A couple of you have e-mailed me and asked about the PlayStation Portable my brother gave me for Christmas. I have been e-mailing everyone back but I thought I would post a review of the device here.
I have wanted a PSP since Lee got one a couple of years ago and have used his from time to time. The one that I was given is the PSP Slim and Lite and since I have been given it, I downloaded the latest firmware (3.80). The new PSP is 19% thinner and 30% lighter which is a noticeable difference. I also bought a two gig memory stick for my PSP. I actually got a package of two 2 gig memory sticks for for $30. Since it was with a gift card Lee gave me, I gave him a card as well. The other accessory I bought was a nice leather case that protects the PSP and when open works as a stand for my video. I bought a hard sided case as I tend to toss stuff like this in backpacks and I wanted something that could take some abuse. While the Sony cases are around $30 at the Sony Store, I bought my case for $5 at EB Games. While you need a memory stick, I would also say that the next most important accessory is a good case.
The game quality is pretty similar to our PS2 which is pretty incredible considering the size. I am not a huge gamer but I have picked up a couple of sports games. EA NHL 07, MLB 07 The Show, and Madden 07. Since we are in the heart of winter I am playing a season on The Show but this may end when I can get a baseball fix when spring training opens. The game play is pretty similar to a PS2 console but not nearly as comfortable. My wrists bother me by the time the game is over so it isn’t really designed for gaming marathons. Several of the games can be played against another PSP via an Ad-Hoc wireless network.
Watching video is better than expected. You can the PSP Media Manager to easily place videos on your PSP System’s Memory Stick Duo. You can purchase the PSP Media Manager for about $30 or you can download it for free off of the Japanese Sony website. Once you get it installed, PSP Media Manager will search your PC for videos, and then convert them to PSP format and transfer them to you Memory Stick Duo. Of course you can buy a wide variety of UMDs and watch them from it. Again this is where a good case comes in. We haven’t done any long road trips since we have gotten ours but some UMDs should keep Mark happy and eliminates the need for a portable DVD player.
The web browser was what I was most interested in and I had quite low expectations. The first time I saw it was in an earlier firmware release and it made most sites look brutal. Since then the browser seems to have gotten better and renders most sites correctly. Entering information is similar to using a cell phone so you won’t be writing really long essays with it or anything like that but once I got some sites in there and bookmarked a bunch of other sites, I found it a pretty good web browser. It’s quick boot time means that I often grab it to check out the news and sports scores as well as checking out several blogs. It makes it easy to read Gmail and I have used it off an on with Twitter. The text entry limitations would make it impractical to write e-mail or blog. It comes with a RSS reader that don’t seem to like Atom feeds but it handles other feeds okay. I still prefer iTunes for podcasts and Google Reader for other feeds but it isn’t that bad.
With the latest firmware update, it now comes with an Internet radio player that is powered by Shoutcast. Wendy seem to be fondest of that feature in her search for the cheesiest music playing online at the most inappropriate moment. Of course I have to admit I am looking forward to the next update which should include Skype and make your PSP into a pretty cool VOIP phone.
As a music player it is okay. It won’t replace your iPod, on a trip it works well enough to be the only device you need to take with you.
So how does it compare to other devices? While the iPod Touch offers a lot of same features and the ability to enter text easily, it doesn’t offer the game playing ability. The Nintendo DS does offer some excellent game play features, it doesn’t offer the media playing capabilities. While some have compared it to Windows CE devices, it isn’t a fair comparisons as at the end of the day, this is a gaming system with additional media capabilities. To compare it to other devices isn’t really fair to it or them. That being said, if you are a media freak, the iPod Touch is your machine but at $100 more then the PSP. If you are a gaming person or competitive with your brother who lives in your basement, then the PSP is the choice.
Around here it has been a hit with Lee and I but also I find Wendy and Mark enjoying it as well. With the cost coming down, it actually becomes a lot more affordable to us non-Sony fanboys out there. If you know someone that has one, make sure you check it out.
Just a note that the iPod Touch DOES have game playability – it just that you have to Jailbreak it first. But the caliber of games for the iPod are not at the same level as the PSP. For one there’s no joystick as it’s an ALL touch interface. That being said some of the games they do have (as simple as they are) are quite addicting (i.e. TTR)
I’ve had the PSP and although it does have a great picture the Touch is much better for video/audio/podcast playback and management. Not to mention the browser and text input are also much better.
For a portable video gaming device – it’s good but it’s really starting to date itself.
If you’re a gaming fanatic – get the PSP lite. If your a media fanatic get the iPod Touch.
If you’re both – then get both
Personally, although I like gaming – I just didn’t fine I was using the PSP enough for gaming (that’s why I sold it)