psp

Sony's handheld gaming device, the PlayStation Portable. Unfairly put on the same playing field as the Nintendo DS. The PSP is a fairly good, albeit expensive, portable gaming system. The graphics quality is quite good, the LCD screen is simply beautiful and the games are getting better. Pros: Huge LCD screen Great games coming out Adaptablity -it can play music, you can watch videos, play games, get RSS feeds, connect to any wireless hotspot, and more- Feels solid without being heavy Pretty much idiotproof. Cons: Battery life can be a bit irritating at times; having the battery die while you are, say, in the car driving through Montana at 4 in the morning is most unappreciated. The battery lasts about 3-6 hours depending on the graphics of the game; however the battery life can be significantly lengthened by lowering the sound. According to many people, it scratches easily although I've had mine since launch and only have one scratch. It requires more care than many people want to give it: it must be kept in its case while not played, screen protectors are a necessity lest the beautiful field of LCD goodness be marred, it absolutely must not be dropped, etc. The analog nub is placed the best it could be, but for those of us with longer fingers it gets a bit painful after a while. The PSP is often unfairly compared to the Nintendo DS. The PSP is intended to deliver a wide range of services moderately well to an older audience, whereas the DS can be given to an average 5-year old and survive. The PSP is a more sophisticated, precise piece of hardware and also had to come out on the market earlier than SONY would have liked due to pressures for the release. The PSP is SONY's first handheld system and is pretty damn good all things considered. What killed its potential as an even-field competitor to the DS was pricing, but in the end it's worth it. People often put unfair demands on their PSP; it is not intended to replace your laptop, mp3 player, DVD player or whatever other gaming systems you have at home. I use my PSP to play music and it does that fine. The layout isn't ideal for an mp3 player, but it works. There is an odd quality to many DS vs PSP debates in that someone is either the hugest fan or despises the console with all their heart. One either composes romantic haiku for the PSP or sneaks up in the dead of night with a beaker of poison. One is either engaged to their DS, or would like to see the lot of them thrown in to a pit of scalding vegetable oil. Few people can see the middle ground.