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Jan 24 2006
PSP Review
PSP Hardware Review | Console
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| Summary: The way gaming should be!
97
I took it out of the box installed the ion lithium battery and 32mb memory card, connected the power cords and powered this beast up, only to find that my screen has dozens of white dots everywhere. I went online and found out that a ton of PSP's had defective screens. The screen had pixels missing everywhere, ugly white blotches. I went back to the store and exchanged it for another and checked the screen in the store to make sure that this unit was not defective as well. I would strongly suggest that you ask to inspect the screen before you make your purchase.
What's in the box
There are many bundles to choose from. I decided to buy just the regular value pack. If you are lucky enough to still find one of the 1st million PSP units made then you will get a copy of Spiderman 2, a demo disk, but none of the games are playable, still the games are fun to watch none the less. Instruction books and quick start guides are as you would expect (who reads them anyway). You also get a 32mb memory stick Pro Duo, an ion-lithium battery, a pair of headphones with remote control and a lanyard. Why Sony would include a white Lanyard and white headphones with a shiny black PSP are beyond me>
The PSP itself is a very shiny black which looks stunning. It fits in your hands very well indeed. The screen is huge and the picture quality will blow you away.
There is a USB connection on top of the unit so you can connect the PSP to your home computer. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack on the left underside of the unit and a power connection on the right underside of the body. On the left hand side of the body is the slot for your memory card. On the top are 2 screw holes so you can attach screen protectors. On the back is the UMD drive. The UMD drive door pops outwards from the body when you press the eject button.
3.2.1 playtime.
When you first turn it on you will be prompted to enter the current time and date, which is very easy to do. Once you have done that you will be presented with the main system menu. There are 5 icons to choose from - video settings, photo, music, video, and game. You highlight the menu you want by using the D-pad, Once highlighted, sub menus will appear. All are very self explanatory, the ease of use is a nice change compared to some technology today.
I wanted to see how well movies played on this unit, so I popped in Spiderman 2. UMD's are very similar to the Sony Minidisk and can hold up to 1.8gb of data. The PSP operates very quietly and loads fairly quickly. Spiderman 2 loaded and started playing and I could not believe my eyes. I was totally amazed. Playback was seamless, there was no lag, slowdown, blurred images, playback was silky smooth. The picture quality was quite simply stunning, just like watching a DVD on a regular TV. The PSP's sound reproduction can be somewhat tinny, which can take away from the movie or game that you might be playing, but plug in the headphones and you will not be disappointed.
The battery that comes with the PSP is very good. Gone are the days where you need to buy 6 batteries to get an hour worth of play. The ion-lithium battery takes about 2 hours to get a full charge, and will last for about 4-6 hours depending on whether you're playing games, watching movies or listening to MP3's.
Wait, there's more
Not only does the PSP play movies and games, it also doubles up as a MP3 player and a picture viewer. This is where the USB connection comes into play. You connect the PSP to your computer and you can transfer MP3's and pictures to your PSP. It is very easy to do. When connected to the computer the PSP is recognized as a mass storage device. Select the USB option from the menu, and your ready to start transferring. Just select the file you want to copy across and away you go.
MP3 playback is fairly good, you can't complain, it's no iPOD but it is still good. Depending on what size memory card you have you can load dozens of songs onto your PSP and then you will have a portable MP3 Player. I also bought an FM transmitter. If you plug the FM transmitter into the PSP you can listen to your music through your car stereo or any stereo. The fact that the PSP can also play movies is also cool. I now have a UMD system in my car that I can listen to through my subs and amps.
While the screen in terms of picture quality is outstanding, the durability of the screen is questionable. The screen is very easily scratched. There are a number of screen protectors for you to buy. These range from little bits of film that cover your screen, to a full blown screen protector that screws onto the PSP unit, either way is fine. I strongly advise anyone buying a PSP to take this into account. Neither option is very expensive, but each option is a very worthwhile investment.
Overall
The PSP is quite simply awesome. It is by far the best handheld to ever grace Gods green earth. It is a superb gaming platform, but in addition to that a great MP3 Player, picture viewer and UMD player. A true multimedia device. What more could you ask for? There is going to be a very strong games library for years to come, you cannot go wrong with the PSP. While kind of pricey at $249, it is a great investment, that if looked after, will last a very long time. This is the way gaming should be.
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Comments
02/07/06
33 
GTASouthPark
| Minnesota USA | SOCOM: [4ll]GTASouthPa
Nice review.....Although I would have given it a 99 ( thats the highest you can go)... Why did you give it -2 points?
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02/08/06
20
brettday
| Oklahoma USA | SOCOM: BRETTDAY2002
i gave it minus 2 points because really nothing is pefect, including the psp, don't get me wrong i love my psp and think it is wonderful, but the psp has some issues. dead pixels being the main design flaw with the psp, also i have had some experiences with buttons sticking, so i don't feel that it is quite perfection but it is very close to it!
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