Review : Playstation Portable Slim

As promised last night, I will be talking about the newest addition to my collection of gadgets, the Playstation Portable 2000 or better known as the PSP Slim. Well, I will be judging a few aspects, which are the Design, Function, and Price.

Part 1: Design
At the first glance, the PSP Slim seems to be similar in every way to its predecessor, the PSP Phat. But with careful concentration you will see that they have been quite a number of changes to its design. The more obvious being the holes of the speaker which have been moved to the top of the buttons on both sides, where the previous PSP's speaker were located below. Besides that, the WLAN switch has also been moved from the left side to the top of the new PSP Slim. This is probably one of the more helpful changes, mainly because it is likely that you will accidentally turn on/off the WLAN switch while playing on the PSP Phat. SONY has also removed the IR port which was present on the PSP Phat, but since there is hardly any use for it, it is probably a good idea to do so.

Other changes to design which SONY has made include the rounded edge of the new PSP. The Phat PSP comes with angular edges at the side and this will some times cause some minor pain while playing on it after a long period of time. With the PSP slim, the PSP fits nicely onto your palm and is sure to provide comfort. The buttons feels more responsive on the Slim if compared with the Phat.

Of course not to be forgotten is how the PSP Slim actually got it's name. The PSP Slim is 19% thinner than the Phat and what's more interesting is that the entire weight of the PSP has been cut down by a staggering 33%. With some observation, the difference in the thickness of the two PSP can be seen in the following picture( the Black PSP is the Phat, and silver is Slim). I for one was amazed at how light the PSP Slim was when I first held it yesterday. It really feels like the PSP Slim is actually empty on the inside.

With the new PSP Slim. I find it much easier and comfortable to hold the PSP in hand as it provides a better grip and since it is only about 2/3 the weight of the PSP Phat, one can hold the PSP all day long and will not feel tired. Of course with the reduction in size, some changes to the battery and UMD slot had to be made. The PSP Slim is using a 1200 mAh battery whereas the Phat is using a 1800 mAh model. Despite that, the PSP Slim actually has about the same battery life as the Phat. But the PSP Slim is actually able to usethe PSP Phat battery and if so, the PSP Slim can last about 8-10 hours with a slight catch, you will have no way of closing the cover of the battery, until Sony releases some accessory in order to do so.

Besides that the UMD "door" mechanism has also received a new makeover but this is probably the only change which I did not like. The PSP Slim use to have a switch for opening this door but now you have to open it manually. Since this is necessary in order to achieve the current form factor, I have little to complain about it because I usually run the games from my Memory Stick Pro Duo. One last change is to the previous port for the earphone w/ remote control has been changed so that one of the best function could be included ( I will be talking about it in the next section).

For the design, I would give the PSP Slim a 9.5/10 for the ergonomically perfect new design

Part 2: Function

The single most important improvement which SONY has given to the PSP Slim is probably the capability to allow TV output through the help of the PSP component cable. With that, you can play your favorite movie on a 32" LCD TV with DVD quality video, provided the movie is of that certain resolution. But playing games on the big screen is probably one of the cooler uses of this TV Output capability. There is still a slight requirement that you have to meet in order to play games on the TV, you have to have a LCD TV with progressive scan support. But other than that, you can still view pictures and listen to music on any ordinary TV which has the component cable ports.

Besides that, SONY has also provided a 32 MB upgrade to the inner memory cache which theoretically would speed up the total speed of the Slim, and guess what? It really does ! It is immediately noticable that some games which had had long loading times are now done loading within a shorter period of time.

For those of you who do not know what the PSP can do I will explain to you some of the existing and newer functions which had been included. Currently the PSP can be use for music, video, games, camera, GPS (only in Japan for now), an Internet browser, a remote play function which allows you to treat the PSP as the PS3's controller. From what I heard, I even learned that you can play PS3 games from your PSP as long as you have the PS3 on and running, and regardless of where you are, you would still be able to play it. Although the PSP has a web browser, it is not exactly the most user friendly one around, which probably make it less appealing to those who would use their mobile phone to surf the net while travelling around places.

Another function which is sighted to be released in the near future is watching the TV from your PSP. There has also been news that there might be a voice call, VOIP, video call and also a text messaging service for the PSP in the future but I myself is still highly skeptical on how they are going to do that. All in all, the PSP has a lot of really cool function, all packed into a gadget which is about the size of your Casio fx-350ms calculator.

I will give the PSP Slim a 9.0/10.0 for a job well done in creating a portable gadget which is well equipped with all these capabilities.

Part 3:Pricing

For the price of this gadget, I would say that it is definitely a bang for your buck. The current PSP Slim can be bought for RM800±. In the US one could get an even better bargain because for only 200 USD( slightly more than RM 700) you get a PSP Slim together with a UMD Game and a 1GB MSPD.

Feel free to name another gadget which has more functions and is cheaper than this. You will get to realize that, it is worth every cent in your pocket. Just look at the handphone, it probably has a slight upperhand for being able to make calls, sms and such. But most mid range phone cost an average of RM1000±. Even so, at that price, the phone has its limitations of watching short video clips, playing simple games, and etc. Look at the iPod, its price is the same as the PSP Slim in the US but it lack many of the function which the PSP has.

I would say that the PSP is really a bargain if you would compare it with other gadgets which you might have at home. For that, I give it a 9.0/10.0, mainly because it is affordable for most people (although they might still be some who might beg to differ).

So the final score for the PSP Slim is 9.2/10.0 for this portable home entertainment system. I would say it is stylish and it still has much potential to grow. Personally, I think it is a good investment as the PSP would definitely be future-proof and for those who is looking for a portable gadget, do consider the SONY PSP Slim. For any enquiry on further details, please feel free to leave a msg in my chatbox and I will attend to it as soon as possible.