What may not be clear to everyone is that the cheaper version does NOT have an HDMI conection which means that Blu Ray movies may not be watchable on the cheaper version.
They both have Blu Ray drives, but only the more expensive model will have an HDMI port.

There are some other differences too and all together it makes the cheaper model look really bad and not that cheap considering the price VS what you are actually getting.

Sony made so much noise about Blu Ray and that the PS3 would be capable to play Blu Rays at 1080p but in the end that does not seem to be the case.

One other thing I noticed is that dual HDMI ports over 2 screens at 1080p has now gone!
I knew by looking at the PS3 specs, that it would never manage that from day one.

Be carefull if you want to buy a PS3 for Blu Ray viewing because not all the PS3 will be able to do it.

Considering the price difference between the 2 versions, it might be better to invest in the more expensive machine.

Either that or just buy a stand alone Blu Ray player or PC drive!