As of October 2008, this original PSP model ( the PSP 1000) has been replaced by the PSP 3000. Check out CNET's full review of the Sony PSP 3000 for more details.
After roughly a decade at the top of the home console industry, Sony decided to tackle the portable system market-one heavily fortified by Nintendo's Game Boy Advance and DS. Sony sought to take down Nintendo by adopting the tactic that made the PlayStation 2 such a runaway success: by offering sophisticated, graphically intensive games and a heavy dose of multimedia functionality. The device is called the PlayStation Portable ( PSP) , and in addition to playing games of PS2 graphical quality, it can play music and movies ( downloaded or via disc) and surf the Web. It may not be the best handheld media product on the market, and the games lack the innovation of ones on Nintendo's portables, but as an all-in-one device, the Sony PSP is king of the hill.
From an aesthetic perspective, the Sony PSP is a gorgeous device. It's one of those gadgets you immediately want to get your hands on but vigilantly want to protect once you set it down. Weighing essentially the same as the Nintendo DS ( 6.2 ounces, including removable battery) and measuring 6.7 by 2.9 by 0.9 inches ( WHD) , the body feels well built and solid in your hand. Although not a lightweight, it's by no means a brick, nor, we suspect, would it be especially durable in a fall; you'll want to treat the PSP just as gingerly as an iPod or a Palm-style PDA.
?
The PSP's screen is roughly the same size as the entire front face of the iPod.
The centerpiece of the handheld is its especially impressive 4.3-inch wide-screen display ( 480x272 pixels, 16.77 million colors) . The screen is flanked by controls that will be immediately recognizable to fans of past PlayStations: the directional keypad is to the left of the screen, and the familiar square, triangle, circle, and X buttons are to the right. We dug how Sony managed to include an analog joystick below the directional keypad. The stick isn't raised like the analog controls on a PS2 or an Xbox, but it conveys that multidirectional element that gives it a joysticklike feel.
