The Sony PSP was launched in the early 2000 and was a much welcomed device all over. It was a great multimedia device, supporting internet browsing, media playback and of course, games on the move.
It used a proprietary disc format, called a UMD, which held games, movies and other media. Moreover, it used a Sony format of storage, Memory stick pro duo which could be used to store media and saved games.
As time passed and with the advent of mobile phones, PSP’s popularity dwindled. Nevertheless, let us re-look at the gaming machine and appreciate it for what it could do, and can do.
This device connects to 802.11b WiFi supporting up to 2.4 GHz. On the front you have four navigation buttons, a joystick, PS button, volume buttons, screen brightness, music mute, select, start buttons, speakers, and lastly the four PS buttons for actions. On the top you get two triggers, left and right.
It’s 4.3 inch LCD is a great display showing content at 480X272 resolution. At that time, it was a good too with the capability to display over 16 million colors.
In 2022, things aren’t the same as 2004. The display resolution on the latest devices reach 4K, a far cry from the yesteryear’s’ devices. The content is sharp and plentiful. There is no way the PSP can beat any modern device, per se.
However, there are some things the device still is able to manage. With homebrew firmware, the capabilities expand multiple fold. Moreover, not very well publicized, the PSP can run direct from a charger, with the need of a battery if is is dead. If maintained well, like mine ;), The battery lives way longer than any modern mobile phone battery.
The PSP doesn’t get hot too, irrespective of what is thrown at it (limited by its capacity to handle it though).
The speakers are good, better than many budget mobile phones. It has a playtime of slightly above 2 hours when played MP3s over maximum sound. It can play a MP4 video file of length 30 mins to 2 hours depending on the screen brightness.
This gaming console deserves a mention now and may be in years to come because of the versatility. Do you feel we should buy it today? If you get the chance then yes. It is worth it. There are many out there in the used device market.