It finally appears that Sony has listened and with the upcoming 3.15 firmware will support PS3 data transfer. This feature enables you to transfer all of your saved data from one PS3 to another. So if you decide to get a new PS3 you can make sure you don’t loose any of your existing content. Content such as games, game save data, and videos downloaded from PlayStation Network can be transferred to the new PS3 system and deleted from the current PS3.
Other content, including personal media files (photos, music, videos), can be copied onto the new PS3 and remain on the current PS3 system. This is good news for the 60GB PS3-owners as those consoles seem to very quickly die now.
Update (2009-12-12): The firmware update is now live – you can download it here.
I WAS WRONG: The transfer-utility allows only to copy content via ethernet – WTF Sony? I was hoping for a transfer via USB.