nationwide Mobile Broadband Network

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - March 24, 2009 - Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced the details of its agreement with Ford Motor Company to provide a solution suite as a central component of "Ford Work Solutions" (www.fordworksolutions.com).

Beginning this spring, 2009 Ford F-Series and E-Series vehicles - and later in 2009, Transit Connect vehicles - will offer an in-dashboard PC with internet connectivity via the Sprint Nationwide Mobile Broadband Network. This capability provides the opportunity to leverage productivity application solutions via the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, including real-time labor and material-cost capture, inventory updates, invoice generation and work-order edits and completion.

This new capability provides an unprecedented opportunity for job-site productivity gains and cost reductions. Work can be accomplished on site, on schedule and on budget. By minimizing the need to make trips back and forth to the office, fleets can reduce fuel consumption and their carbon footprint, and further enable the ability to "drive green."

Organizations can now perform mission-critical tasks remotely at a job site or a customer or field location, increasing operational efficiencies and guaranteeing client satisfaction. Examples include:

* Field service and construction industries can modify and confirm "change orders" to a "work order" or "job estimate," avoiding lengthy delays and keeping the job on schedule. Additionally, with the optional Bluetooth® Printer from Ford, the customer can review and authorize the "change order" on the spot with a written confirmation.
* Engineers and project managers can review and edit graphically-rich blueprints or schematics while inside the truck.
* Sub-contractors, suppliers and customers can collaborate in real-time to review project-planning documents and website portals.
* Utilities and oil and gas crews in the field gain real-time, high bandwidth access to work orders, safety and compliance data and asset management.

Ford and Sprint will soon announce exclusive offers for this solution suite. In support of the co-marketing efforts around this capability, they will also appear at several events in the months ahead, including key industry trade shows, to further inform their customers.

"This joint collaboration between Ford and Sprint delivers unprecedented freedom to field work forces," said Ed Pleet, Ford Work Solutions product and business development manager. "Now organizations' desktop business applications and systems can be brought where and when they are most needed – at the ‘front end' of the cabs of F-Series and E-Series vehicles while they are on site."

"This solution suite will empower organizations to continue to work hard while also working smart," said Keith Dardis, regional vice president, Sprint. "We will provide our mutual customers with a competitive edge, unparalleled productivity and cost savings, and the opportunity to do their part to ‘drive green.'"
Both Ford and Sprint have a history of innovation. Ford Motor Company has developed and maintained a Field Work Force industry-leading position for over 30 years around their "Built Ford Tough" line of F-Series pick-up trucks and E-Series cargo vans.
Through its unmatched Direct Connect push-to-talk service, rugged devices and other technology, Sprint has developed and maintained its leadership in Field Work Force solutions by understanding that effective Field Work Force management requires constant coordination of crews, fleets, suppliers, project managers, engineers and field service teams — often in harsh conditions and always on tight timelines.

Yes, this car will text your colleagues "b 15 m l8" next time you're running late.

Like Ford's Sync service, you can use Hughes' in-car tech platform, which is being pitched to car manufacturers on an OEM basis for inclusion in future vehicles, to do a lot of things with your voice, including respond to text messages (but only with canned SMS presets that are activated by spoken keywords). You can choose to respond in plain English, or with translations using a custom dictionary (here, apparently, set to illiterate 'tween). It can also translate any internet-isms it may find while it reads you your exchange email or calendars, too.

Hughes's demo vehicle was packed full of lots of other cool stuff, including an on-board 3G connection (with compatibility for WiMax down the road) that can be fed out via wi-fi to turn your car into a roaming hotspot. The only auto maker offering something like that right now is Chrysler with their UConnect service (not done by Hughes), but it's something we'd love to see more of.

Hughes is bringing some of its voice-activated telematics to Mercedes vehicles later this year (not including the mobile hotspot tech, sadly), but their demo jeep we saw today is a good example of what might come. [Hughes Telematics]

As you can see, it's pretty easy; the system calls up your paired Bluetooth phone and transmits all the data the sytem needs over the voice channel. Destinations are spoken aloud and read by the system; our demo was using prepared presets, so we couldn't give the voice recognition a full shakedown, but after Sync knows where you're going, the process seems incredibly smooth.

Soon, Sync will be able to use your phone's data plan and get its fingers in any mobile apps programmed with support for Sync's open control API, but for now, this is a pretty appealing addition that lets you ditch a dedicated NAV. It will be in every car Ford makes by 2011.

We were able to sit down with Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Director of Product and Biz-Dev for Electronics Douglas VanDagens to talk Sync's platform potential before Mulally's CES keynote tonight, and said open API for mobile developers to mate their apps with Sync is one of the more exciting things we heard. No timetable was given, but it's most definitely in the oven. Whether developers will take the bait and make their apps Sync-compatible, we'll see.

Also baking is the ability for Sync to detect a data connection on your phone if you have one, and then use it to pipe in even more content from just about any web source imaginable. Sync 3.0, unveiled yesterday, already added some awesome new features to an already terrifically polished system, but it sounds like there's even more goodness coming.

Sync has never tackled nav info, so it'll be interesting to see how this pans out. The traffic service will send you a text message with alerts along your route, which is then read aloud by the system. Ford reckons this will save you gas and time.

The turn-by-turn feature sounds great: say the name of a business, category of business or address and get turn by turn directions spoken to you. You can also call up the business found via your Bluetooth phone.

And better yet, your Sync settings and info is all saved to your phone, and can be used in any Sync vehicle you climb into, all the while keeping the grade-a iPod/iPhone/musicphone integration.

Pictured: Sync 1.0, via our friends at Jalopnik, who have more on the next-gen Sync as well.

NEW FORD SYNC FEATURES HELP DRIVERS SAVE TIME, FUEL WITH PERSONALIZED NEWS, TRAFFIC DETAILS

• SYNC with Traffic, Directions and Information provides personalized, real-time information to help drivers get to where they’re going with information they need. New services come with no monthly subscription fees for the first three years.
• Users’ customizations stay with their phone and can be used in other SYNC-equipped vehicles and can be upgraded free as new services are available.
• New features launch later this year on select 2010 models and will roll out across the entire Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury lineup by 2011.
• SYNC sales expected to top 1 million in 2009.

LAS VEGAS, JAN.7, 2009 – Ford is expanding its connectivity leadership by introducing exclusive new SYNC real-time information features that deliver personalized news updates to drivers’ mobile phones while helping them navigate around trouble spots, saving time and fuel.

“Our vision with SYNC is to be a leader in connectivity, making it affordable for millions – just as Ford has done with safety and fuel-saving technologies,” said Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally. “In less than 18 months since we launched SYNC, Ford has delivered two more major new features, and we have more in store.

“We are a car company that through market-driven, customer-focused innovation is learning to think and act like an electronics company, leveraging partnerships with fresh, innovative technology leaders,” added Mulally, who delivered the Consumer Electronics Show keynote address on Thursday.

The success of SYNC – the award-winning communications and entertainment system developed by Ford and Microsoft – continues to grow. Ford’s game-changing vehicle connectivity model and affordability have helped make it one of the widest technology introductions in the industry, launching on 12 vehicles simultaneously.

SYNC-equipped Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles sell nearly twice as fast as those without, and a Ford survey of SYNC customers showed nearly 80 percent of respondents “definitely would” recommend it to a friend.

Since the introduction of SYNC in the 2008 Ford Focus, Ford quickly has integrated the technology. By summer 2009, Ford’s entire North American lineup will offer this must-have technology, demonstrating its rapid, consumer-driven adoption. Ford expects to have 1 million SYNC-equipped vehicles on the road by the third quarter of 2009.

“We define connectivity as a way to keep people moving through their lives – not simply as an on-board computer,” said Mark Fields, Ford’s president of The Americas. “Our approach focuses on connecting people to the information they need, whenever and wherever they need it. These new features are aimed at enhancing the driver’s entire quality of life.”

Ford’s next-generation system – SYNC with Traffic, Directions and Information – leverages industry-leading voice-recognition software, integrated GPS technology and a customer’s Bluetooth-capable mobile phone. Debuting this spring, it will provide simple hands-free access to personalized traffic reports, precise turn-by-turn driving directions and up-to-date information including business listings, news, sports and weather.

The new services will be available on nearly all 2010 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models with no initial monthly subscription fees, thanks to three years of service included with a new vehicle purchase.

“Ford is unique because we continue to build on the power of the SYNC system that lets customers connect to off-board services through their own mobile devices,” said Doug VanDagens, director of Ford’s Connected Services Organization. “With that foundation, there is no limit to the data we can offer. Working with our partners – the best of the best in the technology world – we will continue to provide new services in a timeframe on par with the consumer electronics industry.”

According to 2008 year-end data, Smartphones were a clear consumer must-have, offering such advanced capabilities as a keyboard, Web browser and some PC-like functionality. Research findings suggest that growth in this industry is expected to continue at 40-percent year-over-year.

SYNC’s new suite of services allows customers the ability to integrate with off-board services and provide a personalized infotainment experience to the driver by utilizing the customer’s own phone. That powerful match is what differentiates SYNC in the marketplace and what will expand Ford’s connectivity leadership long-term.

“Today, Ford leads the industry leader in infotainment,” said Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president of Global Product Development. “As we transform our vehicle lineup, we intend to continue making smart technology a key differentiator for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products.”

Ford is partnering with Microsoft and other recognized companies – INRIX, TeleNav, Tellme (a Microsoft subsidiary), M/A-COM and Airbiquity — to enable the new services to connect to real-time data.

“We’re excited to see Ford's great innovations developed on top of our Microsoft Auto platform that continue to improve how people spend time in their car,” says Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division.
“The combination of software and services, including the industry leading technology from Microsoft Auto and Tellme, are delivering entirely new voice-enabled experiences that make the time spent in the car more entertaining and more productive,” Bach added.

To take advantage of Traffic, Directions and Information, customers simply have to pair their Bluetooth-enabled phone with SYNC and activate the service via www.syncmyride.com.
Once that’s complete, the feature becomes “portable,” meaning customers can access the information in any Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle equipped with SYNC and the Traffic, Directions and Information function.

TRAFFIC
SYNC’s new traffic feature will literally save drivers time and money by providing personalized traffic reports based on best-in-class content.

“We are able to provide traffic speed, flow and incident information to drivers in 95 markets nationwide,” said VanDagens. “In addition, drivers can personalize the system to alert them of changing road conditions.”

In a text message to the user’s device, drivers will get the location and severity of accidents or new road construction causing areas of heavy congestion. Users can personalize the system to send them an alert before they leave home or have SYNC read the text message in their vehicle.

“SYNC is working for you before you’re even out of bed,” VanDagens said. “That’s what we mean by a quality-of-life experience.”

DIRECTIONS
According to Telematics Research Group, Inc., navigation-enabled mobile phones are becoming consumers’ top choice for navigation services. This shift will open up new applications and services – and SYNC is positioned to take full advantage of this market shift using its powerful partnership network.

Drivers requesting directions now can use a variety of search criteria including a 14-million-plus business directory to find their destination, be it a favorite coffee shop or the location of a business meeting.

Turn-by-turn directions are downloaded to the vehicle and are spoken to the user over the vehicle’s audio system and displayed on the radio.

Like the new traffic service, directions incorporate real-time traffic information. Through a set of more conversational voice commands, the user need only speak the name, category or “nearest.”

The new directions service also offers users a choice of how they’d like to receive the information:
• Automatic connection to business telephone using the driver’s personal device;
• Turn-by-turn directions to the business location using the vehicle’s audio system; or
• Text message to user’s device with business listing and map.

Information
Another new feature of SYNC will help drivers’ personalize and categorize their favorite media topics, such as sports, weather and news using voice commands or through www.syncmyride.com.

Examples include:
• Personalized sports reports featuring scores and highlights for any professional or college team;
• Current weather conditions and forecasts based on city, state or zip-code; and
• News of all types – entertainment, business, top stories and technology.

“SYNC has been developed to allow users to create their own experiences,” said VanDagens. “Some people may wish to check their stock portfolios; others might want their hometown baseball scores. With SYNC’s unique architecture and the powerful Tellme voice service, there are no boundaries to the information users can access.”

New short-cuts added
SYNC has gotten smarter as well, and is providing a variety of new “short-cut” commands. Users recall comments such as, “Call Joe at work,” and, “Play artist ACDC.” New commands include, “traffic to work,” and, “directions to home.” Using the website, users can save a variety of locations such as home, office and airport – any location in the U.S.

These new capabilities are in addition to SYNC’s established hallmark suite of services, from hands-free, voice-activated cell phone, text messaging and digital media player integration to the more recent security and convenience additions of 911 Assist and Vehicle Health Report.

“We understand how important it is for customers to feel connected to their lives – even on the road,” Kuzak said. “Ford is committed to continue working with the top technology companies in the business to deliver even more of the features consumers really want.”

[MAKE]

To troubleshoot the problem, he restored his phone from scratch, but even after reinstalling 7.7.1 iTunes and 2.0.2 firmware in his never-jailbreaked iPhone 3G, the sync is unbearably long. We even tried syncing on an Air and an iMac and used another cable. The only outstanding set of data Brandon had is that he loads 74 apps to his phone. And he says that by adding apps one at a time, his sync/backup time slowly goes up—so it's not a single buggy app ruining the process.

Now, I'm sure Brandon's case is an exceptionally complicated problem. He still has an iTunes error message pop up when he syncs, for example. And even when we both load up 50 apps on our phones, his sync is much longer at 4 hours. This is clearly not a normal example, but that doesn't mean it's not real, and it doesn't mean it isn't related to the big problem many have been suffering from since firmware 2.00 hit. Maybe Brandon can be our poster boy for the eternal sync/backup problem. Or, until Apple fixes it, we can watch this video every time we complain about the iPhone's sync times and we can feel like it could have been worse. Like 8 hours' worth of worse. But damn if that video doesn't make you happy when it's finally done with the transfer. [Brandon's Blog]

The song in the video is Foreplay/Long Time, by Boston, FWIW. [Brandon's blog, Foreplay/Long Time Amazon, iTunes]

His setup:

Both machines running 10.5.4 and iTunes 7.7.1 (but again, this started on 7.7)
Air is a day 1 1.6GHZ, 80GB and the iMac is a 2.8GHZ 4GB RAM 320GB HDD

When I started, I had

997.1 MB of music (163 songs, all .m4a files, except 27 .m4p)
5 playlists
93.6 MB of photos
27 ringtones
No movies or TV shows
47 MB video (all video podcasts)
Contacts, calendar synced to MobileMe
3 other IMAP email accounts
74 apps (a lot, I know, but certainly not as many as you could possibly have)

The sync added

No music
No playlists
No photos
No ringtones
No movies or TV shows
3.5 GB of video (99 podcasts, and this part only took about 10 minutes, as you can see in the video)
6 app updates (2 of which were not installed because of an error)
No new apps

The backup folder produced this time weighs in at 9,771 items and 848.1 MB [corrected from GB]

My observations:
It doesn't matter if the app updates error or not, my last sync was 6:49 with 4 app updates, all of which were successful.
Since 2.0, backup and sync has been very long, but not to this extent. Usually 1.5 - 2 hours.
It started getting this bad about a month ago, right before iTunes 7.7.1 came out, an app crashed mid install via Wi-Fi app store, crashing the phone to the Apple logo but not booting all the way.
When it crashed like that, I put it in DFU mode and restored from backup, immediately had the same problem.
Back to DFU mode and restored with fresh firmware—instead of crashing daily, it did it every few days, requiring DFU mode and fresh download of firmware.
Did a complete wipe from within the phone, installed fresh firmware again, and started from scratch. New iTunes installation (removing support files first, empty trash, reboot, then reinstall) new firmware download.
Since then, no more Apple logo of death, and very few app crashes in general, but still excruciating backup/sync times.
If I skip the backup (I'm inclined to do that these days, since they are usually corrupted, even with a fresh copy on the desktop) it still takes at least 2-3 hours to sync.

It's been such a long time
I think I should be goin', yeah
And time doesn't wait for me, it keeps on rollin'
Sail on, on a distant highway
I've got to keep on chasin' a dream
I've gotta be on my way
Wish there was something I could say.

Well I'm takin' my time, I'm just movin' along
You'll forget about me after I've been gone
And I take what I find, I don't want no more
It's just outside of your front door.

It's been such a long time. It's been such a long time.

Well I get so lonely when I am without you
But in my mind, deep in my mind,
I can't forget about you
Good times, and faces that remind me
I'm tryin' to forget your name and leave it all behind me
You're comin' back to find me.

Mesh lets you set up a sort of virtual desktop, and any files in a Mesh folder will be available to any device hooked up to that virtual hub: your photos stored at home can be browsed by your PDA, or a document shared between colleagues at work. Ultimately, photos snapped by your cellphone may be able to pop up on a remote digital photo frame an instant later, shared via the Mesh.

The principle behind Live Mesh is to replace the concept of "My Computer" with an agglomeration of all of your devices. Or, as chief software architect Ray Ozzie says, with a dash of tech-philosophy: "a personal mesh of devices - a means by which all of your devices are brought together, managed through the web, as a seamless whole."

The private beta is US only, limited to about 10,000 persons, and works only with PCs running XP or Vista. Microsoft will be expanding support to Apple computers and other mobile phones through the year, and opening a public beta before 2009. [Reuters and Tech Crunch]