Why I Love the PSP

I can’t recommend the Sony PSP to people enough. In my opinion the coolest gadget I own, in that it’s not just a portable video game system, but it can store photos and music, play movies, and allow for browsing the internet.

The Sony PSP was released many years ago in attempts to take over the handheld gaming industry that Nintendo seemed to own. PSP’s games had a visual look that Nintendo Gameboy just couldn’t match. I first purchased the PSP as an item to take on plane flights, because it plays dvd type movies in addition to video games. Mainly it can play either the UMD card movies that Sony sold, or movies I moved from DVD’s onto the PSP’s memory card. You can buy special memory chips for the PSP which allow it to hold up to 6 or more hours of movies. Even though the battery drains in 2 hours from watching a movie, it’s still impressive.

But wait there’s more..the PSP plays mp3 music and holds photos, plus allows for browsing the internet. I took the item on a trip to Rome, and was able to use the wi-fi signal in the hotel to check my emails and CNN.com for news from the US. The cool factor of being able to do that with something built for video games, is pretty impressive. Even better, Sony keeps adding features and new program/firmware updates.

Another device which Sony has made the PSP compatible with is the Slingbox. Slingbox is a box you hook to your cable TV. You leave your cable TV on when you leave home with your PSP and theoretically you will be able to watch all of the cable channels you have at home, on the road, on your handheld PSP. Now people will never miss local news or sports teams because of that. Slingbox goes for about $199 or less, but is impressive nonetheless. Accessories for the PSP will cost you of course, the memory chips get pricier the more storage you go for, some cost up to $150-200, deals can be found all over Ebay. Games run as much as $50, which is why I again recommend Ebay. Its smarter to buy used titles that were popular but not as new..you save money and still get a great game. GTA and Wipeout are great examples.

So since Sony continues to build upon the item and upgrade its features, it’s highly recommended. I would like to see them build in something that incorporates AOL instant message type technology, and also put out an accessory keyboard for use on the PSP. Typing is one of the tougher tasks, even though it wasn’t primarily designed for that.

And by the way, the video games aren’t too bad on this thing either..