While all other gaming hand-helds to date have focused purely on games Sony also want the PSP to excel at multimedia. Therefore with your PSP you can watch videos, play MP3’s and also view photo’s. What surprised me was how capable the PSP was at all three.
Category: Blog
PSP Hardware
I finally have my hands on a working Playstation Portable and thought it only right and proper that I post my views after a few days use. I have a fair bit to say so I’ve split this post into three. The first will deal with the hardware and the value pack that Sony supply’s. Next will be the multimedia elements of the PSP and the final post will talk about games. Don’t know why I’m doing it – just feel the need.
Cheaper Broadband
After a short wait and lot’s of hoping PlusNet have finally launched their new pricing structure. So today I was able to switch to 1Meg broadband, around 200Gb download cap and a hopeful upgrade to 2Meg in the next month or so for a monthly fee of £21.99. Lovely. Had to pay £14.99 to change from paying £29.99 a month but I’ll make that back by summer.
Just need to wait for BT to start rolling out their 8Meg products later in the year to get 8Meg for £21.99 – that will be a bargain.
PSP Update
I’d planned to do a massive review of the PSP, the good bits, the bad bits, what Sony should be selling etc etc but it will have to wait. I’m getting it replaced as it developed some ‘dead pixels’. Graham got a new one shipped this morning which looked great which convinced me that I should swap mine while I can. Hopefully have it back by next Tuesday.
I’ll start putting the review together as it’s a great gadget which should appeal to multi-meeja lovers as well as gamers.
Gmail Upgrades
Nice – now you can store up to 2Gb with your Gmail account. Text formatting is also available and attachments up to 10Mb. I wonder if Gmail drive still works?
Shameful
Well done to Jamie Oliver as the government finally bows to public pressure over the amount spent on school meals. But did we really need:
If this is what the next 6 weeks are all about I’ll see you in June.
Arrived
Well….the PSP arrived this morning. Well – 2 arrived as I’d ordered one for Graham as well. Unfortunately one (thankfully not mine – no conspiracy theories allowed) had 11 dead pixels. So it has been returned, but mine is fine. The screen is gorgeous, it really is the most difficult thing to keep clean and when I sort out my 1 gig memory card videos on the go will be a joy. I’ll do a fuller post over the weekend as it’s not without flaws, but it’s still highly recommended.
The Doctor
Watched the first of the new Doctor Who’s last night. Underwhelmed is about the best I could say but then I never expected too much. Christopher Eccleston played the Doctor as a smiling idiot for the first 20 minutes which was starting to get quite irritating – hopefully this was just a one off and doesn’t permeate the series. Billy Piper played Rose pretty well I thought. However the action was a bit ‘British’ and poor compared to American drama’s – the special effects were also cheap. Spooks does it far better.
Still – good to see an alternative to the usual Saturday evening line-up – far too many reality shows now. Cheap tv is here to stay. I’ll give it another try as hopefully later series can concentrate on plot rather than character introductions.
Ordered
I’ve caved in and ordered a PSP through ebay. Ridge Racer and Wipeout Pure too. Hopefully delivered next week. This is a device that could replace the iPod as my favourite gadget – it certainly has the potential. I cannot wait for Wipeout – when the PS1 and Saturn were jostling for best new console (95/96) this was the game that showed what next gen really meant – great graphics, amazing style and Chemicals Brothers all in a game which was difficult but once mastered impossible to put down – hopefully pure will be the same.
Danger – Eyetoy
The Eyetoy has been out for the PS2 for a couple of years now – I never had any intention of buying one but those nice chaps at Sony sent me one along with Eyetoy chat for doing a questionnaire as part of the ongoing beta trials. I managed to ‘acquire’ a copy of Play 2 and gave it a whirl yesterday. Never have I felt like such a fool as I did when playing these games.
Firstly you need to wave at the OK and Cancel buttons. Quite why I’ve no idea but there you go – already I had an idea that a few beers before trying this would have helped. First game I tried was Table Tennis. Nice enough but the opponent got in the way of the ball and it was all quite awkward. Next was Goal Attack – save penalties from the comfort of your lounge. Or not – pretty poor game. Onto Kung Fu – damn – while the lighting was fine for the other games I wasn’t distinct enough against my magnolia walls. Final game was Boxing. This started off well – swing your fists and try and knock out your opponent. Good way to vent some frustration….need to swing a bit harder. Ouch.
I managed to smack myself in the jaw. Surely not what was intended. At that point the PS2 was switched off and the Eyetoy packed away until the next games night. Now – can I sue Sony for the injures I sustained – there’s certainly no warning on the packaging. Mmmmm.