Sony PSP

[viscousmemories]

Yeah, yeah, I know it's old news and I'm way behind the technology curve these days, but the roomie bought a Sony PSP (http://www.us.playstation.com/content/pspother/aboutInteractive/onlyspin.html) with a handful of games and a 4GB disk drive and I spent a lot of time playing with it when we were in Austin last weekend. (Last weekend? Oh well, whenever.)

I was awestruck by how far handheld game technology has come from the first handheld electronic basketball game (http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Mattel/Cat1978/1978Cat2.htm) I owned. Not to mention the fact that you can play MP3's with great sound, watch feature length movies on disc or even browse the 'net or play games with other PSP owners using the built in WiFi capability. I'm pretty sure I want one.

[ms_ann_thrope]

*ms_ann_thrope is all covetous*

How's the battery life?

[viscousmemories]

It's hard to say. As I mentioned he has an add-on 4gb hard drive for his device, and it comes with a double-sized battery because of the additional drain. He never used it in any other configuration, so he can't speak to the default. As it is, though, he says it lasts about 8 hours.

[MonCapitan2002]

While the PSP is certainly a fine device, I won't be supporting the company. I have decided to boycott the company. The fact that most of their games aren't worth shit just makes it easier to do.

[viscousmemories]

Okay, I'll bite. Why are you boycotting Sony?

[MonCapitan2002]

The rootkit incident. I think the executives at the company should have been sent to prison for that shit.

[seebs]

Seconded. More generally, Sony is an industry leader in consumer-hostile things. They make the second-most-horrible copy protection ever, which has physically broken people's CD drives. They push DRM on everything and for everything.

But the rootkit is probably their best example ever, with wave upon wave of ever worse stupidity.

[viscousmemories]

Interesting. I had heard about the rootkit situation, but didn't realize Sony BMG was the perpetrator. I guess I resigned myself to the fact that my computer is no longer my private domain when Intel and Microsoft started requiring a DNA sample and the promise of my first born's left pinkie toe during registration of new PC's.

Still, I would've been disappointed if I'd posted here about some new and exciting hardware or software I'd discovered and it wasn't thought to be the bane of humankind. That does seem to be the response to anything that isn't some variation of free or self-made OS on hardware built from common household ingredients. :D

[seebs]

I don't object to Nintendo. They had a bit of a censorship problem in the 80s. They're over it.

[ManM]

The PSP is certainly an impressive feat of engineering. However, I think Sony tried to do too much, and as a result, the PSP has tradeoffs that severely limit its practicality. It's too big to use as a MP3 player in the gym. MP3s require memory sticks and/or add on hard drives, which make the size/cost problems worse. The battery life is too short to make it a good road trip entertainment device. The load times for the games are long. It's fragile and prone to get scratches. Also, where to put it? My left pocket has keys, my right pocket has my cell phone, and my back pocket has my wallet.

It's really a problem of conflicting functionality goals. So, while the PSP has a huge "wow" factor, its just not a very practical device.

OTOH, I don't know how I lived without my Treo650...

[viscousmemories]

The only major disagreement I have is that I think it's ideal for roadtrips. As I mentioned above you can get about 8 hours of use with the extra battery, but with a cigarette lighter adapter in the car you don't even need that. I don't know how it could be any more practical from a size and weight perspective and still have any wow factor. I don't think I'd even bother playing games on a smaller screen than that.