Sony PSP
Manufacturer: Sony Part number: PSP-1001K
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- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Sony PSP elevates portable gaming to the next level, but its multimedia functionality falls short of its full potential.
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CNET editors' review
Sony PSP price range: $249.99
- Reviewed by: David Carnoy
- Edited by: Rob Dubbin, John P. Falcone, and David Rudden
- Reviewed on: 03/22/2005
- Released on: 03/24/2005
The good: The Sony PSP is a slick portable gaming system highlighted by an impressive wide-screen display and PS2-like graphics. It also boasts built-in Wi-Fi, a Web browser, and the ability to play music and videos, as well as to store images.
The bad: The Sony PSP's multimedia functionality is underwhelming, especially for video, requiring expensive memory cards. The load times on the UMD games can be excessive.
The bottom line: The Sony PSP elevates portable gaming to the next level, but its multimedia functionality falls short of its full potential.
Editors' note: As of October 2008, this original PSP model (the "PSP 1000") has been replaced by the PSP 3000. Check out CNET's full review of the Sony PSP 3000 for more details.
After roughly a decade at the top of the home console industry, Sony decided to tackle the portable system market--one heavily fortified by Nintendo's Game Boy Advance and DS. Sony sought to take down Nintendo by adopting the tactic that made the PlayStation 2 such a runaway success: by offering sophisticated, graphically intensive games and a heavy dose of multimedia functionality. The device is called the PlayStation Portable (PSP), and in addition to playing games of PS2 graphical quality, it can play music and movies (downloaded or via disc) and surf the Web. It may not be the best handheld media product on the market, and the games lack the innovation of ones on Nintendo's portables, but as an all-in-one device, the Sony PSP is king of the hill.
From an aesthetic perspective, the Sony PSP is a gorgeous device. It's one of those gadgets you immediately want to get your hands on but vigilantly want to protect once you set it down. Weighing essentially the same as the Nintendo DS (6.2 ounces, including removable battery) and measuring 6.7 by 2.9 by 0.9 inches (WHD), the body feels well built and solid in your hand. Although not a lightweight, it's by no means a brick, nor, we suspect, would it be especially durable in a fall; you'll want to treat the PSP just as gingerly as an iPod or a Palm-style PDA.
The centerpiece of the handheld is its especially impressive 4.3-inch wide-screen display (480x272 pixels, 16.77 million colors). The screen is flanked by controls that will be immediately recognizable to fans of past PlayStations: the directional keypad is to the left of the screen, and the familiar square, triangle, circle, and X buttons are to the right. We dug how Sony managed to include an analog "joystick" below the directional keypad. The stick isn't raised like the analog controls on a PS2 or an Xbox, but it conveys that multidirectional element that gives it a joysticklike feel.
In lieu of the PS2 controller's four total shoulder buttons, the PSP has two: one per shoulder. Ergonomically, the device is OK but not great; as with most handheld gaming devices, you'll have to do a little finger stretching every 15 minutes or so to keep from cramping up.
The PSP uses Sony's recently created "cross media bar" interface. You use the directional keypad to horizontally navigate through Settings, Photo, Music, Video, Game, and Internet icons, and each section has other icons attached to it on a vertical axis. All in all, it's a simple and elegant way to access the PSP's many features.
Games and officially licensed movies come on Sony's proprietary UMD (Universal Media Disc) media, which are housed in protective cartridges. The UMD drive is grafted to the back of the unit; you load it and snap it shut just as you would a camcorder. The top edge also sports infrared and a USB 2.0 port that you can use to link the device to your PC or Mac, though no USB connection cable is included.
The headphone jack is at the bottom left of the unit; Sony's official earbud-style headphones sport an in-line remote to control basic playback. The nice thing about the remote is that you can use other headphones with it, not just the provided 'buds. Like Apple, Sony has chosen to go with white headphones. We're not sure why, since the PSP is black (though an iPod-white version is available in Japan).
One gripe: Since the device has a glossy finish--and is mostly black--it's a fingerprint magnet. A static-free cloth should always be at the ready when using your PSP, and the Value Pack had one bundled. Sony's official carrying case is a padded soft case, but a variety of third-party versions are also available (see our list of PSP accessories for more information).
The folks at Sony tout the PSP as, first and foremost, a gaming device. But in the next breath, they claim that it can do so much more, billing it as "the first truly integrated portable entertainment system." Both statements are, in fact, true, and suffice it to say that as a portable gaming device, particularly from a graphics standpoint, the PSP is unparalleled. You're getting a miniaturized PS2 gaming experience--or close to it, anyway--and Sony has amassed a decent selection of titles from various game developers to show off its handheld's gaming chops.Beyond gaming, the PSP's video prowess may be its most impressive trait. As we previously noted, the display is a 4.3-inch TFT LCD with a 480x272-pixel resolution and 16.77 million colors; by comparison, each of the Nintendo DS's two screens has 256x192 pixels with 260,000 colors. The picture quality from a UMD movie such as Spider-Man 2 is superior to what you'll see on most portable DVD players, though the majority of DVD players have significantly larger screens.
The only problem with video playback--and it's a big one--is that it's currently hard to watch anything but UMD videos on the PSP. Unlike Sony's MiniDisc, UMD is not a recordable storage format, so you'll have to store any video or music and images on a Memory Stick Duo card. The lack of affordable and recordable UMDs has put the format in dire straits. Sony is hoping to give the format a boost by bundling UMDs with its DVDs and creating an accessory that can transfer the video to TV, but it remains highly unlikely that the many studios and retailers that have jumped ship will come back.
Thankfully, getting media onto a PSP is much less of a hassle than it used to be. The Sony Media Manager software lets you transfer photos, music, and videos from a PC to your PSP with relative ease. It also lets you back up your saved games and manipulate podcast feeds. It's a worthwhile alternative to the bare-bones media management options with which the PSP originally shipped in March 2005, but it will cost you about $25--it's not bundled with the PSP. Fortunately, there are also a wide variety of third-party and freeware software titles available, many of which focus on converting existing video files to PSP-friendly formats (see our "How to put video on your PSP" tutorial for one example). Unfortunately, "home brewed" videos are limited to scaled-down resolutions that fail to completely exploit the PSP's native 480x272 screen. The exception: live, streaming video from Sony's LocationFree TV accessory. This Slingbox-like device lets you watch live TV on your PSP while in range of any Wi-Fi hot spot. Still, it's a shame that the only way to take full advantage of video on your PSP is to buy UMD-format movies or expensive networking accessories.
What about music? Well, the good news is the PSP plays many types of audio files without your having to convert them to Sony's proprietary ATRAC format first--a common problem with the company's earlier MP3 devices. You simply drag your audio files into the music folder on your Memory Stick Duo card, and they'll show up on the PSP. Firmware-updated PSPs can play MP3s, ATRACs, WMAs, WAVs, and AAC-encoded song files, though not the copy-protected versions from Apple's iTunes Music Store. The device supports M3U playlists, but if you have your playlists in another format, you'll need to find and download a converter. However, as basic as the PSP's music player is (read: iPod Shuffle with a screen and no autosyncing capabilities), it will be adequate for many people.
Those interested in replacing their iPod with the PSP will have to deal with the lack of on-the-go playlist functionality and, most important, the DIY storage. You can get a 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo card for about $50, while double the capacity will cost you about three times as much. Sony announced 4GB and 8GB Memory Sticks at E3 2006 but no pricing. Player controls can be initially tricky--the in-line remote is handy--but we like the speedy precision of the fast-forward/rewind functions as well as the undulating background graphics. The PSP can also display album art when it's available.
The image viewer is also basic, with simple slide-show functionality. But again, it's easy to drag JPEG files--or TIFFs, PNGs, GIFs, and BMPs, if you have version 2.0--onto a memory card, rotate them (if needed), and show off your shots to anybody who might want to see them. In addition, you can set a photo as your PSP's background wallpaper, replacing the colorful splash screen behind the home menu. Unfortunately, you can't view photos and listen to music simultaneously.
Last but not least, the PSP has built-in Wi-Fi capabilities. Getting our handheld up and running on even a WEP-encrypted home wireless network was a breeze, and the PSP lets you save multiple wireless configurations so that you can connect from multiple locations without repeating the setup procedure each time. Though PSPs purchased before September 2005 were previously limited to WEP encryption, upgrading to v2.0 firmware adds support for the more secure WPA-PSK standard. Once you're Wi-Fi enabled--and you've installed the latest firmware--you can access the Web using the PSP's onboard browser. This slick, nearly full-featured app supports tabbed browsing, Javascript, and CSS, though Flash support is still lacking (read more about the PSP's Web browser).
The browser looks great, displaying crisp images and reproducing colors very accurately. Typing isn't quite the pain it could have been; Sony has augmented its standard cell phone-style input system with a few shortcuts, giving common strings such as http:// and .com their own keys on the virtual keyboard. Furthermore, the PSP remembers every address you type, so you'll never have to tap in a long, complicated URL more than once. You're given the option to reshape the browser's display window, in much the same way that you can resize video clips during playback. This helps avoid the dreaded left-to-right scroll-back while reading articles, though it usually garbles the page's layout in the process. You can easily save images from the Web to your Memory Stick Duo and subsequently use them as wallpaper on the PSP's main menu; customizable wallpaper is another perk of the 2.0 firmware.
JavaScript works like a charm, cooperating with several JavaScript toolkit utilities, but the Flash player included in the latest update is version 6--the current standard is 8--which makes viewable content hit or miss. Our videos and the rotating feature images on the CNET main page, for example, require version 7 at the very minimum. On the PSP, the Flash images and movies change to text and still images, respectively. Some sites seem to mix and match Flash versions, which makes compatibility even more haphazard. We were psyched to see a Strong Bad e-mail start up, only to stop playing when the scene changed. We also noted that the Flash player struggled to work with compatible content, as Strong Bad's typed response chugged out in full words rather than the smooth tapestry of letters that normally flows from his laptop. Adding to the Flash woes is the lack of a suitable keyboard emulator on the PSP, rendering most Flash games unplayable.
As expected, overall Web performance is a little slow. On CNET's reasonably fast connection, we still had to wait a good 5 seconds before images started popping up on the pages. Once the images began to load, the cursor would freeze in place until they were finished downloading. This sort of thing isn't a problem on a computer, where you can still read plain text and click links without images, but the PSP's small screen made the wait a bit more frustrating.
The PSP's strong slate of features--as well as the many bells and whistles that Sony has added via its first major firmware update--proves that the handheld is still under development and hints at even greater things to come. Some of those future upgrades are more fully developed than others. Sony highlighted a few of the more noteworthy forthcoming PSP features in the pipeline at a business conference in March 2006. In terms of gaming, an emulator is being developed that will allow the PSP to play digitally distributed (that is, pay-per-download) PlayStation 1 titles. Later in the year, Sony is pledging to add Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) support to the PSP, with an EyeToy-styled Webcam peripheral to complement it. A GPS-locator accessory is also in the works, with compatible games slated to support it. Finally, Sony is said to be preparing a major upgrade to its Connect online service that will create a more iTunes-like music and movie download service, but details remain scarce. In fact, since these new features were announced, Sony's been mum about new details--the camera was shown off at E3 2006, but no new information has been revealed about any of the other new PSP concepts. It's more than likely that Sony is waiting until the November release of the PlayStation 3 nears to comment on most of them, as it's likely that numerous features of the next console--accessories and downloads, among them--will be shared between the two.
The Sony PSP runs on a proprietary 333MHz processor and comes with 32MB of built-in memory, some of it reserved for the PSP's operating system and applications, and 4MB of embedded DRAM. While we would have preferred more built-in memory, game developers we spoke to were happy it has what it has, given that early rumors suggested Sony would include only 16MB of RAM.One of the issues with using an optical disc format such as UMD as opposed to Nintendo's flash memory-based cartridges is that load times tend to be significantly longer. After we previewed beta versions of games, we were concerned that load times would indeed be a serious problem. But now that we've run graphically intensive games such as EA's Need for Speed Rivals, Konami's Metal Gear Acid, and Sony's Twisted Metal Head-On, we can safely say that it's a relatively minor hindrance. Yes, games can take a good 10 seconds to load, but it's not much worse than what you'd expect from the PS2 itself. (As one might expect, content loads very quickly from a Memory Stick Duo card.) That said, the Nintendo DS and the Game Boy Advance SP are much zippier in this regard.
Luckily, the wait is usually worth it because most of the games look spectacular. As we said, you're getting close to a PS2-like gaming experience, and many of the titles are ports of their PS2 counterparts with only small compromises made to the graphics. For the most part, games play smoothly, though you may encounter some frame drops in bigger action sequences in certain games.
We played Twisted Metal Head-On against four other players in multiplayer peer-to-peer (PSP-to-PSP) wireless mode and were impressed by the smooth gameplay. We also played Twisted Metal via the Internet with two other people and had good results. But we imagine that when you get up to a dozen players (Twisted Metal supports up to 16-player multiplayer), you'll probably encounter a hiccup or two. And, of course, wireless gameplay depends on your connection--or, in the case of peer-to-peer action, the distance and potential obstructions between devices. As far as distance goes, we were able to move about 60 feet apart with a clear line of sight in an office setting before our connection became spotty. We felt the Nintendo DS offered better wireless coverage.
Before we get to battery life, a few sentences about the PSP's audio. Using the earbud-style headphones, sound quality was fine with games, but we would have liked the maximum volume to go a tad higher when we listened to our MP3s, especially in noisier environments. When you play games and watch movies such as Spider-Man 2 on UMD, you can boost the volume a bit via a special UMD volume-settings menu, which is helpful. A few preset equalizer settings (Heavy, Pops, Jazz, and Unique) are on board to tweak the sound, but you can't manually set treble and bass levels, which is too bad. The PSP's external speakers can't put out booming sound, but they're certainly adequate for gaming and casual video watching; using the headphones, however, will give you a much more immersive experience. Conveniently, volume can be raised and lowered from two buttons just below the screen or via the headphones' in-line remote.
Battery life? Well, a lot of numbers have been bandied about, with some critics suggesting its relatively short run time would be the PSP's Achilles' heel. Here's what we got:
Running on full brightness, we managed about 5.5 hours of gameplay before having to recharge the included 1,800mAH lithium-ion battery pack; gaming time can vary significantly depending upon screen brightness (two dimmer settings are options) and the game you're playing. It's worth noting that recharging a battery to full capacity takes a lengthy 2.5 hours. Playing in peer-to-peer wireless mode reduced game sessions by a little more than 2 hours; the battery pooped out after 3 hours, 15 minutes. For music only, the PSP was able to run for a decent 11.2 hours.
And finally, we managed to watch Spider-Man 2 all the way through twice and got 20 minutes into a third showing before the battery died. All in all, that's not too bad and slightly better than we expected. Still, the easiest way to ensure that your PSP doesn't go dead at an inopportune moment is to purchase an additional battery pack; kudos to Sony for making it replaceable. Transfer rate over USB 2.0 to an inserted Memory Stick was a reasonable 2.2MB per second.
User reviews
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Oh what could have been...
by agoodfella on March 23, 2005
Pros: Sexy design, amazing screen, Wi-Fi, MP3 playback, video
Cons: Proprietary this and proprietary that
Summary: When will Sony learn?
I just want to shake some sense into them. Hopefully the new CEO will actually LISTEN to the consumers (hopefully he is reading this).
Sony could ...Summary: When will Sony learn?
I just want to shake some sense into them. Hopefully the new CEO will actually LISTEN to the consumers (hopefully he is reading this).
Sony could have run away with the MP3 market with its inherently strong brand name, unique designed products and comparative advantage in creating innovating, revolutionary user friendly mini devices (think Walkman the product that helped them build an empire).
But now they are squarely in Apple's rear view and will likely stay there for the foreseeable future.
Why? Simple.
Proprietary software and hardware. Think ATRAC and memory sticks. Think Betamax.
Now add UMD. Why oh why? It comes down to Sony's attempt to milk the golden cow. But it might be laying eggs instead. If you are going to pay through the nose for this machine you should expect a TRUE multimedia product. You should expect a hard drive. You should expect compatibility. You should expect the best.
Will it be a kick-ass gaming machine? Of course it will. Could it have been a kick-ass multimedia iPod killer? Most certainly.
Somewhere in California, the Apple execs are having a good laugh - at least those guys have learned from their own experience with Microsoft. You have to think big and give the customer the freedom to choose. They are the ones who will vote with either their dollars or their feet. Its that simple.Updated
** EDIT and UPDATE **
See, the worst thing that ever happened to Sony was that it got caught up in the 80s expansion and bought Columbia Pictures and Records.
They lost focus. They started worrying about supporting other divisions that they have no business being in. They started falling for buzzwords like "synergies", "vertical integration".
Basically, they started letting these other divisions dictate what they produced on the hardware end. Hence the creation of MiniDisc, ATRAC, (does anyone remember DAT?), and now UMD.
See folks, as much as a runaway hit as PS2 was, it has been losing market share and prices have come way down. In any given year going forward, Sony will make much more money on a runaway movie hit like Spider-Man 2 - and you'll be sure they'll try to milk it in every way possible (CDs, DVDs, VHS, UMD, etc.)
The way I see it, Sony has NO BUSINESS being in the CONTENT BUSINESS. Stick to what made Sony great: great innovative consumer products.
...and Let the consumers choose the and identify the eventual format winners.84 out of 119 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Excellent device with problems
by Jive01 on March 30, 2005
Pros: Very large screen, knock 'em dead graphics, sexy design
Cons: Tinny speakers, poor battery life, overly delicate, expensive
Summary: I hate Sony. I just want to say that out of the gate. I've had almost nothing but bad experiences with their products and company. When I saw the ...
Summary: I hate Sony. I just want to say that out of the gate. I've had almost nothing but bad experiences with their products and company. When I saw the PSP for the first time, though, I absolutely had to have one. Overall, I am pleased and excited at the prospect of future games.
The PSP had the best launch I can think of. The only system that was even remotely comparable in quality and quantity of games available at launch was the Dreamcast. These high quality games are also the PSP's first stumbling point. They are all just PS2 games. If you've already played them and if you got a system at launch I assume you to be a relatively hardcore gamer, then the system is effectively worthless. Wipeout Pure is good, and the only other game that is truly ONLY for the PSP, Metal Gear AC!D is really strange and hard to get into. The games are all great, but we've already played them.
And played them for longer as well. The battery life is very, very poor. I played Tony Hawk via wireless and the battery pooped the bed in less than 3 hours. I immediately had flashbacks to the Game Gear where it gobbled up 6 AA batteries in 3 hours. Without any wireless play I was able to play for over 4 hours. I also bought a second battery (Which I recommend everyone do) effectively increasing on-the-road life to 6-8 hours. I pine for the days of 20 hours on my Game Boy Advance.
I also pine for the tank-like structure of my Game Boy Advance. If Nintendo has ever done one thing well it's make systems that take a licking and... well you know. I have an old NES that has been punished for the last 2 decades and continues chugging along. If you can find a single Sony product from 2 decades ago that still works at ALL, I would be impressed. The PSP is no different. I get the overall feeling that the device I hold could spontaneously disintegrate at any moment. The DS, on the other hand, feels indestructible (although I'm sure I could manage). The screen especially feels delicate. It can get scratched with immeasurable ease and sucks up finger oils like an Oxy pad. I found myself cleaning it multiple times per day.
The quality of the screen materials is somewhat lower than I expected. I have noticeable LCD shadow in many applications. This may seem like a small complaint, and to be true, I didn't notice it much playing games. But watching movies it was VERY noticeable. Spider-Man 2, which the unit came with, is a giant blur during the fast action scenes. This severely limits the devices ability as a true, pocket-sized, multimedia hub. This is especially disappointing since Sony has hyped the movie-playing aspect of the PSP to a great extent. Now I discover the screen isn't up to the task. LCD shadow aside, the screen is insanely crisp. Games all look bee-u-tiful.
The screen is also the largest source of complaint from everyone I know. I was lucky. I received a screen with some chips, and a couple scratches, and a little dust, but no dead pixels. I also made the point to buy the extra warranty, so when a fresh batch of fault-free PSP's come in, I can trade mine in for one. Even if you didn't buy the extended warranty, Sony should replace it. Do not take the excuse that "LCD screens are made with highly precise technology, but in some cases black spots may appear... this is not a malfunction." (PSP Manual, P. 118). That is, for lack of a better word, BS. For $250, the screen should work.
Just below the screen lies the other problem; the speakers. They, well, they suck. It's apparent that Sony intends for you to use the headphones, but if you're going to bother putting the speakers on there at all, you should put good ones on. In the end, if you're in a quiet environment, the speakers will get the job done. Anything more than a murmur, though, and you can't hear a thing.
Overall quality and design is good, and I feel I got a $500 toy for half the price. It's incredibly sexy, and sexy is the only word for it. Sony got the aesthetic design down wonderfully. The device feels good in my hand, looks even better, and just screams "I'm a kick ass toy!" with the brushed aluminum circle on the back.
You're going to pay for the "kick ass" factor, I'm afraid. And this is the one reason the PSP's usefulness as a combo device is severely limited. $250 will net you the system. But you NEED the warranty, so that's another $25, and you likewise need game cases, another carrying case, second battery, screen protectors, and better ear-buds. That's $50 right there. If you want to do anything besides play games, you'll need a memory stick. The 32MB stick included sure as hell won't cut the mustard. Music will require 256MB or more, and for video you really need a 1GB stick. The 1GB stick will set you back $150-175. Combined with a high game price of $50, you'll want like 2-3 games to start with, let's say you're broke (From buying everything else) and you only get 1. That's another fifty bucks. 250 + 25 + 50 + 150 + 50 = $525 + 36.75 (at 7% sales tax) = 561.75. That absolute steal at $250 just got a whole lot more expensive. Don't even get me started on buying movies, which range from $20-30 each.
If I had expected more from the movie angle, I might have given this a lower grade. But I went in expecting a game machine, and I'm rating it as a game machine. And as a game machine it's very good. The quality control issues will soon be forgotten, but the poor battery life and high price will not, I feel. Those matters aside, I have had a great time with mine, and expect to continue having a great time. That is why I give it an 8. A wonderful game system, if that's all you expect.49 out of 51 users found this user opinion helpful.
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One SWEET gaming system, multimedia playback is a bonus
by icspeedracer on March 31, 2005
Pros: Jag dropping graphics for a handheld, beautiful screen, ITS EASY TO GET MP3s and photos on to the memory sticks IF YOU'RE NOT AN IDIOT, comming game line up looks great, and the power under the hood
Cons: current cost of memory sticks, would have like to see sound be capable of going higher, needs higher capacity battery quick!
Summary: The people on here saying the system if over hyped clearly don't know how to read the reviews because they note all the shortcommings. Yes THIS SYSTEM ISN'T ...
Summary: The people on here saying the system if over hyped clearly don't know how to read the reviews because they note all the shortcommings. Yes THIS SYSTEM ISN'T PERFECT, NO SYSTEM IS. For a handheld gaming system, the PSP brings current generation home console graphics on the go. The fact that the current crop of games out now and to come out this year will only use 222mhz of the 333mhz CPU is simply amazing and provides much room for improvement in game quality, as if they needed to go much further. THERE IS NO COMPETITION TO THE PSP IN THE HANDHELD MARKET, yet. As for the multimedia capabilities, they are really extra bonus features. Yes sony doesn't make it super easy to put movies on the PSP, but it doesn't take that much effort and the programs on the web are free and do a good job. IT'S BEEN A WEEK...wait for the killer apps like GTA and GT4 mobile to be out, as well as EAs whole sports lineup and we'll see how the DS fanboys and PSP haters become so jealous they will scream about the lack of battery life (the really only major negative about the system FOR NOW)... when someone releases a higher capacity battery there will be nothing to complain about.
33 out of 41 users found this user opinion helpful.
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It does it all!
by jcub on February 28, 2005
Pros: Amazing Battery Life, Wonderful Color Screen, Feature Rich
Cons: Price, MS-DUO cards cost too much, May or may not be region locked!
Summary: I currently have the Japanese model (Value Pack) which I got while I was in Nogoya... and I love it.. the screen is the best i have ever seen at ...
Summary: I currently have the Japanese model (Value Pack) which I got while I was in Nogoya... and I love it.. the screen is the best i have ever seen at that size.. the controls are tight.. the battery lasts at least 6 hours (right now at least
and the games are great! (only have Japanese games at the moment) I find myself using the PSP more then my iPOD lately because it does everything I want it too and is still small enough to take anywhere.
The price is a little more then i expected... but for all that you get I couldn't be happier with the PSP...
I only hope that Sony keeps thier promise and doesnt Region Lock the games... I would hate to buy another one just to play USA games.21 out of 28 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Evil MiniDiscs ruined it for me!
by miccheck516 on March 25, 2005
Pros: Good Graphics, Nice size screen,
Cons: HiMD discs are comletely unreliable, poor sound quality, awkward to hold and carry around
Summary: Though the presentation is impressive and the comercial with Franz Ferdinand makes us all want to throw caution to the wind and give Sony all our money, in this gamers ...
Summary: Though the presentation is impressive and the comercial with Franz Ferdinand makes us all want to throw caution to the wind and give Sony all our money, in this gamers opinion the PSP comes up sub-par. The big upset is the choice in media. Sony made use of their HiMD technology to create the game discs, take it from someone who owns a HiMD player these dics are completely unreliable. I just bought this thing this morning and got a little dust on my game and now whenever Ape Escape tries to load the thing freezes and eventually goes dead. Apparently I'm not the only one having this problem, I work in customer service at a local Best Buy and have had to tell about 20 people we couldn't replace their $50 game beause the damage was considered abuse. I feel a bit more secure with the NRam of the Nintendo DS. On another note it feels akward. In it's defense the NDS isn't exactly pocket friendly either but I just miss the days when a handheld was made to be small and not a burden to carry around simply for graphical purposes. My last "beef" with this system is the speaker. Though Sony hyped how great the sound was going to be, I was simply playing music on my stereo to escape the sound quality (When My game was working 2hrs. ago that is.) Though I have alot of issues w/ the system I do have to admit that it offers great graphics and though cumbersome, a nice sized screen. My advice is to stick with the pros in the portable gaming buiseness (Nintendo) simply so you don't find yourself paying $50 for a game that works for a couple days, or a few hrs. in my case.
Updated
REcently I've been reading some of the other reviews and had some more of my own experiences and found some more upsides and downsides to the product.
Fist the good:
-I've Had Metal gear for a day and it's still working (Knocking on wood).
Then the Bad:
-Returns have been pooring in at the BB w/ a dead pixel problem. Luckily for those customer's who purchased the $40 replacement plan, it was replaced. But anyone w/o it is going to have some trouble.
-Battery Life is pretty mediocre, I'm averaging 3 to 4 hrs. And if you read the booklet sony says you can't play while it's charging???17 out of 22 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Another great hit from Sony
by RedEagleEXplus on June 2, 2005
Pros: Able to watch movies (UMD and by Memory Stick Duo), listen to MP3s, and play games with PS2 Graphics.
Cons: Sony should allow open source communities to work with this aswell.
Summary: In the beginning I was a bit skeptic when Sony was entering the Portable Gaming Market as I been a loyal Game Boy fan since the beginning. Even when I ...
Summary: In the beginning I was a bit skeptic when Sony was entering the Portable Gaming Market as I been a loyal Game Boy fan since the beginning. Even when I had a chance to test drive both the DS and PSP side by side at my local gaming store I didn't quite feel the need to own such a device since my Sony Clie could play movies, and MP3s and just using my GBA SP for the games. However this all changed when I actually had a chance to own the PSP and found it as useful as the GBA and my Sony Clie combined.
After having a large amount of Store Credits left from trading in used games, I decided to pick up the PSP rather then the DS because of one factor. There were way too many DSes that were Preowned at the counter waiting to be sold while there were no PSPs at all for Preowned so I felt kind of awkward to pick up the DS with so many already being sold as Preowned. With that as my deciding factor to purchase it (along with Ridge Racer and Wipeout Pure), I was soon to realize how much use I got from this device.
To help break things down quickly, here are some things I discovered on my own that made me proud to own a PSP:
+ Graphics of the games with the Wide Screen are incredable. Also the movies on UMD seems like HD quality.
+ Reading Digital Manga (Manga Scans and E-Books saved as JPEGS) read clear and with excellent quality. With the Analog Nub for scanning was excellent.
+ In addition to reading Manga, I was able to use my PSP to hold Map Quest Maps (Saved as JPEG) and use my PSP as a Navigation Device.
+ With PSP Video 9 and a 1 Gig Memory Stick Duo, I was able to watch all my recorded shows from TV, and DVDs on it on the go. (Also was surprise how fast conversion to PSP Format was as a 30 minute video took less then 10 minutes at high quality)
+ Surfing the Web using the Wipeout Pure Trick was also impressive and mainly used for reading news when at college and near the library that has Wi-Fi.
+ Listening to MP3s when unable to hold the unit such as while biking/walking or too tired and away from home and just need something to listen to.
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Though I gave the PSP a 10, it still isn't quite perfect which is not because of the device itself but with the company.
It would be very nice to be able to use some of the Open Source programs made for the PSP. Such as SNES Emulators for example. (Developers were able to make emulators and such for the PSP before Sony released a update that disabled this feature or atleast made it harder for developers to make such applications) If Sony would let Open Source programmers tinker with this device such as a new Web Browser, new Music Player that could support WMA and OGG, and give it third party apps like Calendars and Drawing Tools would make make this an ultimate portable machine.
But until then, this device meets my main criteria and that is a Portable Gaming Device.13 out of 15 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Yawn factor high; hasn't awakened yet.
by ack-thbbft on July 8, 2005
Pros: Hi-res wide-screen format; multimedia-capable
Cons: Multimedia features are difficult to use; games just aren't there yet.
Summary: When I bought mine, I was excited to get a portable gaming device that I could also play movies on during road trips. I'm not all that excited, now....
Summary: When I bought mine, I was excited to get a portable gaming device that I could also play movies on during road trips. I'm not all that excited, now.
Problem 1: Not enough games.
Oh, sure, there are games out there, but the variety is horrible. Ooh, gee, ANOTHER driving game! Ooh, gee, ANOTHER sports game! Whoopee. C'mon, we can only take so much of a couple genres! Puzzle games? Sure, Lumines is supposedly very good, but I can't help but feel games like that are a waste of the PSP's potential, and therefore a waste of my time and money. In the end, when it comes to the games out there that are not sports or driving games, they pretty much just enhance the Yawn Factor. They are very mediocre games, if not flat out poor. Sure, it's early yet, but the buyer's remorse is definitely high, right now. We don't really have a definitive "killer app," and we need one terribly.
Problem 2: Transferring movies
Could Sony have made this any more of a pain in the arse? Sure, there are free tools out there that get the job done, but they often don't do it as efficiently as they could or should. Sony promised us a program to do it (I believe they promised it would only cost $20, too), but it's long overdue. Why? Gee... can anyone say "UMD movies"? Sony pushing their proprietary format shows that they just want to gouge us, and it was a huge mistake. Anyone who buys movies in this format is wasting their money, IMO. I already own over 200 movies on DVD format; why should I spend money to buy them all over again on UMD?? Will even Sony's own video-transfer software give us the quality it should? Of course it won't, because they won't want your fair-use home-transferred movies to look as good as their UMD movies, because they want you to pay for the quality by buying the UMD instead. What if it's a movie I don't own yet? I'd still much sooner buy it on DVD than on UMD, since I can't play UMD movies on my home theatre system.
Problem 3: Watching movies/playing games in the car
".... .... . ... .. ... . ..... .. .... .. . ..... ... . . . .... . . .. .... . ... . .. .. .. ..." That's what you hear from the PSP's pitiful speakers, even at full volume, even with headphones. External amplified speakers? FM transmitters? Sure, they are out there, but why should we have to go through the expense? Even without road noise, you could be at home on the couch and still have to turn the volume all the way up in order to hear it.
As it stands, if there isn't a great improvement in PSP games and features soon, I'll be making use of the extended/trade-up warranty I got at Best Buy when the next-gen consoles come out (and not necessarily for the PS3).
Still, it's better than the NintendoDS situation. You would not believe how many used DS'es they have for sale at my local GameStop. I have yet to see a used PSP for sale.13 out of 16 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good System -- A Few Concerns
by photoman33 on March 29, 2005
Pros: Graphics, Games, Fun
Cons: Price, UMD, Durability
Summary: Ok, I have my PSP and I'm thrilled. I've sold my PS2 because I rarely use it, but now when I travel or do want to play a ...
Summary: Ok, I have my PSP and I'm thrilled. I've sold my PS2 because I rarely use it, but now when I travel or do want to play a game I have a very good system.
First and formost people need to remember, the PSP is a gaming system. And it does that extremely well. I know, the games are the same as the PS2, blah, blah, blah. But for me, that's what I want. I want to be able to travel and play games that are very similar to the PS2. So as a gaming system this is is great.
The problem I have is SONY has tried to market it right out of the gate as an Entertainment system. And while it can be ... to do so will cost a bit. So it's not for everyone.
Right now Memory Sticks cost a lot compared to other media storage cards. I know because I'm a photographer and have a pro Canon Digital SLR. So I know how much Compact Flash has come down in price.
But look at it this way. If the PSP gains a lot of popularity, more people will want the Memory Sticks, and that means more production and cost will come down. So yes, right now Memory Sticks are a bit steep, but by the holidays we'll probably see them for a lot cheaper.
My other only real concern is the UMD. It is very similar to the MiniDisc. Now I've owed 3 MiniDisc players ... right from the big black MZ-1 to the one I use now the MZ-707. The thing with these are the drives are very delicate. I can't tell you how mnay times I've had them in for repairs because it refuses to read disks. And it's not like I don't have protective cases and the whole outfit. It's just they are delicate. So my advise, buy extra warrenty. It has saved me so many times. If you don't use it great. But if you do need it ... it pays for itself the very first time. My newest Minidisc player has yet to require fixing and I've had it over a year, but I still have the 5 yera warrenty.
So yes there are a few concerns about the PSP, but overall this thing is great. I want it to play games while I'm on the road, and it delivers big time for that. In the coming years it will probably be a good alerternative for a portable media centre once prices go down (but what right now offers you the choice of games, movies, music, and soon web browsing al in 1? -- just costs a fair penny to enjoy all that right now) But for now it is a great gaming system, and again, first and foremost that is what it's intended for.10 out of 10 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Poor game library, extremely short battery life, and price takes its toll
by threeball on March 1, 2005
Pros: Good hardware, nice design, many capabilities, wireless multiplayer
Cons: Awful gaming library, horrendus battery life(3.5 hours!), faulty square button, not pocketable, extras like movies require more $$$, need memory stick, uses discs
Summary: The PSP does not look good. Good hardware and design, but horrendus titles and battery life. Say you want to take a plane trip. It won't last from the ...
Summary: The PSP does not look good. Good hardware and design, but horrendus titles and battery life. Say you want to take a plane trip. It won't last from the time you sit waiting to board and the whole flight if the plane trip takes 3 hours since the battery has been said to last 3.5 hours. The graphics are good, but the games are terrible(and at $50, bad price). It proves that good graphics doesn't make a good game. The movie player/music player capabilites sound good, but that is just more money to shell out for the memory stick($50 for 128 mb) and movies($20) to go along with it. The Nintendo DS, while it doesn't have amazing graphics, makes up for that with its fun and original first person gaming titles, innovative system capabilites like touch screen and microphone, and decent battery life, with a price that won't break the bank. If you want portable gaming, go with the DS.
13 out of 22 users found this user opinion helpful.
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I give it about 5 months...
by happynoodleboy on March 24, 2005
Pros: The games do, in fact, look very pretty, there might be (at first) more companies making better games, sound, and damn, that screen is nice
Cons: battery, UMD, memory stick, analog pad is about as analog as a cheese sandwich and did i mention the battery?
Summary: In theory, this thing is great.. but so is communism. Where to start... The prospect of Movies is nice, but I can garuntee you UMD will not catch on, it'...
Summary: In theory, this thing is great.. but so is communism. Where to start... The prospect of Movies is nice, but I can garuntee you UMD will not catch on, it's pointless, the only upside to it is that it's small. UMD has less than half of the storage capacity of DVDs, and DVDs are a pretty convenient size for in-home viewing, so i cannot see people sacrificing the storage on a DVD for something that's smaller, therefore, UMD will probably be limited to PSP, and possibly some other portables, and i can't see the PSP having a large enough market to carry the UMD movie business. And the memory stick, nice, flash storage, but it's Sony's format, and it is more expensive, but this isn't MUCH of a problem, since SanDisk is making cheaper ones, and the PSP itself works as a card reader. The battery... on games with high-quality graphics, you've got about 2 and a half hours of play-time, which effectively defeats the whole "portable" aspect of it. The PSP is also not going to be successful as a music player, not at all... it is much bigger, and has a much lower capactiy than players that cost $50 more, an Ipod holds 20 gigs for $300, each 1gig memory stick costs $150, so multiply that by twenty, then add the $250 for the PSP itself... it's not gonna happen, not to mention that an Ipod is much smaller and easier to use than the PSP... aahhh yes, the file-transfering interface... have you heard anybody say anything good about it yet? nope, because it's crap... that's the only way to put it, it's crap... The only thing the PSP has over the DS is graphics, and even then, they're not MUCH better. The DS's touchscreen can be used in the future for Palm OS (keeping my fingers crossed), web browsing (ditto), and adds a lot to certain games. The DSs touch screen acts much more like an analog stick then the PSP's "analog" pad, which is only capable of moving in 8 directions... with the Play Yan coming for DS, which is said to have a better interface than the PSP, i can't see how anyone could prefer the PSP, it's going to fail in 5 months, it's a novelty, once the new-ness wears off, it'll be over.... anyone remeber the Sega Game Gear?
12 out of 20 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Sony
- Part number: PSP-1001K
- Description: Pick up the PSP-1001 system to play games, browse the Web, watch movies, listen to music and more. Using the Memory Stick Duo, you can store your digital photos, create custom wallpapers and share your favorite photos with the image transfer feature. And, thanks to the vibrant high-resolution screen, your memories will always be sharp and clear. Download your favorite MP3, MP4, WAV or ATRAC3plus music files to your PSP system via the Memory Stick Duo - or take in a full-length concert or behind-the-scenes footage on a pre-recorded UMD. Transfer UMD and MP4 videos and more to your Memory Stick Duo or watch full-length movies on a pre-recorded UMD. It's all the excitement of the big screen, now sized to take anywhere. The PSP system's dazzling widescreen LCD brings gaming to life. Whether reaching your personal best or locked in wireless combat, you'll have the freedom to play wherever - and whenever - you like. Surf the World Wide Web using the Internet browser whenever you are in an Internet-accessible location.
General
- Type Handheld game console
- Media Type UMD (Universal Media Disc) ,
Flash memory card - Supported Flash Memory Cards Memory Stick PRO Duo
- CPU 333 MHz
- RAM 32 MB
- Sound Speakers - Stereo
- Network 802.11b
- Width 6.7 in
- Depth 2.9 in
- Height 0.9 in
- Weight 9.2 oz
Display
- Type 4.3 in Color TFT active matrix
- Resolution 480 x 272
- Color Depth 16.7 million colors
Game Controller
- Controls Left trigger,
Start button,
Right trigger,
Circle key,
Triangle key,
Square key,
Cross key,
Select button,
Analog stick,
Directional buttons,
PS button,
Sound button,
Display button
Connections
- Connector Type 1 x Headphones / remote control,
1 x USB ( Mini-USB Type B ),
1 x DC power input Power
- Battery Rechargeable - Lithium ion - 1800 mAh
- Battery Required 1
Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Headphones with remote control,
32MB Memory Stick Duo,
UMD demo disk,
AC power adapter,
Hand strap,
Carrying case,
USB cable
Product series
-
Manufacturer: Sony
Specs: Sony PSP 1001 - Handheld game console,
UMD (Universal Media Disc),
Flash memory card,
333 MHz,
32 MB - Integrated -
Sony PSP 1000 Entertainment Pack
Manufacturer: Sony
Specs: Sony PSP Entertainment Pack - Handheld game console,
UMD (Universal Media Disc),
Flash memory card,
333 MHz,
32 MB - Integrated,
Black -
Sony PSP 3000 LittleBigPlanet Pack (Black)
Manufacturer: Sony
Specs: Sony PSP 3000 - Handheld game console,
UMD (Universal Media Disc),
Flash memory card,
333 MHz,
64 MB,
Black
Accessories
- MediEvil: Resurrection (PSP)
- NBA Street (PlayStation 2)
- Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (PSP)
- Sony High Speed Memory Stick Pro Duo 1GB
- Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (PSP)
- Gretzky NHL (PSP)
- NFL Street 2 Unleashed (PSP)
- MVP Baseball (PSP)
- Rengoku: The Tower of Purgatory (PSP)
- FIFA Soccer (PSP)
- Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade (PSP)
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour (PSP)
- MLB (PSP)
- World Tour Soccer (PSP)
- ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails (PSP)
- Metal Gear Acid (PSP)
- Smart Bomb (PSP)
- Lumines (PSP)
- NBA (PSP)
- Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix (PSP)
- Ridge Racer (PSP)
- Wipeout Pure (PSP)
- Ape Escape: On the Loose (PSP)
- Dynasty Warriors (PSP)
- Nyko Theater Experience (PSP)
- Nyko Screen Armor (PSP)
- Intec PSP Dock It
- Intec PSP Power Max
- Intec PSP Safe Case
- Logitech PlayGear Pocket (PSP)
- Logitech PlayGear Share (PSP)
- Logitech PlayGear Amp
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Sony products on Shopper.com
-
- Manufacturer:Sony
- Address:
16765 W. Bernardo Dr., San Diego, CA 92127 - Phone: 1-877-865-SONY
- Email: contact@sel.sony.com
- Fax: 941-768-7790
