I've been rather outspoken about the PS3 in the past. I have criticised its high price, I've called it ugly and to be honest I've given Sony's new baby a bit of a rough time. Have you ever called someone else's baby 'ugly' behind their back only to find out that actually it's quite cute after all?

That's the sort of the guilt I'm feeling right now, because after having a play with one for a week I've actually changed my mind about the PS3. It's actually..ahemm... rather good. Sure there are not a massive number of excellent games out for it yet, but as a piece of kit there are some things which I think are really really cool and worth considering. Here are ten of them:

1. The on/off button
Yeah, the on/off button. It's the first feature that you encounter when you get a new PS3 and it's actually pretty cool. You just have to rest your finger on the flat surface of the front panel and it senses your touch and switches on. The Blu-ray drive works in the same way. It's simple technology, yet it's still cool. I like it. I think it's good.

2. User Interface
I also like the very simple user interface. I like the way it scrolls, I like the way it looks and I even like the little clinking sound it makes as you scroll through the options. The way it's all arranged makes it very easy to find exactly which setting you're after, even if you've never used a games console in your life. I likes it, see?

3. DVD Upscaling
I suspect that the first thing that most people do when they buy a PS3 is to either play MotorStorm on it, or to watch Casino Royale on Blu-ray. I did neither of these things and instead randomly opted to watch a standard definition DVD of Donnie Darko with one of my housemates. The PlayStation 3's upscaling capability is really impressive. It makes standard DVDs look absolutely fantastic even on a 46 inch LCD TV. This is a real plus-feature which most people might not have considered. You may not believe how good it can look - see it to believe it.

4. It's quick
I'm currently testing a Mesh PC with a Core 2 Quad processor and an Nvidia 8800 GTS card inside. Even so, playing Rainbow Six Vegas is not as quick as you might think. It still takes a while to load up, and loading individual missions in the game ranges from being really quick to being quite sluggish. The PS3 is consistently good. Sure it takes a few moments to load up the games, but considering their sheer size and the amount of processing power that is involved, it's incredible.

5. Size/weight
I'd never actually bothered to pick one up before, so had no idea how much one weighed. And actually, it's nowhere near as heavy as you might think (and if you've never seen one in person, it's not as large as you might think, either.) It fits into some tight spaces and is a lot more convenient to have in my living room than I expected it to be. It is a bit too shiny though to be honest. It's arched top surface is shinier than Duncan Goodhew's.

6. Wireless networking
It's great to have wireless networking capabilities inside without having to plug in any peripherals. You can connect, download firmware updates without a hitch. The Xbox 360 requires an additional and pricey wireless adapter to perform these same functions.

7. Wireless controller
The wireless controller is a Godsend. It's hardly the cutting edge of technology - wireless controllers have been around for some time - but a wireless PlayStation controller is something slightly different. Playing a game from across the room with no twisted wires getting in the way is extremely convenient. It's extremely light too. And the SIXAXIS motion sensing functionality works a dream. When used with a game like Motorstorm, you can use the controller as a steering wheel instead of pressing buttons. It takes a while to get used to it, but after a while it's great fun. The Wii isn't the only console that has a motion-sensing controller!

8. Graphics are brilliant
This is probably the most obvious point to make. The games look brilliant. The 46 inch TV does push it quite hard though - the aliasing (jagged edges) starts to show up in some places, but that's because of the TV size more than anything. Things are only going to get better in the graphics department, and that excites me.

9. Blu-ray
So far, I've watched Black Hawk Down and Casino Royale through the Blu-ray drive in the PS3. The picture quality really is stunning. It has to be pointed out that it's not as good as some would tell you - after five minutes of watching you almost don't notice the difference between Blu-ray and a well-upscaled DVD. But still, the Blu-ray drive will definitely turn out to be a good investment if it manages to beat HD DVD to become the industry standard.

10. It's quiet
Compared to the roaring Xbox 360, it's as quiet as a mouse. And that's great for me. Any hint of a processor fan disturbing the peace in my room and it will be instantly disconnected and replaced by something more discreet. So the fact that it can be left on without me noticing it is (barring the electricity that it drains while turned on) a good thing.

And finally...
Overall I just like having it at home. It's fun. I am not sure how I would feel had I spend £400 on it mind you, but still having had a really good go with one (thanks, Sony) has showed that even one of the PS3's biggest critics can be won over. Now, don't you just hate that Nintendo Wii?