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Feb 11 2006
Asterix Faceplates Review
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| Summary: !%#$ Asterix
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After reading the favorable review of the Asterix faceplate at this site, and checking out the manufacturer site, I decided to order the liquid silver version (the liquid platinum being unavailable.)
Unfortunately, my impression is not so favorable as others'. My faceplate shows distinct uneveness across its surface. Any place where the plastic is thicker, like where various pins and buttresses protrude from the underside, there is a faint dimple on the surface of the faceplate. Anybody who has spent any time building plastic models will know what I'm talking about. Maybe a non-reflective finish wouldn't show these subtle depressions, but with the silver, they are very noticeable.
Add to that a little pinching along the thin bottom edge, between the screen and the "home row" buttons, and the result is depressingly cheap looking.
The fit is not as good as it might be. I wasn't able to figure out exactly where it was binding to the PSP chassis, but after installing the Asterix faceplate, my right shoulder button no longer has the same range of motion, though it still works okay.
The pits over the front speakers are not open, but since I usually play games with the sound off anyway, I can't say how being covered in plastic affects the speakers.
All the posts on the back that hold the button clusters and their rubber gaskets are much smaller than on the original faceplate, which lets the buttons slide around, and they are not squarely aligned along any axis with the Asterix. In other words, looking at the PSP face-on, the buttons will look all a-kilter, and if you tilt it so that you are looking across the face from the bottom edge, it can be seen that the buttons don't rise to a uniform height. My O button is much lower in profile than the others in the same cluster.
After about a week of use, the printing for POWER and HOLD is already starting to wear off.
I had also ordered a set of red buttons, which were a total loss. The buttons are clear plastic with paint on the bottom. Unfortunately, when I opened the package, some of the paint had already flaked off one of the buttons, and just picking them up caused some of the others to flake as well, so I just binned them and used the original buttons.
Over all, I am quite disappointed with my Asterix. Maybe successive iterations will improve the quality, but as they stand now, I would not recommend them. How about a real metal faceplate, or carbon fiber? Now that would be cool.
One final caveat: the screws holding the original faceplate on were insanely tight. I sheared the tip off one of those miniature Philips' heads trying to loosen them. Luckily, the screws were undamaged, and once I realised what I was up against I fared better with the remaining screws. But if you are going to take your PSP apart, be warned, these little monsters are a trial.
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Comments
Yours must be faulty, I bought the clear faceplate and button set and its one of my best purchases. It looks superb and I no longer have to worry about fingerprints.
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Clear faceplate and buttons have no paint I think so that's why you don't have the same problems maybe?edited: Feb 15 2006
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I heard that the Decalgirl ones are a prettyprettygood. How much did you pay for yours?
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Do NOT buy this directly from "Xtreme Enterprise", the manufacture in Singapore!!!
I would recommend buying this from "DecalGirl" or "Lik-Sang.com".
Xtreme screwed up my order and has done nothing to fix their mistake!
They have not refunded me any money and do not respond to many e-mails sent to them.
I am a normal customer that has been ripped-off.
I received my order incorrectly.
I returned the incorrect order per all instructions.
I have done nothing wrong... except trust in your company as a customer.
You have done nothing except be unhelpful and difficult and arguementative.edited: Feb 15 2006
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damn, seems like a really crappy iteam.
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^No doubt. I would really like to know if yours was defective or not. Even though I don't like the idea of taking apart my PSP, these do sound pretty intriguing.
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I hate this kind of thing so much! I got a Liquid Silver directly from Xtreme. The finish of the faceplate was very nice. The buttons are nice and the plate fit onto the PSP very nicely (when I actually found the right size screwdriver). I was very impressed and very happy.
I was extremely worried that a company as small as Xtreme would run into quality issues when they get too much business. I really hate that. If you can't keep up, don't try. And PLEASE don't treat your customers as they are treating TechRep. I knew this would happen when they started getting other stores to carry the Asterix.
This whole mess has "growing pains" written all over it. My girlfriend's son broke his PSP"s LCD. I was going to buy it from him, replace the screen, and put a new faceplate on it. I thought that would make an awesome birthday gift for him. If I wanted to give him a piece of crap I could just dig up an old original Game Boy and duct tape it to the broken PSP.
Metal? Carbon Fiber? Right. If they can't do plastic anymore I can't imagine what they would do with those materials.
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where do you buy it and how much
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Don,t get these. Go to DECALGIRL.com and get the other brand. The asterix ones come with a lens you have to attach, and it never stays on right...and all the messing around with it cause the little pegs that connect it to break. The XCM brand come in more colors, dont have "asterix" branded on the inside and come with the lens ATTACHED! just like the original psp one. Ive purchased both and prefer the XCM also they are cheaper and some are even on special I got a crystal blue one for $10
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