Layman's review of the PSP Platform

Ha! I've now got something to write about. I know a bunch of people have been asking me to restart writing but I've never stopped in the first place. I just don't write anything if there is nothing to write about. The tech world seems to have been kind of dull since the beginning of this year and it probably will pick up again around May-June, then I will probably have many interesting topics to write about.

Anyways, I got myself a Sony Playstation Portable yesterday. I've been thinking about it for a while now but it is only on Thursday that I got really convinced that I should get the machine.

To start with, on the South African market, there are two options to choose from:

1- The Value Pack, which is the usual Sony PSP box with 32 MBs Memory Stick Duo and nothing added to it.

2- The Giga Pack, which comes with 1 GBs Memory Stick Duo Pro and one Free game to choose between Need For Speed Most Wanted, King Kong and a few others I quite do not remember.

I actually didn't know about the Giga Pack when I went to get mine but heard about the deal and it was just slightly more expensive than the Value Pack and largely less expensive than buying a separate 1 GB Memory Stick Duo Later and with the free game option, I didn't think twice.

What you will find in the box, depending on the pack that you get are as follows:

1- In all packs: PSP, Battery Pack, Headphones with Remote Control, AC Adaptor, Pouch, Screen Cleaning Cloth, UMD Software (containing game demos, some music video, the Spiderman movie and some System Software updates), Printed Materials.

2- Specifically in the Value Pack: Memory Stick Duo (32 MB) and a Wrist wrap cord.

3- Specifically in the Giga Pack: Memory Stick Duo Pro (1 GB), a PSP Stand and a USB Data Cable.



The system itself:

It took me about 3 hours to charge the battery to the fullest. Usually from other reviews it would take about 2 hours and half but I was configuring mine and learning about the system while charging it. That is probably the reason why it took so long. If you buy a PSP at the moment, there are high chances that you will be running the 2.0 1 System Software. Some people like it, some other don't. The main reason being that every time Sony had released updates, the new systems would make sure that homebrew software wouldn't be able to run on it. Of course, many people don't like it and have downgraded to System Software 1.5. There is currently a release of the 2.60 System software on the official website (www.yourpsp.com).

I don't intend to run homebrew software on my PSP? Why? Well I've had a look at what is available and to tell the truth, nothing quite like proper games built by professional gaming studios so really there is no point. However, I do not intend to upgrade to 2.60 either because it is buggy as hell from the reviews I've been reading in the blogsphere.


That said, let's talk about some of the interesting features:

1- Wi-Fi capable. Can create ad-hoc networks for gaming with other PSP owners and can connect to a Infrastructure (also known as Access Point).

2- Large Wide screen. If you have the Giga Pack, I bet you've realised that watching videos on this is much more comfortable than on an iPod Video.

3- Possibility to Sync with your Mac is you're a Mac user like me. 3 Options are available for this: iPSP, PSPWare and Manual Labor if you're that much inclined.

4- Since it can synch with the Mac and also support WMAs format since update 2.6, it can be a good replacement for your iPod Shuffle 512MB or 1GB.


Let's talk about the UI. Very nice work indeed. I was quite impressed by it. The UI is very simple, not cluttered and contains only 6 main menu options:

1- Settings,
2- Photo,
3- Music,
4- Video,
5- Game,
6- Internet Browser.

Photo: I haven't gotten interested in it yet. So I haven't looked at it at all.

Music: I've played some music from there, not too bad. I like it.

Video: I've played some of the videos available on the UMD that comes with the PSP. Not too bad. I like the fact that the user gets access to a video-specific control panel that can be used to do a bunch of interesting things.

Internet Browser: This browser is much much better than anything I've seen on any modern phone, including my current Sony Ericsson P910i. I've tested Gmail and some of my other favorite sites with it: magnificient. The browser connects to the Internet through the Wi-Fi support of the PSP. So it could easily connect to my Airport Express, got configured through DHCP and I was online!

Game: So far, I have only played the Need For Speed Most Wanted: the graphics where very nice. As good as when the game is played on a PC, this is to mean that the PSP has nothing to do with what we've known from the Gameboys. Usually it is possible to hotswap the UMDs. The system picks up whatever is in there. However, if you have a UMD Game disk in when the console is started, it will go straight to the game and let you play. Options are available to return to the home screen .



The Other Accessories

- The Pouch: the design of the pouch is quite strange. If everything has been designed with so much care like the console and everything else seems to suggest, how come the console does not fit that well in the pouch? I am planning to actually buy in the future a new one.

- The Earphones and its Remote Control: nice. I have to warn you though: right after using it, I hated it: the sound produced has been intentionally limited by sony to 90 Decibels. That's not too loud and you can basically hear external noise: not too good if you want to concentrate on the game or movie being played. I swapped it with that of my iPod: louder sound and makes sure you hear nothing of the outside world. I am not saying that the limitation of the PSP earphones are bad, but for most people, using earphones means cutting off what's happening around them.

- The stand: very nice indeed. It makes the PSP stand out when on a desk. Perfect for showing it off.


Basically that's it. I will be writing a more technical review when I have spent much more time with the machine. My current review is that of someone who just wants to know about the machine on the surface, not much about what's hidden underneath.

Final verdict: good work Sony!