Exactly.
"I think the £130 price difference between the two is a bigger factor than how pretty the front-end is."
When will consumers realize, you buy cheap, you get crap. It really is as simple as that. Don't buy a 37in Wharfdale from Asda, because it's guaranteed to be rubbish, you are better spending a few quid more and getting something decent.
Same thing goes for console. Don't buy a 360, cheap unreliable crap too.
PS. It's not £130, it's more like £100 difference between PS3 and 360. And the cheapo model is pretty much useless, it's so gimped it's unreal. If you want to compare like for like, it's about $40 difference between a proper 360 and a PS3.
The Argos deal is about the best deal in the country right now. 3 current great games and a 80GB PS3 for £287.
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5666786/Trail/searchtext%3EPS3.htm#sohdr3