Sony PSP - Handheld game system - black

The PSP is a great handheld system, with a few drawbacks.

The PSP has a great screen size, and very good graphics. There are already games out for it that I'm hooked on, (Lumines and Tiger Woods Golf for example). There are also quite a few games coming out soon that look great too.

The PSP is a comfortable size, fits easily in your hands, and is not so small you'll get cramps easily (a problem I used to have with Gameboy Advance). Loading cartridges is easy and smooth, and the removable memory card is great not only for storing saved games, but can also be used for MP3s, which can be played through the PSP.

The PSP is also able to play movies, although normally the movies have to have been recorded to the PSPs proprietary media (the little mini DVDs that the games come on)

My biggest beef with the PSP is the sound. The sound is fairly good for games, but in my opinion leaves alot to be desired for movies and music. The quality is fairly good, but the sound volume is only moderate. My problem with it is if I'm watching an action movie, I want the special effects to be LOUD and in your face. Even with the ear buds, the sound doesn't go above a moderate volume level. This doesn't only hurt movies and MP3s, but there are some games that have an sound ambiance that really benefits at high volume.. and the PSP doesn't deliver that. I understand that it may be the best technology could pack into such a small package with so many other functions, but for me sound is so important.

I do enjoy playing the PSP, the games are great, the graphics are great, and I expect great things in the future. For portable movies and music, however, I'll look elsewhere.

I give the PSP a 4/5. It's a great system, and lots of fun.


Edit: Since writing this review, Sony has released upgrades to the PSP firmware that provides a volume booster. This has largely corrected the one thing that I felt was a downside to this product.

The PSP is truly amazing and has to be seen to be believed. It really is a PS2 that you can travel with and the resolution of the games is exactly the same! The screen is stunning and quite large. With it's widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio games, photos and videos jump to life.

Many great games are already out for the PSP such as the Tetris-like Lumines, Tiger Woods golf, and driving games Ridge Racer and Wipeout Pure. Recently, Madden 2006 was released and allows you to transfer your games back and forth from your PS2 so you can continue to play your season while you are away from home. And in just a few weeks the killer game for the system - Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories will be released. It's an entire GTA world just as big as the others with well over 40 hours of missions.

The PSP is also a portable media system. The PSP uses Memory Stick Duo cards and has a USB connection so it shows up as a hard drive when you connect it to your PC. If you copy over MP3 music files you can listen to them just like an iPOD. If you copy over JPEG or other image files you can also browse them on the larger screen. The PSP makes an excellent photo viewer since you can display the photos in their regualar aspect ratio or have them zoomed in to fill the screen. You can even zoom in and out on the photos to see all of the fine detail. On the internet you can get subway maps and the like specially formatted for the PSP. It's perfect if you have a Sony digital camera!

The PSP also has a built in web browser and wi-fi internet access. If you are anywhere where there is wireless internet access you can just power up your PSP and start surfing the web. Google, Yahoo, eBay all work great. You can even access your Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail accounts! Text entry is bit awkward (sort of like doing it on a cell phone) but there are supposed to be keyboards coming soon.

Sony has big plans for the PSP and look for new features such as a built-in email client, calendar, and contacts to be making their way to the PSP via its downloadable firmware updates.

Overall the PSP is the best portable gaming system around. While the DS and GameBoy are for little kids, the PSP has many more games and features for anyone over the age of 10.

You've probably done a lot of research and read reviews already, so I'll just keep this short and hit the highlights.

- The screen: Yeah, it's nice. I have no dead pixels.

- The games: A little skimpy right now, but I can easily imagine REALLY good ones coming to this platform. If you can live without a PSP for a while, you may want to wait for the good stuff. I haven't tried any multiplayer games yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

- The video player: VERY nice. The Spiderman 2 movie looks fantastic. The movies are a little skimpy right now too, but if rental places (Blockbuster, airport stores...) start carrying lots of titles and new releases, the device is worth the purchase as a portable movie player alone. I hope there are plans for making UMD-R/RWs, because the memory stick is not yet practical for day-to-day storage of your own stuff.

- The MP3 player: More bulky than most that are out these days, but good enough. It's a nice extra feature, but don't buy it for this functionality alone. (Is anyone anyway?) The included remote is handy.

- The geek features: USB connectivity is kind of slow, but that's probably because of USB, not the PSP. I had a little trouble connecting to my Linksys wireless router. I had to assign an IP address because it wouldn't get a DHCP address automagically. Speaking of wireless, it SURE would be nice to be able to move files back and forth using a wireless network instead of USB, but I don't think this functionality exists (yet). Haven't used the IR port yet, don't know what it's good for since USB connectivity is included. Also, there are already hacks to make the PSP a Web browser and IRC client. This functionality was already built in, which tells me that Sony has plans for more functionality coming down the pipeline.

- Spiffiness: Very. They put a lot of thought into the design of this device, and I think it really paid off. I appreciate little things like the button to disable the wireless and the switch to disable all of the buttons (for watching movies or listening to mp3s) except the remote buttons. I wish the case were a little more ergonomic, but with the right grippie/protector, it's fine.

- What you'll need in addition (if your buying the Sony PSP Value Pack):
1) A bigger memory card. For it to be useful at all, you'll want at least 256MB. I would recommend at least 512MB, but they're curiously hard to find anywhere now. 32MB just plain sucks.
2) Some sort of screen/unit protection, such as the rubber cover. You do NOT want that screen to get scratched!
3) Some games. It comes with none. I don't like the bundles that everyone is selling, because there's no discount. (Add up the price of the bundle and compare it with the prices of the separate items...) I suggest getting the Value Pack and picking your own games and accessories.
4) A carrying case and some UMD disc cases would be nice, otherwise they'll get scattered all about. The games and movies do NOT come with a protective case, so unless you plan on ALWAYS returning the disks to their almost DVD box-sized boxes, you'll need something to keep the discs from getting scratched.

If you're the kind of person who has to have a PSP now, I think you'll thoroughly enjoy it. If you're not, then don't let all the hype change your mind. It solidly earns four out of five stars right now, and as more games and movies are released, that rating will crawl towards five. If you're somewhat interested in buying one, though, I do thin

PSP is the best portable game console. The sound and graphics are unbelievably amazing. Most of the other portable game players make my eyes hurt but PSP does not (not after a long long time at least).

You never get bored with it. There's plenty of PSP games available in US. And I also bought some simple cute pop Japanese games on Ebay. I don't speak Japanese but in most of those simple games it's pretty easy to figure which one is "start" and some other actions.

I really love its built-in wireless LAN access. You can play against another PSP over a wireless LAN. Also, you'll never have to worry about having an outdated version of the system software: Simply connect to any wireless network with Internet access and choose Network Update.

A small complaint is that the glossy screen always get fingerprints and smudges. I got some light scratches on the screen after I wiped it with my shirt too many times. And there's no where to find a replacement PSP faceplates.

Overall, this is a great toy for people of all ages.