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Review by A. Dent:

I did not think I needed yet another remote control because I thought the six-axis had everything it needed for movie playing on the PS3 and, yet, I bought one. There were 2 initial reasons:

- my wife was missing a ‘magic wand’ shaped remote for playing movies

- Amazon had it at a great price in one of them lightning deals

I ended up using it myself and, in fact, using it for more than just movie playing – see below.

But, let’s do a quick inventory of features:

= It’s blue-tooth enabled and, therefore, it’s not taking any ports on your PS3. This is probably important for anyone who has a “2-USB ports console”.

= It’s wand-shaped, allowing the non-gamers to control their movie-watching activities while holding a familiar-shaped device in their hand.

= It maps ALL the six-axis buttons and performs everything a six-axis would do, except for the joystick features of R3 and L3 (but you do have the push-down or ‘click’ abilities for them).

= 2 AA battery powered (still with the original Sony batteries after 4 months of use)

= Includes additional buttons that the movie-only users would expect on a remote such as:

+ a number pad

+ eject

+ red, green, blue, yellow buttons

+ play, stop, pause

+ slow(step), scan(left/right), prev/next

+ display, top menu, pop up menu, return

+ subtitles, angle, audio

What is interesting about this remote is that you can use it for much more than movie-playing. Given that it has all the six-axis buttons, guess what? You can use it, and I do use it to:

- surf the web

- play music

- shop at the PSN store

- play certain games such as Sudoku

- turn the PS3 on/off when your six-axis controllers are in the charger and I am playing GT5 that is using a racing wheel

And, yes, you CAN turn the PS3 on and off with this remote. Turning it on is easy – you simply press the PlayStation button and the PS3 turns itself on. To turn it off, you either go as far to the left on the X-bar and all the way up and press Enter (the turn-off PlayStation icon will be highlighted) or you simply hold the PlayStation button pressed for a few seconds and then select ‘yes’ and press the X button a couple of times.

Overall: I am happy with this peripheral. Yes, it’s one more remote control but it’s a pretty good one, for the reasons I stated above.

_______________________________

Notes – Aug 29, 2009, after 16 months of use

I find that I’m using the remote more and more, not only for playing movies but for navigating the XMB and at the PSN Store, also when playing music or slideshows. Due to its very convenient arrows wheel with an ‘enter’ button in the middle, navigating the PS3 and doing just about anything other than playing games is a lot easier than using the PS3 game controller. Unlike the controller which normally requires two hands to hold, this is basically a one-hand operation where you hold the remote in one hand and operate the wheel with your thumb. And because it’s Bluetooth, not IR (Infrared), you don’t even need to point it at the PS3.

And, one word on battery life. After about 15-16 months of operation, this is probably the third set of batteries so I’d estimate battery life to be about 4-6 months. Not too bad.

Review by Lisa Shea:

Most PS3 owners enjoy not only the gaming abilities of their system, but also the built in Blu-Ray DVD player. The Sony remote control accessory lets you play those movies with great ease.

The remote combines the regular buttons of our other DVD players with the funky look of the PS3. You have a red, green, blue and yellow button – labelled with their color names! You also get a circle, X, square and triangle to do a few things like brinigng up the options and back choices.

The main buttons – play, stop, forward, back – are laid out reasonably nicely at the bottom of the remote with large buttons. There are small buttons up on top for the number keys, and a very tiny eject button.

Missing completely is a power button!! You have to hit the PS button in the center and go through the regular PS3 menus to get the power to turn off. In fact, while I was writing this review, I accidentally hit a button on the remote and the PS3 turned on. We were watching regular TV, so now I have to wait until our show is over, switch over to the PS3 and use the buttons to turn the system back off again. That doesn’t make much sense at all to me.

Also, on our Oppo DVD remote, the buttons glow which makes it REALLY nice to use in the dark or dim light that most people watch movies in. This unit is completely black with black buttons. This makes it pretty much useless in low light conditions until you memorize all of the button locations. You would think by now that remote control makers would have their buttons backlit or at least glow-in-the-dark to handle this.

The unit takes two AA batteries which makes it a bit heavy, but certainly within the normal range of remotes.

It’s easy enough to sync up the remote with the PS3. It’s bluetooth powered, so you go into the PS3 menu and use the options there to indicate you have a new remote. Note that the base level PS3 will not handle this – you have to have a connection to the internet from your PS3 and run an update routine. If you don’t have an internet connection for your PS3, you have to create an update CD on your PC to do this update.

Well recommended – but it really could be much better to be great.

Review by A. Dent:

The following are my conclusions and observations following several hours of testing. It is possible that I missed a feature or two but I am quite confident that I was able to test all the major ones.

The setup and first impressions:

——————————-

I don’t know why, I imagined a bigger device. I am pleased to note that the keypad is a lot thinner than I imagined – about half an inch thick and pretty light.

It fits nicely on top of any standard PS3 controller thanks to a clamp that, once it clicks in, it makes the keypad appear as if it was part of the controller’s body. The three controller buttons that it covers: PS3, Select and Start are present on the pad at their expected locations but they only work when the keypad is attached to the controller. All other buttons work regardless of the keypad being attached or detached.

The keyboard is okay but it’s better suited for larger hands (or long thumbs). As a Blackberry user, I find this keyboard less comfortable than that of a classic Blackberry – but I’ve been using Blackberies for almost 10 years already so I may be a little bit spoiled or maybe biased toward their ergonomics.

As far as workmanship is concerned, my impression is one of a well-built, durable device. It integrates well, visually and functionally with the PS3 controllers.

The setup:

———-

After a couple of hours of charging through the USB port (cable not included), the keypad is ready to use. Once the On/Off switch is set to On, all that’s needed is for the keypad to be connected to the PS3 through a USB cable and the pairing is done automatically.

The workings:

————-

The keypad operates in two modes: as a keyboard or, interestingly, as a touch pad.

In keyboard mode, you get a QWERTY keyboard with well separated, round little keys. The letters, numeric and punctuation keys are where you would expect them to be but the special keys are not exactly at their familiar places and some of the less essential ones (PgUp, PgDn, End, Home and the function keys) are missing. Special characters can be entered with the help of 2 modifier keys (the Blue and the Orange).

Three special keys allow you to enable the touch pad mode or quickly jump to your PS3 message box or friends list icons – I did not find the last 2 very useful.

Until you make yourself familiar with some of the less obvious key combinations it’s a good idea to save the instructions pamphlet (a 17″x11″ folded sheet) found in the package.

The touch pad mode is very interesting in that, after pressing the ‘touch pad key’, the keyboard is disabled and a section of the keyboard emulates a laptop’s touch pad and the 2 cursor keys emulate mouse buttons and you can interact with your environment as if you were using a mouse.

I am a ‘knob’ person as far as mouse emulation is concerned but, based on my testing, the touch pad mode, while interesting and innovative, is not very well implemented. For example, while in Browser mode, it does not allow you to scroll down your browser window, something that is easily and intuitively accomplished with the R3/L3 analog sticks. The cursor, when controlled with the touch pad was jumpy, either moving from one corner of the window to another or, sometimes, not moving at all. The good news is that all the controller buttons, including the sticks, are fully functional all the time so, people like me, won’t have to use the touch pad.

Brief evaluation:

—————–

+ Bluetooth device, does not require dongles or wires

+ Replaces a full-size keyboard, well suited for entering passwords or brief messages

+ Perfectly integrated, physically and functionally with the PS3 controller – generally, it does not interfere with game play

+ Rechargeable battery

+ According to Sony (not tested by me) it can be paired with other Bluetooth devices (don’t lose that manual)

- Adds weight to the controller

- Some of the special keys are placed at unfamiliar locations

- Keys ‘real estate’ wasted by assigning 2 keys to jump to the message box and the friends list

- Touch pad does not work very well

- Small hands may find it a bit uncomfortable

Before I started writing this review, I thought I was going to award this keypad 3 stars but, once I listed the pros and the cons I see that the negatives are relatively minor. The major disappointment is the touch pad but it’s not something that I am going to miss because I am already happy with the R3/L3. 3.5 stars should be the fair score but I am rounding it up to 4 because my overall impression is positive.

With HOME now a reality, this is likely to become an increasingly useful add-on.

Review by L. T. Beasimer:

Before I received this keypad, I had a keyboard wired to the PS3 while playing games on the couch. Whenever I wanted to type a message I would get off the couch, sit on the floor, and type. When I saw this keypad I had a few reservations, but I knew I this would be a better solution.

From pulling the keypad out of the package and putting it to use is pretty simple but takes a little time. Pairing and charging work just like the controllers do. This product comes with no charge, so plug it into the PS3 and let it charge up. When ready the keypad clamps firmly into place resting on the controller with the keys away from the body. Turn the power on and it is ready to use. After calibration the keypad can be used as a touchpad with the touch of a button. Plus a couple shortcut keys are included for checking messages and viewing friends.

I usually play the PS3 at night in a dimly lit room. The keypad is laid out mostly like a normal keyboard; however there are a few minor differences. Because of my playing environment, I would find backlit keys to be a big help. Additionally the touchpad feature works, but is a bit difficult to properly navigate the finger motion to what should happen on the screen. Perhaps the touchpad feature takes more getting used to than the rest of the features.

One of my reservations was related to where the keypad rests on the controller. Being away from the body and above the R3 and L3 buttons, I was concerned they would get in the way making the keypad difficult to use. I have to admit this is not the case for me at all. The buttons are laid out so that they can be used comfortably; I had no problems pressing the keys. The keypad doesn’t get in the way for game play either.

Overall this quality constructed product is designed well. While there are a few weaknesses, Sony delivers the functionality they claim. This keypad is priced in line with other Sony PS3 products and worth the expense for me. For those that type short messages and such, the PlayStation 3 Wireless keypad is worthy of consideration.

PROS:

Fits firmly on the controller

Easy to setup and use

Well designed quality constructed product

CONS:

Keys are not backlit

Touchpad feature not so easy to use

Review by D. Jenkins:

It comes with the headset, a charging cradle with power adaptor, and a 3 inch usb cable (for synching purposes).

Straight out of the box this looks professional and a high quality design.

It has a power on/off button, a vol+ and vol-, and a MUTE button. All are instinctively located. It can be worn on the left or right ear via a swivel clip common on most bluetooth headsets nowadays.

How do you use it you may ask?

You plug in the headset via the small usb cable to the playstation3 and it automatically syncs it with your ps3. I have heard that you need to delete any other bluetooth headsets in order to do this but that was not my experience. Wait till you see the red ring flash twice and your done.

Don’t synch it using the bluetooth discovery method. If you do so it will function like a regular bluetooth headset and some features will not work correctly (such as on screen indication of your volume level, battery life gauge, the mute button, and on screen display if your mute is on or off).

The only complaint I have is that the “headset speaker” is sort of big and the rubber ring that goes around it isn’t very soft and can hurt your ear after less than 30 minutes. I did find a solution to this if you just don’t jam in into your ear canal that far into your ear it is very comfortable and functional. Just sort of barely seat it into your ear and it works and feels great.

The sound quality is way better than any other bluetooth headset I have used on my ps3 (I have used 4 different ones, all with great levels of success).

It also claims to have a “speakerphone”/microphone function when the headset is in the cradle. I have not had a chance to test this.

In addition the battery life on this claims to be 8 hours with 300 hours of standby which is fantastic.

Finally, it can be used as a bluetooth headset with a bluetooth compatible cellphone.

Review by Lam P. Nguyen:

some faqs about this…

-this is the same headset that is included with socom confrontation.

-the ear hook is flexible so you can bend/flex it into your desired shape, it is also reversible so you can flip the hook to use it on the left or right ear.

-the docking station uses a USB cable to charge the headset; so not just the ps3 can charge it but any computer with a usb port can.

paired it to my blackberry curve, and it worked perfectly.

look and feels nice.

mic and sound quality is great.

for the guy that gave it 1 star… read the manual!

Review by The Matrix Fan:

Well folks, now that the dust has settled from the Sony vs. Immersion lawsuit, Playstation 3 owners are finally able to feel the vibe again!

I purchased this controller today and I knew the only way to properly road-test it was on the game that made the Dualshock famous, Metal Gear Solid. After booting up the game, I walked down the hallway and got spotted by a guard. As he shouted, “WHO’S THAT?” the controller jumped in my hand – and I knew this was a smart purchase. As the guards shot at me, I felt the feedback of the bullets, just as I had 10 years ago on my Sony Playstation.

I picked out another old school Playstation game, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. From Ayame’s blades to Rikimaru’s sword, each sword swipe and jump had excellent feedback.

Okay, so my Playstation games worked out. But what about my Playstation 2 library?

I popped in God of War, knowing I had to feel the swing of the Blades of Chaos. The controller vibrations felt a little lighter here, but the vibrations still occurred at the appropriate times.

Then I chose Incredible Hulk Ultimate Destruction. Who better to test a vibration controller than the Sultan of Smash? All the power jumps and smashes had the vibrations intact, but they still felt a little on the light side.

All right, so far I was two for two with my Playstation and Playstation 2 test subjects. But what about my Playstation 3 games? Could I possibly hit a trifecta?

I put in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and I decided to jump right into a heated firefight. The controller gave me feedback while shooting weapons and getting hit by enemy fire, but I knew my purchase was justified when Drake was near death: I FELT THE DUALSHOCK 3 PULSING IN SYNCH WITH DRAKE’S HEARTBEAT. It’s one thing to hear that noise and know he’s near death, it’s quite another to feel the pulse in my own hands.

Okay, so the feedback on the older games was there, but a little lighter than I remember. The reason? Well, when I decided to go wireless on my Playstation 2 system, I bought a Logitec Dualshock controller. It turns out, that controller takes two “AA” batteries, and the vibration motors inside the controller handles are slightly larger than the ones in the Dualshock 3. That’s where I felt the difference.

The Dualshock 3 vibrations may be slightly less than the Logitec controller, but it doesn’t require the purchase of batteries.

The Dualshock 3 may be slightly heavier than the SixAxis, but it doesn’t take up any extra space at all.

Sure, the price is about more than the SixAxis, but it’s a worthy upgrade for the Playstation 3 gamer who kicks it old school as well as new school. The only other drawback is the lack of an additional USB cable – but we can use the one that came with the system itself.

So what’s the final verdict?

Order it, plug it in, charge it up, and get ready for the inevitable downloads from the Playstation Store to make the older PS3 games Dualshock 3 compatible.

I wouldn’t recommend a feedback peripheral without providing my own feedback…

Enjoy!

Review by Sebastian Fernandez:

I was already extremely happy with the Sixaxis controller, but I could not resist getting the DualShock 3. Not only do you get the rumble, but also, it feels much better in your hands, even for those games that do not use this feature. The rumble function is fun, but on top of that, it helps with gameplay, because “feeling” what is happening provides a lot more feedback than just watching how your character or car reacts to the environment.

The biggest surprise of all was that the rumble works with PS 2 games in the PS 3 system. I am currently playing through “God of War”, a game which had the rumble capability in PS 2. I thought that it was unlikely that I was going to get this feature with this new controller in the PS 3, but it worked perfectly.

I know that having to buy a new controller and basically discard the one that came with the system is not the ideal situation, but I have to say this product is really worth shedding the extra bucks.

Review by GRILLSMASHER:

Just orderd this item (energizer power & play for Ps3) and it works great charges quickly looks sleek and very sharp,but it is a lil light weight but it serves its purpose and is fairly sturdy. The one issue that i had was after you connected controller light is red during the charge stage, when charge is complete it than turns green- i could find no info about whether or not i could leave controllers on charging unit-would it continue to charge and burn the controller down over time(afer doing my due dillegence and thorough research) the answer is no–once controller is fully charged the light will turn green at that point there is no need to disconect power because that channel stop producing charge- one would think otherwise seeing the green light but this unit in fact stops the process doing no harm to controller so leave it on all day it wont ruin controller–figured this might help–

Review by Woody:

I read some mixed reviews about the Pelican version of this exact same product and did not want to buy one of their units. I then saw that Energizer has the EXACT SAME product but with their name and warranty attached to it. That made me feel perfectly comfortable and I ended up buying one. It’s been really good so far. I am able to plug the controllers in easy with one hand now so it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. The lights are not as bright as other units but are still a tad too bright for my home theater room. I have to put this out of site so the lights don’t distract me during movies.

No problems so far and a very nice design makes this a 5 star product for me.

Review by Breakpoint:

I have owned PS3 Trigger addons for 4 months and enjoy them a lot. They keep your fingers secure on the R2 and L2 buttons when in an intense gaming moment. The are great for games that use shooting or racing. They add precision to the buttons so you can push them in as light or hard as you want since the extra layer of plastic gives you more control. When you don’t have these on it can be hard to get that precision. These things aren’t flawless though, they sometimes pop off after a little frustration with the controller like after an unexpected death which send the pieces flying in the room which can make you even more mad since they are hard to find. However, they usually stay on unless you use a lot of force. I think they are worth the money since you become use to them after using them for a while and want them on your controller all the time.

I am a PS# trophy hunter and I approve of them at [...]

Review by MIKE:

RealTriggers

often the smallest things in life may just brighten your day. this is so true for these 2 small plastic snap-on triggers for PS3 dual-shock 3/sixaxis controllers. the texture and material wise, it is very close to the original make and upon snapping on, it stays there perfectly. with this small addition, there will be no more slippages, when playing games which uses L2/R2 often – especially GT Prologue. No more slipping while changing gears! Great product! a must have for all PS3 gamers.

Review by Chris:

I purchased the Eye Camera seperate from the Eye of Judgement game becasue I really don’t play card games. The reason I purchased the camera was so that I could use it with my 5 yr. old who has recently taken an interest in animation. With the free download available on the PSN, you are able to leverage this clever device to do all sorts of fun and unique things. But first, I’ll address the camera from a hardware perspective:

It’s well built, and sturdy looking. The camera pivots from left to right on it’s base, but cannot be adjusted to look up or down. The camera auto-focuses, and seems to do a nice job of it. The lens does twist to provide a “zoom” view of the subject as well. Perhaps the thing I was most impressed with is the sound quality it is able to capture. I recorded a few demo videos to test the functionality, and found that you can easily sit 10 feet from the camera and talk in very normal tones and the camera picks it all up beautifully. The sound is rich and full. I have not had the chance to video chat with it yet, but from what I have seen, it will be nice and easy. The 360 offers a similar product, but the image quality and frame rates are not quite as good, and you are required to wear a headset to transmit voice and pick up sound. Overall, I am pleased with it from a hardware aspect, with he only real downsides being the fact that you cannot pivot the lens up or down.

No software comes with the camera. Instead, you must grab it from the Playstation Store on the PSN. It is a free download, and takes up very little space. The software itself is easy, but does have a small learning curve due to the fact that it does not come with much in the way of detailed instructions. However, anyone with any technological saavy will be up and running in no time. Capturing video is easy and fun. If you are expecting fancy editing software, you’ll be dissapointed here, but that isn’t the point. The ability to save your videos to the PS3 HD is great, and the fact that they can be transferred to a PC (via a USB storage device) is really cool–especially considering that you can then turn around and email them to family/friends or post them on YouTube. The software offers several effects including various colors filters and distortion modes, as well as the ability to do stop motion and time lapse. The latter two effects are the main reasons I purchased the camera, and I could not be more pleased with how they work. For time lapse, you can set the cam to snap a photo every 5, 10, or 30 seconds, and simply leave the camera untouched for hours on end, simply to return and view the results later. I have left the camera on–pointing out a window–overnight to watch the sunrise. What a neat option! The stop-motion animation function is unbelievably simple. You snap several photos in succession, and then the software combines them into a single video file. You can fit up to 100 frames into each scene, and then the various scenes can be combined to form one long stop-motion movie. For adults out there that are maybe having trouble finding fun things to do with their kids and are intimidated by today’s complex video games, I can tell you firsthand that this is a breath of fresh air, and a great way to to intereact with the young ones.

The overall image quality is pretty good. One thing I do not like about the software, is that if you tweak it for specific lighting array, you aren’t able to save those settings, which means you need to change them each time you begin using the camera again. There really isn’t any excuse for this, but know that changing these settings probably takes less than 30 seconds.

Great product overall. Mind you, this isn’t a hi-def camera, but it gives you the tools to do things on a console that have never been done before. In the very near future, there will be additional software released for the camera via the PSN Store. One that intrigues me is an aquarium simulator that looks eerily realistic. The fish react to movement on the camera, which sounds like a great thing to have on the background if you are having people over. All in all, I am pleased with this product and I hightly reccomend it.

Review by A. C. Ege/Acedoh:

I can’t get the name Eye Toy out of my head. The familiar camera for the PS2 now has a very new and classy look on the PS3. Say hello to the mature Playstation Eye. If you had a Playstation Eye for the Playstation 2 you are probably aware of the interactivity that was available. Now with the newest edition Eye that is taken up one level to a whole new dimension.

Getting my hands on this has been a few weeks in coming. Deciding on whether I wanted to purchase it with a game is what kept me. In reality I didn’t need a card game so I purchased this for the measely sum of and now I have this beautiful contraption. Once you open the package there is not much to it. Connect the 6 foot usb cord to the PS3 and go to device settings and make sure your PS3 is aware it has a camera. No installation here which makes life that much easier.

If you have access to the Playstation Network you can download the Eye Create software for free. A rather small and unassuming file packed with punch. I really didn’t expect much from a free program but I was in for a big surprise. The program is actually an editing program and a very simple but very good one at that. The program allows for capturing video, sound, and pics. You can then edit your masterpiece to create a decent home movie. I am still unaware as to whether I can upload the videos onto Youtube or mail them to others on my friend list. This is a great little bonus program to owning the Eye.

As of now there are a couple mini games available at a low price on the PSN. And of course they are interactive with the Eye. The first game is actually an aquarium. I don’t know as much for a game as an interactive screen saver that would be nice when your entertaining. The camera captures movement and gives your slight reflection as if looking into aquarium glass. You can move your arms around to spook the fish and then you can act like your dropping your hand in the water to see the slight ripple. Pretty cool little trick.

The other game is kind of silly but the kids will love it. The object is to save these little mindless creatures. By using your hands to move them to safety. The game starts off rather easy and gets more complex. Most adults may get bored but I can see how a child would have a lot of fun with the interaction.

Of course this is just the beginning of numerous interactive games that will be available for many months on the PSN. No word as to whether they will offer these games in a collection on the disc. The first major game to utilize the Eye will be Sing Star. It will allow you to show off your singing skills to others.

Now I have just mentioned a few of the advantages of the Eye and of course there is the Eye of Judgement game many people have raved about. But I enjoy this camera for the ability to have video chats. I had a video chat and the picture looked great. Very clear and able to handle low light. What was also impressive was it moved at normal speed thanks to the cameras ability to move 120 frames per second. Having a conversation with someone looks normal and not like they are moving in slow motion. The microphone picks up sound extremely well and the voice conversation comes out great. The PS3 allows for video confrencing with 4 people. For the quality it is one of the best and cheapest video confrencing programs available.

I would have to say the Playstation Eye is a shining feature on the PS3. If you are looking for something that will continue to reward you over the coming months with new games and the ability to actually see the people you talk to the Playstation Eye is where it’s at. Great for kids or adults it’s a great value.

Review by The Matrix Fan:

Well folks, now that the dust has settled from the Sony vs. Immersion lawsuit, Playstation 3 owners are finally able to feel the vibe again!

I purchased this controller today and I knew the only way to properly road-test it was on the game that made the Dualshock famous, Metal Gear Solid. After booting up the game, I walked down the hallway and got spotted by a guard. As he shouted, “WHO’S THAT?” the controller jumped in my hand – and I knew this was a smart purchase. As the guards shot at me, I felt the feedback of the bullets, just as I had 10 years ago on my Sony Playstation.

I picked out another old school Playstation game, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. From Ayame’s blades to Rikimaru’s sword, each sword swipe and jump had excellent feedback.

Okay, so my Playstation games worked out. But what about my Playstation 2 library?

I popped in God of War, knowing I had to feel the swing of the Blades of Chaos. The controller vibrations felt a little lighter here, but the vibrations still occurred at the appropriate times.

Then I chose Incredible Hulk Ultimate Destruction. Who better to test a vibration controller than the Sultan of Smash? All the power jumps and smashes had the vibrations intact, but they still felt a little on the light side.

All right, so far I was two for two with my Playstation and Playstation 2 test subjects. But what about my Playstation 3 games? Could I possibly hit a trifecta?

I put in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and I decided to jump right into a heated firefight. The controller gave me feedback while shooting weapons and getting hit by enemy fire, but I knew my purchase was justified when Drake was near death: I FELT THE DUALSHOCK 3 PULSING IN SYNCH WITH DRAKE’S HEARTBEAT. It’s one thing to hear that noise and know he’s near death, it’s quite another to feel the pulse in my own hands.

Okay, so the feedback on the older games was there, but a little lighter than I remember. The reason? Well, when I decided to go wireless on my Playstation 2 system, I bought a Logitec Dualshock controller. It turns out, that controller takes two “AA” batteries, and the vibration motors inside the controller handles are slightly larger than the ones in the Dualshock 3. That’s where I felt the difference.

The Dualshock 3 vibrations may be slightly less than the Logitec controller, but it doesn’t require the purchase of batteries.

The Dualshock 3 may be slightly heavier than the SixAxis, but it doesn’t take up any extra space at all.

Sure, the price is about more than the SixAxis, but it’s a worthy upgrade for the Playstation 3 gamer who kicks it old school as well as new school. The only other drawback is the lack of an additional USB cable – but we can use the one that came with the system itself.

So what’s the final verdict?

Order it, plug it in, charge it up, and get ready for the inevitable downloads from the Playstation Store to make the older PS3 games Dualshock 3 compatible.

I wouldn’t recommend a feedback peripheral without providing my own feedback…

Enjoy!

Review by Sebastian Fernandez:

I was already extremely happy with the Sixaxis controller, but I could not resist getting the DualShock 3. Not only do you get the rumble, but also, it feels much better in your hands, even for those games that do not use this feature. The rumble function is fun, but on top of that, it helps with gameplay, because “feeling” what is happening provides a lot more feedback than just watching how your character or car reacts to the environment.

The biggest surprise of all was that the rumble works with PS 2 games in the PS 3 system. I am currently playing through “God of War”, a game which had the rumble capability in PS 2. I thought that it was unlikely that I was going to get this feature with this new controller in the PS 3, but it worked perfectly.

I know that having to buy a new controller and basically discard the one that came with the system is not the ideal situation, but I have to say this product is really worth shedding the extra bucks.

Review by My Simon:

I have Vista Home Premium and the setup is easy. By following all the instructions, it took me about 10 minutes and we are ready to do a system update on the 40G PS3.

One warning that i got while setting up. The warning was telling me to change my default gateway address to 192.168.1.1 in order to work. Dont worry. Just close the warning sign and find the setup wi-fi application again and retry it. After 3 tries, we eventually got it working without changing the default gateway.

Hope this review helps. Good luck on setting up.

Review by Damian Konopka:

For anyone who has a home network with one or more PCs connected to the Internet remotely by USB adapter — this PS3 WiFI Key WILL WORK with the remote computers that aren’t directly connected (by ethernet cable) to the Internet! Your PC doesn’t need to be hard wired to the web. And I get a 100% signal at all times using a D-Link Rangebooster N USB adapter that is two floors down from the main computer.

Setting up the correct network connections on the PS3 is easy and simple directions are provided. I’ve used this Key both with and without a router and it never fails to work. Somebody mentioned in an earlier review that you are asked to change the IP address of your router. The workaround mentioned does work! This is an amazing little gadget.

Review by Sean:

The product summary doesn’t mention it, but the box these come in DOES state that it’s for use with Playstation 3 and Playstation 2.

I actually bought these for use with my Playstation 2 and was not disappointed. The difference between the output on the standard cable and this cable on a 61″ HDTV is enormous! God of War looked blurry before, but now running it in progressive widescreen mode (480p) the difference is like night and day. Gran Turismo 4 outputs to 1080i and is amazing!

If you have HDTV and a Playstation 2 get this cable, don’t worry that the product description doesn’t mention playstation 2, the box does.

Review by Calvin Tong:

The PlayStation 3 Component AV cable is really for two types of customers: those with a PS3 who have a first generation HDTV and those who have a Playstation 2 with a HDTV.

If you have a PS3, then your best bet is HDMI. It’s all digital and provides the best clarity. In addition, it is only one single cable for video and audio as opposed to 5 separate connections. There would be no point to buy this cable for your PS3 and HDTV unless you have a first-generation HDTV that does not have a HDMI or DVI input (if you have a DVI input, you can buy a cable or adapter that allows HDMI to DVI connections).

If you have a Playstation 2, this cable is great to use for 480P (progressive scan output) or for usage with Gran Turismo in 1080i mode. Component is also noticeably clearer than S-Video or Composite out. If you don’t have a HDTV though, the difference with component versus S-video or composite is not nearly as noticeable and may not be worth it.

Now onto the Sony component cable itself.

Pros:

- excellent quality

- the cable is very flexible and routes easily. It doesn’t remain in a twisted or coiled form like some other cables

- the component jacks go easily into the TV. They are sized great and go in easily. I’ve used Monster-branded component cables for the PS2/PS3, and they require too much force to go in and out of the jacks. It felt like it was putting too much undue stress on the TV jacks.

- the MultiAV connector goes in very tight into the PS2/PS3

- cable rubber / plastic is high quality and doesn’t feel sticky or smelly like some other cables.

Cons:

- the packaging is over the top. Sony used heavy thick clear plastic as the box. It’s difficult to cut open, and an environment disaster. This item is a perfect candidate for Amazon’s Frustration Free packaging.

P.S. If you have trouble getting output with this cable, make sure in the PS2 setup, the component out is set to CYPbPr rather than RGB. The catch-22 is that you can’t see the screen to set this with the component cable already plugged in. However, all PS2s come with the basic composite AV cable, so you should use this to set the component out first before plugging in the component AV cable.