I know the PS3 is more reliable than the 360 but I usually prefer to wait until the revised versions of new consoles come out before I buy them. I got the slim Playstation remake (PSOne) remake and the slim PS2 instead of the fat versions. They just seem much more reliable (and eye catching) than the original releases.

I've heard of the revised PSP launching next month, but nothing about the PS3 yet..

Has there been any word of a slimmed down PS3...something using new architecture to run cooler and quieter than the original release?

No.

The revised PSP is not slimmer. The slim PSP was already released.

Why would they want to redesign it now? Hardware is runnin' good. PS2 didn't get the redesign 'til a very long time after it's release. Stick with what works, I say...

The PSP-3000 is nearly identical to the PSP-2000 aesthetically besides different placement of the Sony logo and fingerprint proof.

The PSP-3000 is nearly identical to the PSP-2000 aesthetically besides different placement of the Sony logo and fingerprint proof.

I believe it also has a brighter screen.

Why would they want to redesign it now?

Because it's a whooper, and shrinking it down will help sales in size focused markets such as Japan.

Has there been any word of a slimmed down PS3...something using new architecture to run cooler and quieter than the original release?

FWIW Theres already been at least 3 revisions of the PS3, inc reduced CPU size, but the exterior is still the same. I suspect they'll wait for laptop sized BD-Rom drives and 45nm chips to be mass produceable before the shrink the shell. There's also the possibility they'll wait for flash drives to be cheap enough.

Either way there's a fair bit of room to move, but it'll take time.

The new 45nm Cell chips (http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/22/sony-and-toshiba-to-begin-mass-producing-45nm-cell-processor-in/) are said to be put in PS3s next year, but likely not until the 3rd or 4th quarter. That chip will possibly allow for a PS3 slim as it runs a lot cooler.

I don't think you'll see a "slim" PS3 for a very long time. Like another 4 or 5 years. Basically, at the very end of it's lifespan, to give it one last push. If they do redesign it to make it smaller, I'm thinking they will have to make the power brick external, and it would take away alot of the appeal of a slimmer PS3 anyways. If you look at the slim PS2, it had to have an external power source. It wasn't a huge power brick or anything, but it did have an external power source, and I'm guessing a new "slim" PS3 would have to do that as well.

By the way, the slim PS2 just got another redesign, and this time they were able to put the power source inside the unit. All it has is a power cord coming out of it now.

Redesigns come when sales start to slump and they can afford to sell units cheaply. You won't see a slim PS3 for a while. Meanwhile, the architecture inside the current models get better (we're on the third version right now, I think).

A slim design helps make the overall console cheaper. So for that reason alone Sony will keep all options open as to when they choose introduce such a model, including the possibility of a release earlier in the console's life than they did last generation where the pricing of the PS2 wasn't a big deal. I still say late 2009.