There has been a lot of excitement about the availability of free Sony Playstation 3 (PS3) game consoles because of the emergence of companies that offer them as incentives to encourage people to try some of the offers advertised by their partners. Because these companies get a commission from the companies that are advertising when you get to try their offers, the freebie companies can afford to provide you with a free PS3 after you have accomplished several tasks.
But first, what makes the PS3 so special that it would be able to stimulate such excitement? The PS3 is evidently the third step in the evolution of the Sony game console and it is competing with Nintendo’s Wii and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. One distinctive feature that separates the PS3 from the PS1 and the PS2 is the provision of an all-encompassing service for online gaming that is known as the Playstation Network (PSN).
The PSN is available to PS3 and Playstation Portable (PSP) players who may be able to register through their computers or through consoles. There are more than 25 million registered users of PSN all over the world as of June 23, 2009. So whether you get a free PS3 or just buy one outright you can participate in this network.
Another key feature of the PS3 is that it employs the Blu-ray Disc, which is an HD optical disc format, for its main storage. The PS3 was the first Blu-ray optical disc player to comply with the Blu-ray 2.0 standard.
Aside from being able to play three-dimensional video games, you can also play films in CD, DVD and Blu-ray formats. The PS3 employs the Cell microprocessor and has 256 MB for the main memory and another 256 MB for the video memory. It has Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.0, HDMI 1.3a, and USB 2.0 built in. Wi-Fi networking capability has also been built in.
Because of its computing capability, the PS3 has also been employed in the construction of networked supercomputers. One example of its use in supercomputing is in the investigation of the protein folding process, which is made possible by the Folding@home project of Stanford University and SCE.
The Photo Gallery is a program for the PS3 that may be installed apart from the system software. This program offers a range of tools by which the user may be able to categorize various pictures based on a number of criteria, such as facial expressions, ages, or colors. The PS3 may also be used by music lovers because VidZone lets the users watch free PS3 music videos.
Aside from the PSN, there is also service for a virtual community known as Playstation Home. This service permits users to construct a customized avatar. Users are able to decorate the virtual homes of their avatars and they can use the default decorations, won items, or some items that they have bought from PSN. In a similar manner as Second Life, the users of Playstation Home can interact with the other inhabitants of this virtual world and make some friends. This virtual community can also serve as a meeting place for users who want to play the same games so that a free PS3 can really be exciting.
