Sony PSP-A proud gizmo to own (Small Review)

[sam9s]

Ok Guys, here is a small review of my next purchase a "Sony PSP" (not the slim, slim hasn’t even launched in India yet, though I am not sure about the grey market.) Before buying the PSP, as usual there was a thorough market research for similar kind of products, the only one in India was Nintendo DS. A general survey suggested that PSP is the thing to look for. The main few reasons for me to actually go for the gadget were.....


1. PSP is not only a good Gaming platform, but is a complete PMP (Portable media player),with of course few inconsisties as not having a dedicated HDD

2. The God of hackers have hacked and ripped apart the PSP hardware to its extreme limits. There is almost nothing we can’t do with a PSP with ease and cost effectively. few examples include moview watching and using it as a ebook reader and comic reader.

So Finally I bought it from official Sony Dealer. Was it worth.........go on keep on reading

First impression....

Absolutely amazing piece of hardware. The only color I had as an option was black..........I couldn’t take my eyes off for full 2 minutes when I first saw this gizmo, the shear built quality takes your breath away. Screen is HUGE, no matter how many images you have seen online but when you see the actual stuff, you seriously drop a jaw. It looks high tech, complicated, and beautiful. Screen specs....is a 4.3-inch widescreen TFT LCD that displays 16.77 million colors at a resolution of 480-by-272. The thing to note is 16.77 million colors and wide screen, makes movie viewing a pleasure, and when I say pleasure, it MEANS pleasure. It’s absolute DOT clear, the colors pop, and black is very black. The first time you see one of these in action you will be impressed with it, no question about it (of course you needs to know how to get the conversion done to PSP format, as quality seriously depends on that....more regarding conversion later). PSP includes two built in stereo speakers which in my opinion are poor, they are toooo mild and meek. You can only do casual gaming with them, for proper gaming or movies/music plug in the headphones(not bundled in the India Pack). Listening with headphones changes the entire dimension...... especially for games. It’s loud and sharp and you thoroughly enjoy your gaming with them.
As far as the storage goes, no inbuilt HDD, the only thing you have is the Sony/ScanDisk Mem Stick, on which u store all you movies/Games/songs/Snaps and Save data. So it’s got to be huge. 2 GB does the trick but I still say atleast 4 GB (No mem stick is included in the India Bundle, original is hard to afford, get a fake one but you got to have your PSP with you to try out coz 1 out of every 3 does not work. I got the 1GB for 1100 but only the third one worked).

Sony decided to go with their own proprietary optical media called UMD(Universal Media Disk) and when it was launched UMD was the only way for games but as I said hackers have hacked every bit of PSP hardware so now you can actually rip games from an UMD on to your HDD and convert it to an image ISO or CSO format (or download stright off the net......loads of torrents available) on your Memory Stick and enjoy the game (ofcourse you have to upgrade from the standard default firmware to the custom one. How to do….. is something you need to surf and learn. Loads of tutorials available online........if the need is high I'd upload few).

Now coming to the actual gaming........The face has four buttons on the right hand side, a digital pad on the left, and two shoulder buttons, just like the actual PS2 controller. They even added a nice little joystick (its not exactly a stick but serves the same purpose) on the lower left hand side,
which works and feels good. The moment you pop up a game you actually realize the power of PSP, graphics for games like Burnout Denominator and legend, NFS Carbon, GTA and Rigid Racer are nothing less than stunning for an handheld device. For a moment you forget its a handheld you are holding!!. When playing Burnout Denominator the screen comes alive with
sunsets, detailed backgrounds and crashes. This level of gaming I’ve never seen on a handheld, and there’s almost no compromises made in terms of quality to fit them onto the PSP. It’s even better that it’s in a wide screen aspect ratio — it barely looks like a screen, more like you’re looking out a window into the game world. It’s awesome experience.

Coming to movies, as I already mentioned, movies are a pleasure to watch but u need to know how to encode. The format for PSP here is .mp4, and the only codec supported is H.264 which anyhow is far better than Xvid or DivX. Lots of applications available for encoding like iPSP (Windows and Mac OS X), PSP Video 9 (Windows), and PSP Ware (Mac OS X), but for me the
best turned out to be XviD4PSP. You get an amazing quality under a 500MB file (again you can find tutorials online).
Rest is MP3 and pictures. MP3 sounds as good as it can be if not better than iPod, but you only have 4 preset EQs, which was a major draw back for me plus you can not listen to music and watch snaps at the same time.( Probably some plugin available for that but I havent come across one yet.) Any how still the PSP sounded very decent with acceptable results. Snaps viewing is also absolutely clear with zooming and panning. But as the screen has 16:9 aspect ratio, standard snaps does not cover the full screen you have to zoom it to view it full screen or convert them to PSPs native resolution.

Last but not the least, The PSP offers built-in 802.11b (Wi-Fi). You can play against another PSP over a wireless LAN or the Internet. Up to 16 PSPs can also be connected to one another directly in ad hoc mode for head-to-head contests. You can also browse internet on the inbuilt Browser if an access point is available. There are n number of things you can do with wifi like streaming music and radio stations through your system, playing games off the net etc (My ASUS P5B delux WiFi came in to rescue here).......just keep looking for those......... tutorials
Finally coming to the battry life. I read on the net that people were pretty skeptical about the battry life PSP offeres but if you ask me, I was pretty satisfied. (probably because of the pathetic battery life iPod offeres when playing a movie.) On an average I was easily getting 4-5hrs at a stretch. With couple of breakups....... 7-10 Hrs is easily possible (which is far far far better than the pathetic 1.5-2 hrs of iPod battry life you get while watching video.) One more thing good in PSP is that the battery pack is removable, so you can always buy an extra pack incase you need one.
Putting the final thought............. PSP is a must own gadget specially when you can have loads of content for it for free, and there are other things you can do like customizing your PSP with themes and wallpapers just like your desktop.
Last but not least is just how great the thing looks, you can’nt play with it without getting the ooohs and aaaahs from the people around you. It looks like something from the future, and you definately feel proud of it.

The price....I got it for 9000 INR Official sony price. (includes just the PSP and the charger)

Few links that might be usefull.......those tutorials.....

http://www.psp-hacks.com/forums/

http://boardsus.playstation.com/play...ategory.id=psp

Regards
Sammy

Ok Gigacore...that sounds a reasonable suggestion, here r couple of pics from different perspectives.......(not taken by me though, coz I thought that would not make much a difference)







and here is a snap of a game Called Rigid Racer....just an idea how the game looks, but the quality here in the snap is far inferior to the actual quality.



Enjoy.....

[Gigacore]

Adding few pics would sparkle this thread

[deathvirus_me]

you can not listen to music and watch snaps at the same time.

Upgrade to v3.71 ... its lets you do this and many more things .. official one too ..

And , me got a psp few weeks back , and man .. still i'm wondering how i managed to live without such a thing ... awesome piece of hardware ...

BTW , me using FW 3.71 M33-2 along with 1.50 Kernel Addon 2 , awesome .. particularly since 3.71 is getting XMB themes now ..

PS : uploading a video of Juiced 2 : Hot Import Nights on my PSP ... will post link as soon as it is uplaoded [] ..

[ssdivisiongermany1933]

Amazing piece of hardware .... All is about money play

[The_Devil_Himself]

how much it costed you sam?

[sam9s]

Originally Posted by deathvirus_me

Upgrade to v3.71 ... its lets you do this and many more things .. official one too ....

I have 3.52 M33-4. Till now have not faced any issues with it. But m definately gonna upgrade to 3.71.

.. still i'm wondering how i managed to live without such a thing ... awesome piece of hardware ... ..

U said it pal, my words, even I am thinking how on earth I bought iPod before PSP. Definately PSP holds much worth than iPod simply because loads of hacks and customewares now available for it.

PS : uploading a video of Juiced 2 : Hot Import Nights on my PSP ... will post link as soon as it is uplaoded [] ..

Which app u use to convert....just curious to know???

Originally Posted by The_Devil_Himself

how much it costed you sam?

I have written the price in the review itself.......got it for 9000/- BTW

Originally Posted by ssdivisiongermany1933

Amazing piece of hardware .... All is about money play

yes money does play a role....n I would say PSP for 9000 is worth every penny......same maybe could not be said for Video iPod and definately not for PS3............

[deathvirus_me]

I got it for 8500 bucks ... 3.40OE loaded ... and also got myself a 4 GB MSPD Sony original ,,, getting a Sandisk one soon ..

[vivekbabbudelhi]

Hey sam glad to see u back here

that’s really a cool piece of hardware which every geek on this planet would love to own..

[ratedrsuperstar]

the new psp will come around for 7-7.5k btw i envy u all psp is the best mobile gaming platform forget the n-gage's and i-pod's i've seen how a movie looks on a psp it leaves u speechless.

[sam9s]

Originally Posted by vivekbabbudelhi

Hey sam glad to see u back here

that’s really a cool piece of hardware which every geek on this planet would love to own..

Thanks vivek....missed you all....and yes PSP i'd say is the very first thing one should look to buy who wants to enter the gizmo world.......hackers have made it truly multipurpose...

Originally Posted by ratedrsuperstar

forget the n-gage's and i-pod's i've seen how a movie looks on a psp it leaves u speechless.

Absolutely damm right....movie look nothing less than stunning on psp

[max_demon]

I Love Sony Psp , I Relly Love

[anand1]

Good a must gadget !!!!!

[sam9s]

Just thought to let you people know PSP can read TXT and PDF file as well, and it does not just end here........PSP can also read the cbr format with the comic book reader for PSP. So now you can upload all you comic collection to read in those long journeys (if you ever get bored from the awsome games PSP has)

PS:: For PSP owners:: Anybody needs a tutorials on this or any other part like streaming music n radio stations thru wifi.......I can upload few or maybe find you the best one......

[sam9s]

Originally Posted by xbonez

hi sam9s,

i'm planing to go for a Sony PSP slim..u've been using one for a while now so wanted to ask u somethings:

are u useing the original firmware or have u moved to a custom firmware?

what r the complications in using a custom firmware? does it void the warranty?

is it possible and easy to play PSP games that have been dl'ed from the net.

regards
xbonez

I am using custom firmware 3.52 M33-4, and every game I have uploaded has run. Even all simulators for Nintendo, Gameboy advance, PS1. Personally I enjoy most with Nintindo games, the retroactive games like Contra, Mario, TMNT, Double Dragon, TANK, and good old Tetris.

There are complications of flashing your firmware as you definately run the risk of Bricking you PSP, but with so much of online tutorials available and with pendora chances are reduced to just 1-5%, unless you are too careless. However if done correctly the rewards are worth, as you can run virtually every game developed for so many platforms, plus loads of applications like Comic Book reader, Book reader for reading PDFs and TXTs etc can be uploaded.
I have no idea about the slim, which firmware is compatible and which games can run on it, Slim comparitively is new to the market so the hacking research is still in progress as compared to the old one where the hackers have manipulated every code to make it compatible with PSP.
But it definately is a good choise and worth going for.

[Pathik]

^^ Is it possible to revert back to the original firmware if needed? and wat abt the warranty??

[sam9s]

Originally Posted by pathiks

^^ Is it possible to revert back to the original firmware if needed? and wat abt the warranty??

yes you can revert back to the original firmware. Warranty voids the moment you upload custome firmware, but in that way even when we over clock an Intel C2D we void the warrenty, but still almost every body these days OC, atleast to some extent. That is because OC with todays hardware has become very safe. Similarly with PSP, loading custom firmware has become ease and safe. (with pendora etc)

[xbonez]

suppose u revert back, how will sony guys ever know u had once upon a time used custom firmware?

[sam9s]

Originally Posted by xbonez

suppose u revert back, how will sony guys ever know u had once upon a time used custom firmware?

In a similar way an Intel guy would know that proc has been OCed even if you revert it back........hope u know what I mean

Originally Posted by xbonez

u've tried playing .iso UMD game images dl'ed from net?? most fo the torrents for PSP games are .iso

yes I have loads of ISO, CSO, Nintendo, gameboy advance and PS1 games which I have uploaded on to my PSP......not all at one time though coz of storage limitations.

[xbonez]

hmm...though i've finlly decided not to go for the PSP right now oz right now my primary usage is music. plus, if i get the PSP i'll waste too much time watching movies, playing games etc on it which i can't afford with my boards around the corner. i'm gng for the Creative Zen Vision M 30GB now. will get a PSP definitely when i get into a colege

[The_Devil_Himself]

^^that PMP is surely worth every penny,lemme guess the price 13-15k?
well you can consider Zune too,lol it is selling for peanuts now a days and It has excellent sound quality IMO.

[xbonez]

no...i'm getting the Creative Zen Vision M 30GB for Rs. 9.5k from authorised creative sellers - Multilink Computers...that means with guarantee and bill. i even took my creative earphones nd h.phones from them

The PMP and the PSP are costing me nearly the same. since a 2gb memory stick will cost ne rs. 1k and the PSP costs 9k. thats why i was so confuised

[The_Devil_Himself]

there are a lotsa varieties of creative 30gb PMPs then I guess cos some costs as high as 15k iirc.

hey wait do try out cowon before buying any PMP,they have just started selling their PMPs in India and they pwns all iPods.zunes,and creatives in all respects.

[xbonez]

yeah..the one u're talking about is Creative zen vision W 30gb. it costs 15k.

i checked Cowon D2...its entire touch screen and has expandable mem...2gb ver. costs 10k...however, i'm not very interested in it since using the touch screen can be a prob when u're walking, sitting in a bus etc....also one handed operation isn't possible...music quality of cowon and creative zen is more or less the same

[Pathik]

I think u shd rather get a zen vision w.

[xbonez]

dude, its a diff of 5k...even gathering 10k was a bit of a stretch...i would have loved to go for the vision w but its not gonna b possible

[sam9s]

Originally Posted by The_Devil_Himself

^^that PMP is surely worth every penny,lemme guess the price 13-15k?
well you can consider Zune too,lol it is selling for peanuts now a days and It has excellent sound quality IMO.

PSP is 9000/- official sony price. Grey market 7500-8500. Plus Zune is ok if you ask me. I'd prefer iPod shuffle or nano any time over any other MP3 player, because of its shear sound quality.

[MasterMinds]

hello can aybody let me know if the screen is diagnoly 4.3 or the other way

[The_Devil_Himself]

Originally Posted by sam9s

PSP is 9000/- official sony price. Grey market 7500-8500. Plus Zune is ok if you ask me. I'd prefer iPod shuffle or nano any time over any other MP3 player, because of its shear sound quality.

iPods and sound quality?lols.Style bola hota to chal jata.

[napster007]

so in grey market do ypu have any idead how much is it available for??

[xbonez]

@napster : i've checked in Paklika Bazaar, it costs the same, that is Rs. 9000 (try to remember, you were standing right beside me when i asked)

@mastermind : LCD screen sizes are always measured diagonally, so the PSP's screen is 4.3" diagonally