Only- Electronics

It was but weeks ago that eagle eyed online types spied a fleeting mention on Amazon.co.uk's website of Sony's much hyped and much anticipated PlayTV. But whichever prankster posted the preview page touting a July global launch for a paltry £60 was either extremely optimistic or extremely drunk.

Sony has confirmed through official channels that the service won't be with us until September, and it'll set you back 99 euros, which at the current extremely unfavourable exchange rate is more like £78. Costly.

PlayTV is an add-on gadget for the PS3 (global sales of which have just hit five million, surpassing the Xbox 360 for the first time), and effectively turns the console into a personal video recorder, taking advantage of that slightly measly 40GB hard drive. It sports dual TV tuners with full access to Freeview, so users can record one channel while watching another and take advantage of features like pausing, rewinding and fast-forwarding live TV. A seven-day EPG is also featured for easy channel surfing.

One of the cooler features is the PS3's link up with the PSP, so owners of both consoles can record and watch TV remotely using Wi-Fi, effectively turning the combination into a personal global TV channel.