While I wish that were true, I don't think that's the case. That's kind of like having said, in 2001, "As long as Apple keeps the DRM to a minimum, they're pretty much going to own the digital media player market."

In reality, the DRM probably helped them develop a stranglehold on the market, and they didn't remove the DRM until they had the luxury of doing so (or the pressure to do so, if you will) long after establishing a lead.

I have a Kindle 2, but I'm currently using it primarily to read public domain books. I like that there are going to be more sexy gadgets on the market to stimulate competition, but the fact remains that much of Apple's success was due to the dead-simplicity of the iTunes store. Sony, Barnes & Noble, and other competitors will have to make sure that their stores provide both price competition and interface simplicity to match or beat Amazon. After all, for all the extra functionality that the Sony Reader and Nook provide, how many "better" mp3 players rose and fell during the iPod's reign? Quite a few. It's all about the total experience

(Personally, I prefer Amazon to both Sony and Barnes & Noble as companies, so I'm going to stay loyal to my Kindle 2...for now...)

I just got a Slim, intending to use it for both games and Blu-Ray. However, I don't currently plan to buy *any* Blu-Ray movies. That's what Netflix is for!

It's kind of ironic...I stream Netflix "Watch Instantly" titles on the Xbox 360, and rent Blu-Ray titles for the PS3 -- without the existence of Netflix, I might not have bought *either* console...

I agree with chuck completely.

When did backwards compatibility become a required feature? The Super Nintendo and N64 didn't have it. The Saturn and Dreamcast didn't have it. The Sega Genesis originally had backwards compatibility with the use of an adapter (called the Power Base Converter), but subsequent revisions eventually dropped it, kind of like what's happening with the PS3 right now. I thought it was pretty remarkable that the GameBoy series maintained backwards compatibility as long as it did.

You can easily find a working PS2 for less than $100. I bought a mint-condition used PS2 Slim for $50. You know what? It doesn't take up that much space. I'd gladly have both a PS3 Slim and a PS2 Slim in my entertainment center together -- they take up less combined space than the original PS3. Plus, I'm not forced to pay $400 or more for a console that has a costly feature that I don't want.

Who told you that the PS3 Slim would have any backwards compatibility? And if you already have a PS2 Slim that works, why does it matter to you? Furthermore, why does the Xbox 360 all of a sudden become a more attractive option, just because the PS3 Slim doesn't have backwards compatibility? Nothing about this situation makes sense to me...

Sign me up!

I'd gladly take one of these off your hands. Consider it my bailout!

I'd like to get a piece of this!

"I have no idea if this letter will reach you. See, I didn't know you'd moved to Haterville, and I'm afraid I don't have your forwarding address."

At first, I thought that this format was unsuited for a gadget blog where people want to get quickly-digestible information. Even while reading it, I wanted to scroll down and see if there was some kind of summary or bulleted list of pros and cons at the bottom. However, that line really made it all worthwhile :-)

I switched from S60 (3rd edition) to iPhone a while back, but I do still root for Nokia/Symbian/S60. I was pulling for Palm even in the darkest days when an updated PalmOS seemed like complete vaporware. I think that, if Nokia can manage to keep a large number of existing customers, while also learning to evolve their phone interface (and hopefully the underlying architecture) to compete with iPhone, WebOS and Android, Symbian can bounce back. It may not be in the form of S60, whose 5th edition I'm not impressed with, but it could be something good that causes consumers to give Nokia's excellent hardware another look. (Or do we just want Android on Nokia?)

That's so crazy! There's a really crappy bar just a block west of that lot, where my band got its start. There's definitely a lot of contrast in the area -- upscale retail just around the corner from total dives. To be able to see a giant Apple logo from the doorway of Weed's -- that's a weird thought!

Hooray for giveaways!