Sony Submits New PS3 Model to FCC

Straight from IGN.

Adding more fuel to the rumor that Sony is planning to release a new PlayStation 3 model soon, a new FCC filing surfaced today showing that the company has submitted a new unit to the agency for testing.

First reported by the technology site DailyTech, news of the filing rippled throughout the intertubes Thursday, leading to more speculation that Sony is planning to release a 40 GB PS3 before the holidays. Much of the information about the model is blocked from public view at Sony's request, but a label image posted on the FCC web site contains the PlayStation 3 logo and includes the model number CECHG01, which is consistent with past PlayStation 3 model numbering (the 60 GB units carries the number CECHA01 and the 80 GB unit's number is CECH01).

According to documentation filed with the FCC by Sony, the new model will have 802.11b/g wi-fi, Bluetooth 2.0 and the same system specs as its siblings (3.2GHz CPU, etc.). Hard drive space is not mentioned in the filing, and although the FCC only mentions testing two USB ports, the documents do now show how many total USB ports, I/O ports and card readers are built into the unit.

Recent speculation that Sony would slash the price of the PlayStation 2 to $99 and release a slimmed-down $399 40 GB PS3 fizzled a bit when no such announcements were made this month at the Tokyo Game Show.

Was Sony waiting for its competitor's Halo 3 buzz to die down before making an announcement? Is the new PS3 SKU actually a model with a larger hard drive and a coffeemaker attachment? Only time, and Sony, will tell.

[Via IGN]