- Plays Playstation Portable Games – Dazzling widescreen LCD brings gaming to life. Whether reaching your personal best or locked in wireless combat, you’ll have the freedom to play wherever and whenever you like
- Plays UMD Movies – New releases of films available on UMD for play through PSP
- Download your MP3, MP4, WAV or ATRAC3Plus music files to your PSP system via the Memory Stick Duo or take in a full-length concert or behind-the-scenes footage on a pre-recorded UMD
- Surf the Worldwide Web using the Internet browser whenever you are in an Internet-accessible location
- Store your digital photos, create custom wallpapers and share your favourite photos with the image transfer feature using the Memory Stick Duo (Sold Separately)
Product Description
Sony PlayStation Portable Console has a slim 6.7″ x 2.9″ frame for the absolute finest in portable gaming but it also offers more features extending it as a super-compact multimedia entertainment device. The PSP is the first truly integrated handheld system that is designed to handle multiple applications, including games, music, video, communication and wireless networking. Dazzling, high-quality graphics let you enjoy 3D games with full-motion video, while high-fi… More >>
The PSP has a significant amount of features… you probably know that. So I’ll cut to the important parts. The PSP is an excellent gaming machine. It’s look and design is very nice, sharp, and sleek. The large plasma-like screen and the PSP engine manage to bring us vivid, sharp, PS2 like graphics. And as I said before, there are multimedia capabilities, however they are not pushed to their full potential. To store snything you will need a memory stick duo. Although the prices have dropped they are still expensive, especially if you want a large sized memory stick. UMD movies are also expensive, so don’t buy this for movies alone. Here is how I rate it:
Graphics: 10/10
The graphics are absolutely mind blowing. For a handheld system, it doen’t get any better than this. The frame rate of most games is excellent, and sharp, sleek character models are plenty in every game.
Design: 8.5/10
The look and the design of the PSP is great, however the absence of a second analogue stick makes SOME games are a LITTLE hard to play. However PSP games manage some other kind of control, so this isn’t a big downside. Also, screen protecters are a must. The PSP is very, very susceptible to smudges and scratches.
Games: 9/10
Finally, some good games come out for the PSP. The games look and play great. These games include ACE COMBAT, DAXTER, TEKKEN, GTA: LIBERTY CITY STORIES, GTA: VICE CITY STORIES, MEDAL OF HONOR, SYPHON FILTER, CALL OF DUTY, NEED FOR SPEED, LOCOROCO, KILLZONE, BURNOUT, RIDGE RACER, ATV, METAL GEAR SOLID, and many, many more. Of course, there should be no comparing the PSP and NDS beacuse they both have PROS and CONS.
Features: 8/10
Video, music, photos all courtesy of an expensive memory stick. But it’s worth it. However, it’s a little tricky getting video onto the unit, you have to convert it into some kind of format so the PSP can read it.
Pros.
Great games
Great graphics
A sleek design
A big screen
Music, photos, videos, games, a multimedia powerhouse!
Cons.
No second analogue stick
Low battery life
Hard to get videos onto the unit
No built in memory
Expensive memory sticks
Overall: 8.5/10
The PSP is an excellent leap for handheld devices, however the PSP does have it’s fair share of shortcomings.
Rating: 4 / 5
I commute into work every morning on the light rail in Portland Oregon. I bought myself a PSP earlier this past spring with the intension of watching my TiVo on it while I’m on the train. So every night, I let the TiVo download to my PC and it’s kind of like a PSPcasting.
All of my Season Pass shows like Lost, My name is Earl, ER, Desperate Housewives, Numbers and all of my favorite shows I don’t have time for I’m now watching on my PSP. I have a 2 gig memory card that is automatically loaded with my tv programs while I’m asleep and when I wake up in the morning I just pick up my PSP from the dock and go.
I also play video games on it, its great for that too. But I’m watching way more TV on it then playing games.
With out a doubt this is my favorite toy that I’ve purchase all year long, although it only half over, I don’t think I’ll be purchasing anything else that comes close to how much I enjoy this thing.
Rating: 5 / 5
Somebody rightly said “A thing of beauty lasts forever”. That holds good for this awesome little piece of technological marvel.
The moment you open the box, the widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio) stares at you. The PSP does not come with a game. I immediately rushed to a store to buy a game “Need for speed”. The graphics are amazing and the game itself is thrilling. The widescreen adds beauty to the games as the racetracks look more original in widescreen.
I have downloaded my home videos shot using Sony HC-42 camcorder. The camcorder shoots in wideangle (16:9). Hence the videos look great on the Sony PSP.
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The controls on the PSP are bit funny. For example, to accelerate your car you need to press the down arrow and to brake you need to press the up arrow. Isn’t that unconventinal? But I got used to it very soon as my race car was not moving at all when all others sped by!!!
Sony is known for making proprietary items to mint money. They have created this UMD Disc whereas they could have easily supported mini-DVD instead. Don’t spend your money on UMD disks. Instead buy a memory stick with good capacity and download games to the stick rather than using the UMD.
PSP is great for viewing photos. But please remember to resize your photos to less than 10% of their original size (if you use a 5 MP or higher camera). This will save valuable space on your memory stick and also display the photos faster on the PSP. If you don’t resize them, it takes more than 10 seconds for the system to render the image on screen.
Connecting to internet is not fun. The text editor is very hard to use. Please don’t have much expectations on this feature. This feature may be useful if you are playing games with another internet partner but not for anything else.
Please do buy a screen protector as you don’t want to spoil this beatiful screen. Even a minor scratch may show up and spoil the fun.
The battery has excellent life (nearly 5 hours) before you need a recharge.
Go ahead and buy the PSP. You won’t regret the purchase. I would surely recommend this product for you.
Rating: 5 / 5
First off, I was in love with my iPod.
I really don’t think there is a music player -just a music player- that is better than the iPod. And I do not wish this to be an attack on the iPod, because it is NOT. Refer to this later on in the review….
But there is something on the market, that has been deadly silent that has all the ability of an iPod, of course it plays music, plays video, and games. And it not all that much bigger than the biggest iPod out there. What? The PSP does all that? I didn’t know that either.
Lots of options crammed into this little doo dad. It is also Wireless, Internet ready, headphone jack, USB – there is a button for just about everything. The tiny insides of this little device must be crammed to the brim. Plays Video wonderfully, plays games great. (Loading time is a bit slow, but once loaded no interruptions…. and that is how I would like it, I hate game devices that take time out in the middle of action to catch up… would rather that all be done at the beginning). The movies are a small disk as well as the game disk…. easy to carry around. Small is indeed king here… the device does get a bit heavy after a while, but it OKAY to put it down and come back; but considering how much stuff it does, it should indeed be a tiny bit hefty.
Fact is, it is hard to give a good detailed review of this little device since it does so much, and some of the stuff is LITTLE stuff, like being able to save pics off the net, and use them as your wallpaper… it really is a little computer. I have had it a week and have not found anything that I don’t like, and I know I have not found all the stuff there.
It is very good with a battery. 3 hours on the stock battery and you can play Dungeon Seige 2 with another person. 3 hours playing a game ?? Great stuff. And it recharges fast. Within an hour I had my battery recharged. Plus, you can always just plug it in and play, and ignore the battery. Batteries exist out there, that make it a six hour affair playing games. Music uses a lot less battery. When just playing music, you can get 6 hours of playing music. Headphone jacks can be used in the headphone jack, but you can put all sorts of things into this headphone jack, … like a really, really small FM transmitter that uses no batteries (this also means no annoying cords)… plus about 30 more things that you can get for this headphone jack to be utilized in total utilization.
So, if you wanna shell out about 199 dollars and have a lot more to show for your money than buying a more expensive Video iPod, stop here. Buy this device right now. I no longer use my iPod in my car with an FM transmitter… I use the PSP to do the same thing… and guess what? This device puts out a lot more sound than the iPod.
For the cost involved lets break this down:
Ipod:
1. Video iPod =349 dollars.
PSP:
1. PSP =199.
2. 4 gig memory Chip =85 (on popular auction site, free shipping if you look). (Update, on popular auction site, 4 gig SD duo PSP mem is now 80 dollars, but more importantly, you can get 2 gig ones for $18.99 – just thought the ones who are debating whether or not to get an iPod or a PSP might want this info)
What is the outcome? PSP is not only a more capable machine for those looking for a machine that plays music as well as games and video, it is quite cheaper.
Why review this in comparison contrast to the iPod? The only reason is, I would have liked to have known about this device before I bought a couple of the iPods I had already bought. THE IPOD IS A wonderful music player. But that is really all it is, and the video iPod does not hold a candle to the video on this machine.
Have fun.
Rating: 5 / 5
I’ve been intrigued by the PSP since it was released last year, but low supply, high price, and lack of games have kept me from biting. Fast forward to present day and the supply is plentiful, the introduction of the core package has reduced the cost to own, and the game library is growing. So I took the plunge and am now offering my early impressions.
First of all, don’t bother with the value pack that costs $50 more than the core. Why? 1) The 32 MB memory card the value pack comes with is ridiculously small to the point of almost being useless. 2) The value pack adds headphones, which most won’t need since you can simply use a set from another portable gadget. 3) The last addition, a soft case, would be nice but you can buy one for about $10. Get a 1 GB card for about $60 or a 2GB card for about $100 if you even think you might load music, pictures, and video on your PSP. There is even a 4GB out now, but its pricey at over $200.
So how is the PSP as a gaming device? Pretty darn good. I’ve owned a Gameboy, DS Lite, and now the PSP and the PSP offers the best graphics by far. However, the controls are a bit awkward at times. For example, holding the PSP and using the left and right triggers is tough. Also, the D-pad is not the most responsive and using the analog stick is a challenge. However, the PSP’s LCD display is big, bright, and sharp.
Battery life is only about 5 hrs, which is similar to the DS Lite at its highest brightness. But the DS Lite can last as long as 15 or more hrs at lowest brightness. This could be an issue on long overseas flights in which case you may want to buy an extra battery.
I first played SOCOM 3, a third person shooter. I was frustrated by the lack of a right analog stick found on the PS2 and Xbox consoles, but quickly adapted. Next up was Street Fighter Alpha, a fighting game and the sole reason I bought a Super Nintendo console back in the 1990′s. The D-pad is not as responsive as I would like, but I still enjoyed the game very much. I also played Hot Shots Golf and have no complaints (portables are perfect for golf games).
If you are looking for primarily a music player, the PSP is probably not for you. It is a bit big (but not overly heavy) to take jogging or biking, not to mention the risk of scratching the screen. I have a 60 GB Ipod that is much better for that. If you want primarily a video player, then I would recommend an Archos AV500. It has a similar sized widescreen with a 100 GB hard drive and acts like a DVR-much easier to record content to than the PSP. Also, the UMD disc format that the PSP uses has not fared well for movies-it is too expensive and studio support is drying up. However, as an overall entertainment device for travel, the PSP can’t be beat. In additon to movie, music, and game support, it also has built in Wifi for Internet connection. But all this functionality makes the PSP pricey. If you only want a gaming device, I would strongly consider the DS Lite. Unfortunately for me, the DS Lite’s game library was not as appealing as the PSP’s. The announcement of Ultimate Ghosts and Goblins for the PSP (this September) provided the final push off the fence. This is a game that single-handedly got me to buy a Sega Genesis and a Gameboy! So if you have the money and like the games, then now is the time to dive in and get a PSP.
Rating: 4 / 5