In the past, Ken Kutaragi was pushing for the introduction of a 250GB model PS3, so future models of the console may feature increased storage. Reviving that news, Kotaku, the website that confirmed Sony's "Home" before its official announcement may have once again uncovered something very interesting--Sony's answer to Microsoft's XBox 360 Elite.
In a filing dated earlier this month, Sony contacted the US Federal Communications Commission to request a "Class II permissive change" to the PLAYSTATION 3. While FCC filings are generally dry as dust, this one has an interesting addition. A new PLAYSTATION 3 model (CECHE01) with an 80GB hard disk was listed as an additional inclusion to the original FCC grant. The two current model numbers CECHA01 and CECHB01 specify the 60GB and 20GB versions, respectively.
Could this new hard disk represent a totally new model or simply a storage upgrade? Will the 80GB PS3 at some point become the lower-end model? Kotaku will be contacting Sony in the morning to gather additional details.