My new project: Tact, a simple chat app.

PSPized

February 06, 2006

I am PSPized now. Just got a PSP™(PlayStation Portable).

I wanted to get a portable console already for ages and was considering between Nintendo’s DS and GBA, and the PSP. I don’t think there are any other major ones out there? Nintendo had a cooler oldskool feel to it, but finally I went with PSP, because…

Initial impressions are good. Was easy to get started. I like the menu interface. Video quality rocks if you manage to find a place with sufficiently low ambient light. Builtin sound/speakers are crap, as are the bundled in-ear headphones – why rape the sound like this??? However, with proper headphones and the good video, the video and game quality rocks. I’d even imagine myself watching a movie with this – the trailer was good.

I can’t understand how to download stuff from yourpsp.com onto the device, such as new trailers? It launches a Java app and then tells me Memory Stick is not inserted – can I really do this only with a PC that has Memory Stick port? Or should the thing be connected with a USB cable? (Update: yes, if the PSP is connected over USB, it works fine.)

It adds horribly to my current travel case adapter/cable mess. I like to be on the move and carry everything with me I need to stay mobile – all the adapters and cables. Now I have FOUR power adapters (laptop, camera, mobile, PSP), plus two small-to-big-USB cables – I thought the small USB cable for my Olympus camera, having small USB on one end for camera, and big on the other end for computer, would be enough, but the small USB ports and connectors on PSP and camera are different and thus incompatible??? Where can I learn about different USB types? Ok I see… there’s Mini A and Mini B type… argh.

I don’t want to think of implications of PSP to contributing to further buildup of Sony’s media empire. Let’s see, I have currently in my hand from them…

All of these reinforce each other. Will it soon be Sony all over? Or Apple? Or…? (Will Apple have a game console? It would make sense although I guess they’re a bit late by now.) And is UMD used in any other device? Apparently not. Wow it holds 1.8 gigs on size much smaller than a floppy and miniCD… quite impressive.