Photographers: you’ve got a new way to organize, edit, and share your photos today, courtesy of Sony and… the PlayStation 3? That’s right, if you’re a PlayStation 3 owner, you can now download Sony’s PlayMemories Studio from the PlayStation Network store. It’s a new way to leverage your game console for something other than games. It’s $14.99 to buy, but it’s free to PlayStation Plus members, and new Sony Cybershot camera customers.
I downloaded PlayMemories Studio late this evening; it’s a 900+ megabyte download, but it arrived and installed relatively quickly. You’ll find it under the XMB in the Photo column. It boots up quickly and produces some typically bland and cheerful Sony music. Thankfully you can turn the music down under the settings heading. 
The software comes with some images to get you started, but as I already have several pictures imported, it picked them up to. It views 3D images as well, for those with 3D displays, which I quite enjoy. I have a Fuji 3D camera, and took some 3D images of the DeLorean at the Penny Arcade Expo in 2010, so it was great to browse through those images quickly.
And quickly really is the word here; unlike previous image viewing platforms on the PS3, Play Memories is FAST. It might seem like a bit of a joke to edit your photos on a $300 gaming console, but it’s very responsive. Applying simple image effects is easy: you can see them in real time, and reverse your decisions easily. Putting a slide show together is just a matter of choosing your photos from your list. PlayStation Memories will automatically apply a Ken Burns style effect for motion.
Next month the software will receive an update to upload to Facebook and PlayMemories Online.
For anyone with a suitable PC, this might seem a little silly, but for homes with older computers, or for users who are opting to go with Tablets or Ultrabooks, Sony has created a viable alternative to shelling out for a new computer. It’s not perfect and it’s not powerful, but it is simple and easy. If that’s all you need, you’ll probably like PlayMemories.
There’s a 30-day free trial for all users. As mentioned above, PlayStation Plus users can download the software for free, while non-members can pay $14.99 after the trial has expired.
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