I had never bought a portable gaming system before, like the Gameboy for instance. I both own a personal computer and a PS2 so I hadn't felt the need to buy one for a long time. But when I saw the PSP I knew that I needed to get that thing asap.

Lets start with the good sides: The PSP measures the size of a Palm Pilot and the biggest part is its LCD screen. The video quality of the PSP is simply excellent and it's easy to play games and watch films on the go. Unless you regularly travel with a notebook with a DVD player, the PlayStation Portable makes a good way to watch movies on long trips.

The battery life of Sony's new breed is pretty long for a multimedia console (5-6 hours), depending on what you're doing. But during long road trips you can also use a charger in cars. Games and movies come in a mini-disc format called UMD - it's encased to prevent dirt and scratches.

Besides movies and games the PSP also features MP3 and photos support. Memory Sticks can be used to save MP3s, photos or even films in MPG4 format. A 32MB stick ships with the device but it's a little bit too small and currently it's hard to find stores with 512 or 1GB sticks available.

One of the big advantages of the PSP is its Wi-Fi support, allowing you to play together with others in a Wi-Fi hotspot area without making physical connections. Besides this somebody already found out that the Wipeout game has a hidden web browser which can be used to access the internet.

The controls of the PSP are instinctive and easy to use, although the "joystick" button is somewhat cumbersome. The menus are easy to navigate (trivia note: the color of the background changes color each month! There's nothing wrong with your screen ;-) ) Form is there as well as function, with a slick, black lacquer-like finish and appealing trim which I predict will attract the older gamers as well as the young. Considering the price, that's a good thing!

The negative points: The audio works fine with appropriate ear wear, but most things are too silent to hear otherwise, even with it turned up to the max (this is probably an advantage for most parents!) This is definitely a personal player!

The cost of the games is ridiculous high considering they cost about the same as a PS2 version ($40-50) even though they don't have as much playtime! Most Gameboy games, for instance, only cost $20-30. I can deal with the price of the PSP hardware which isn't cheap, but I hope the games get more realistic.

The UMD-disc movies are not cheap either. But if you're a bit computer savvy, you'll probably be able to convert your own movies to memory sticks.

I feel that the PSP needs some more original games because many games right now are only remakes of already existing games. But that will change soon.

Link: Buy the PSP - starting at $250 (only 195EUR!)




I had never bought a portable gaming system before, like the Gameboy for instance. I both own a personal computer and a PS2 so I hadn't felt the need to buy one for a long time. But when I saw the PSP I knew that I needed to get that thing asap.

Lets start with the good sides: The PSP measures the size of a Palm Pilot and the biggest part is its LCD screen. The video quality of the PSP is simply excellent and it's easy to play games and watch films on the go. Unless you regularly travel with a notebook with a DVD player, the PlayStation Portable makes a good way to watch movies on long trips.

The battery life of Sony's new breed is pretty long for a multimedia console (5-6 hours), depending on what you're doing. But during long road trips you can also use a charger in cars. Games and movies come in a mini-disc format called UMD - it's encased to prevent dirt and scratches.

Besides movies and games the PSP also features MP3 and photos support. Memory Sticks can be used to save MP3s, photos or even films in MPG4 format. A 32MB stick ships with the device but it's a little bit too small and currently it's hard to find stores with 512 or 1GB sticks available.

One of the big advantages of the PSP is its Wi-Fi support, allowing you to play together with others in a Wi-Fi hotspot area without making physical connections. Besides this somebody already found out that the Wipeout game has a hidden web browser which can be used to access the internet.

The controls of the PSP are instinctive and easy to use, although the "joystick" button is somewhat cumbersome. The menus are easy to navigate (trivia note: the color of the background changes color each month! There's nothing wrong with your screen ;-) ) Form is there as well as function, with a slick, black lacquer-like finish and appealing trim which I predict will attract the older gamers as well as the young. Considering the price, that's a good thing!

The negative points: The audio works fine with appropriate ear wear, but most things are too silent to hear otherwise, even with it turned up to the max (this is probably an advantage for most parents!) This is definitely a personal player!

The cost of the games is ridiculous high considering they cost about the same as a PS2 version ($40-50) even though they don't have as much playtime! Most Gameboy games, for instance, only cost $20-30. I can deal with the price of the PSP hardware which isn't cheap, but I hope the games get more realistic.

The UMD-disc movies are not cheap either. But if you're a bit computer savvy, you'll probably be able to convert your own movies to memory sticks.

I feel that the PSP needs some more original games because many games right now are only remakes of already existing games. But that will change soon.



Link: Buy the PSP - starting at $250 (only 195EUR!)