Singapore will get the much-awaited Sony Playstation 3 “slim” game console here next month at a price of S$512, said Sony yesterday on the sidelines of the Games Convention Asia (GCA).

The slimmer version of the PS3 was first announced last month. As you’d see from the pictures, it is a much prettier version than its fatter sibling that first went on sale in 2006.

Unfortunately, it’s not that cheap. I think the price-cut original PS3 is now an even more attractive proposition.

Meanwhile, for gamers on the go, Sony says the PSP Go will also go on sale here in Singapore on October 1 for S$412.

Nifty yet powerful; pretty yet functional. That’s how I’d describe Nokia’s recently-launched N97 mini, with which I got some hands-on time here at the Nokia OneConnectedWorld show in Kuala Lumpur.

In essence a smaller version of Nokia’s touchscreen-plus-keyboard N97 model, the mini version is much more pocketable, yet retains many of its bigger brother’s functionalities. …

You can actually walk through the halls without squeezing past sweaty people – well, in most parts – at this year’s Comex show at Suntec City.

At nearby Raffles City, there was even ample parking – many empty lots – at about 6pm on Friday when I visited this year’s third quarterly computer and electronics bazaar.

So, what are the good deals that Techgoondu recommends you check out? I’d say the usual stuff were in store – large-screen TVs and portable hard disks – but there were one of two surprises, like Audio Technica’s headphones.

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Last week, the European Commission announced that it will launch an in-depth investigation under the EU Merger Regulation over Oracle’s impending acquisition of Sun Microsystems. The controversial move, which has caused a stir among industry watchers, could potentially derail the deal.

Already, IBM and HP have been riding on the uncertainty over the Oracle-Sun deal with campaigns to win over Sun customers. Their efforts are bearing fruit: Sun’s second quarter server revenues falling 37 percent to US$981 million compared to a year ago – the steepest decline among major vendors according to market numbers from analyst company IDC.

The rationale for the EC’s investigation stems from its initial market investigation, which “indicated that the proposed acquisition would raise serious doubts as to its compatibility with the [EU] Single Market because of competition concerns on the market for databases.” …

First, it was on. Then, we’re not so sure.

Without the protagonists even speaking a word about it, the market has been filled with talk of a possible SingTel-StarHub joint bid for the upcoming three seasons of exclusive Barclays Premier League (BPL) content.

Yet, after days of drama, consumers are still no clearer on whether they will 1) have to pay more because of the higher bids predicted 2) buy two set-top boxes to watch different matches should the bids be split. …

There’s nothing like a free lunch. But once in a while, you do get freebies without so much as firing up your laptop.

From today, users of Singapore’s Wireless@SG service will be getting a speed boost, as part of a handful of upgrades for the free Wi-Fi hotspot offering that were first announced at CommunicAsia 2009.

They will be able to surf at up to 1Mbps (instead of 512Mbps) at 7,500 hotspots islandwide. There is no need to re-configure their laptops or Wi-Fi-enabled cellphones, said the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) this morning, as it showed Techgoondu and other media a demo of the faster service at the Wi-Fi-enabled TCC cafe at NAFA. …