The Sony PS3 gets software updates all the time it seems. Not all of them are good for users though, like the recent update that killed support for other OS' on the console.

Microsoft also updates the Xbox 360 frequently and has a new update coming for the console that adds some new features to the mix. The update provides support for USB storage devices.

With the update, the user can store data to external HDDs and flash drives at least 1GB in capacity. The catch is that no matter how large your external HDD is you can only get a single 16.5GB partition. That would waste lots of space on a 500GB HDD.