Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Sony PSP-3000

Sony PSP-3000 Sony launched the PlayStation Portable in 2004, so you'd expect a few tweaks since then. PlayStation 2 bares little resemblance now to its mark one version, so we can probably expect more subtle changes. And given the rate at which LCD panels in particular are developing, it's not surprising that Sony has found an upgrade. The PSP-3000 is the redesigned version of Sony’s popular PlayStation Portable. The first PSP-1000 was followed by the PSP Slim&Lite (PSP-2000) announced during 2007. The PSP-3000 is an even slicker version of the PSP Slim&Lite, it was announced during Sony’s Leipzig Games Convention press conference. The PSP-3000 looks almost exactly the same like the PSP-2000 Slim&Lite, but this new version of the PlayStation Portable has a built-in microphone and a better screen. The new screen is exactly the same size and resolution (420 x 272) as before, but it's noticeably less reflective. The screen of the PSP-3000 is able to resist glare, so it will work better outdoors. The tiny hole below the screen is a built-in microphone that can be used for applications like Skype for PSP or for online gaming via Infrastructure. The Video-Out feature has also been enhanced from now being able to output a video signal to regular interlaced display devices and not just progressive scanning screens. The PSP-3000 is able to interlace with televisions that don’t support a progressive output. Now you can use your PSP-3000 on non-HDTV’s as well. Number one is an internal hard drive to replace the UMD drive. Just think of the extra storage capacity! You could have all your games and movies pre-loaded instead of carting around all those plastic discs. Number two would be an integral camera. We've got the mic now, so a cam would make PSP a great little free video conferencing device. As for battery life: remains to be seen. But overall the PlayStation Portable 3000 (PSP-3000) is worth upgrading to from the PSP-2000, if you’ve got an extra $200 lying around and you don’t stick your nose six inches from the screen.