PS3 real or rumor

Is this a redesigned PS3?

Tech blog Engadget scored a scoop last week: these shots of what looks for all the world like a redesigned, slimmer Playstation 3.

Slim and Trim. Rumor or Real?
Are they real? It's hard to tell. Making us think "yes" is the fact that Sony's fond of reissuing its consoles in ever-slimmer form factors -- in fact, the Playstation 3's the only Sony machine never to have had this treatment. The pics are certainly of something that's labeled "PS3," and they're certainly not the current machine. Plus, if that shot of the packaging is fake, someone's gone to a lot of trouble to make it look convincing.

On the other hand, that's not the current PS3 logo. The present machine's logo has the full "Playstation 3" moniker, and in a different font to boot. It's also a little early in the PS3's lifetime for a redesign, if Sony's history is anything to go by. And such a drastic hardware change means new parts, new tools, and new assembly line procedures. Is cash-bleeding Sony, which just posted its first annual net loss in 14 years, really going to go to all that expense over a facelift? The official word from Sony is either no-comment or outright denial, depending on who you ask.
We'd have passed this over as just another rumor, if it wasn't for one thing: Engadget's Japanese wing was issued with a takedown order this week from a "mysterious Chinese company" demanding they remove the pictures. Whatever they're on to, they've got someone rattled.
So is this really a new PS3, or just another of the cheap-and-nasty knockoffs we've seen in the past? If the pics are genuine, we'd expect to see an announcement at a press conference Sony has scheduled for the first week in June. We'll keep you posted.