Welcome to our latest installment of PS3 -- Q&A 4 U 2 C. Or PS3Q&A4U2C for short. IGN has their retail unit (ignore my angry fist shake towards the sky) and they've taken time out of their busy schedule to answer some more pressing questions. Let's do the usual... please, continue reading. We've got word that any HDMI cable will work with the PS3. That's good. Anyway, continue reading for news just as cool.Q: Can you copy MP3 files to the hard drive from a data CD or USB stick, or must they be ripped from a CD?
A: Short answer, yes. Long answer, yes.
Q: Are downloads done in the background, or do you have to wait to do anything else as it downloads stuff?
A: Background. You can even listen to a song as you fiddle with other stuff on the system.
Q: Is there a sleep mode?
A: Nope.
Q: Can a bluetooth-enabled cell phone connect to the PS3 to transfer pictures, music, etc?
A: Sadly, no. But we at PS3Fanboy have an itching suspicion that eventually, yes. Japanese phones are way more badass than ours, anyway.
Q: How's the chat system? Multiple people at once?
A: Dunno. IGN hasn't gone online with it yet.
Q: How well does the browser work?
A: Very. You can call up multiple pages at once (think the tab system for Mozilla/FireFox) and the shoulder buttons cycle through them. Cool.
Q: Bluetooth headsets?
A: Quoth IGN: "The PS3 simply couldn't find them when it performed the Bluetooth accessories scan. DAMMIT!"
Q: How's the Playstation store?
A: Still closed. Wait.
Q: Region settings -- can they be changed?
A: Uh, no. IGN tried to play a few Japanese PS1 and PS2 titles, but the system didn't recognize them. As discs, but not as games.
Q: Does the PS3 upscale all games to a single resolution you set in the dashboard?
A: Yep. It uses the resolution you specify.
Q: Can you use a PS2 S-video cable?
A: Yes! You can also use any standard HDMI cable with the system -- go buy those cheapy HDMI's, fellas!
Q: Guitar Hero controller compatibility?
A: Apparently not. That sucks, but you can probably expect either a new controller for the PS3 or a system update to allow the controller to be accepted.
Q: Warranty?
A: 1 year mechanical defect protection. Shibby.
Thanks guys. Hopefully this answers some of the nagging questions you may have, or bring light to something that was still fuzzy. Another installment of PS3Q&A4U2C will probably appear soon.
[thanks to IGN for the neato pic of the PS3 box]
