The 60GB model is no longer in production, and once the current stock is exhausted then that's it. It's becoming rather difficult to find I believe, though you may still find them in some stores. The 40GB model is still very good value, but it does miss some nice features like SACD playback, PS2 back-compatibility, memory card slots, and has only 2 of the 4 USB sockets that the 60GB model has.
The main thing the PS3 has going for it is that Sony heavily subsidise it, so you are getting far more hardware for the money (even if the money does seem fairly substantial). Remember that as well as being a high def games console, it is also a very capable (and certainly the most future-proof) Blu-ray player, as well as being a networked media streamer too. Due to the subsidy it is still one of the cheapest Blu-ray players available (and the only ones cheaper right now are Profile 1.0), so even if you have no interest in the gaming aspect whatsoever it is still arguably the best choice of Blu-ray player right now (considering its upgradability), as well as being a very capable network media extender. I'd still buy it now purely as a Blu-ray player, even though I make use of all of its functionality (bar SACD playback) myself.