PSP 2000 (Piano Black)
Posted November 1, 2007
I received my first Playstation Portable device recently, a piano black PSP Slim. It’s packaged in a thin box, similar to the size of the early nineties computer software boxes. Upon slicing open the package, the instruction manual and a dreaded plastic clamshell package slid out of the box. The clear plastic contains the PSP Slim and a box filled with the battery and power cord. After about 5 minutes of careful slicing, I was able to extract the PSP unharmed and banished the horrific plastic packaging from my sight forever.
Without reading the manual, putting together the pieces is really a snap. The battery cover pops off the rear, basically the entire piece left of the UMD drive. The power plug-in is located at the bottom of the PSP underneath the Power / Hold lights. Within 2 minutes, I was up and running with a fully functional PSP. I allowed the battery to charge completely before jumping directly into the system features. It charges surprisingly fast, easily beating out my Nintendo DS Lite when it comes to recharge time.
Build
The weight of the PSP Slim is exceptionally light, a bit more so than the Nintendo DS Lite. It took a couple hours to get adjusted to the lightweight feel. Additionally, the Slim is a few millimeters thinner than a closed DS Lite. Both of these factors make the PSP more comfortable to carry around, especially in a large pocket. The buttons are distributed nicely on the right side and beneath the screen. Volume control and the Home button are to the left of the PSP logo while Start, Select, screen brightness and tonal /mute buttons are located to the right.
The USB connection is found at the top of the PSP, which is a great place when moving files or charging the battery while playing. The Wireless control switch is to the left of the USB switch and feels strong when snapping back and forth. The headphone and A/V out jack is at the very bottom of the PSP on the left side. I rather enjoy the simplicity of the UMD drive. At first glance it looks flimsy, but the removal of the springs from the previous model actually makes it less complicated. Plus it’s got to be faster to load and unload games.
Not everything about the build of the PSP Slim is fantastic though. The battery case cover rattles ever so slightly compared to the opposite side and it’s a bit irritating. The location of the analog stick feels cramped, especially when moving back and forth between the directional pad. The case cover for the memory stick, on the left side of the PSP, is undoubtedly flimsy and the plastic snaps are just waiting to break off. Anyone who changes memory often may very easily lose the cover due to accident within the first year of ownership.
Functionality
The first thing I did was format the memory card to match up with version 3.60 of my PSP system software. You will notice that the card’s directory contains a variety of folders to put multimedia files into after formatting. These folders correspond with the menu selections such as photo, music and video. Using the USB cable, moving files between your computer and the PSP is a snap in Windows. I actually used my digital camera cable as it has the same connection. While I like the simplicity, it irks me that I have to click on USB Connection in the PSP menu every time I want to transfer. Still, having the USB charging capability is worth it.
The photo browser and the slideshow tool are pretty handy. I’ve used it a couple times already to show off some recent photos I took at the beach. That’s also the section to apply a picture as wallpaper. I tossed a couple Amy Winehouse Mp3’s on the PSP and I absolutely love the visualizations. It’s really an impressive addition to the music controls. I went out to Gamecrapping and downloaded a few game / movie trailers to test out the video capabilities. I also tossed the latest episode of the Office on the PSP encoded in MP4 format. I really like the little picture previews on the menu, if you have a corresponding jpeg loaded. While the video menu is just standard, I did appreciate matching the buttons to functions like fast forward, rewind, pause, etc.
I found the Internet Browser to be surprisingly responsive after several tests, but I was disappointed to find out YouTube videos still won’t play on the new PSP without custom firmware. I can’t tell if the extra memory increased the internet browsing speed or not, but it’s fairly snappy for a mobile device. The RSS function is a nice touch, but doesn’t seem very customizable. Still, catching up on news blurbs is simple and quick.
The system menu has loads of selections to customize the PSP experience. I had fun messing around with the theme selections. On the Slim, the new features include the ability to turn USB charge on/off, turn the extra memory cache on/off, and options for the video out feature. I have no idea why anyone would turn off USB charging or the cache, but it’s included. In the video-out sub menu, you can adjust the screensaver, switch between progressive / interlaced screen, and switch between 4/3 or 16/9 sizes.
Gameplay
At present, I’ve only tried out GTA: Vice City Stories and a couple demos. The unit performs almost identically to a PS2 and the controls reflect the PS2 controller to a tee. In the PSP Slim, Sony included an extra 32MB of memory to help with disk caching. Ideally, it should cut down on load times, most noticeably on the older games in the PSP’s library. Unfortunately, I was still heavily annoyed by the extensive loading times on disc based games. Perhaps the cartridges on the NDS Lite spoil me, but waiting 60 seconds for a game to load seems like an eternity for a handheld device. Then again, it could just be the enormity of Vice City loading that drives me nuts.
Visuals
The graphically quality is tremendously impressive for a handheld device. The 480x272 screen is the same size as the previous model, but obviously much thinner. It’s incredibly bright which makes gaming in the dark a viable option. The screen is easier on the eyes than the dual screen NDS Lite as well, especially when text comes into play. The picture quality of the 720 x 480 movie trailers was especially good in zoom mode, the Iron Man trailer in particular.
The TV out function is a cool option, but seems limited for games when I tried out the Sony component cable. Games only output at the native resolution for the PSP screen and only fill a portion of the screen. I rather prefer watching the small PSP screen than a large TV screen. On the other hand, UMD’s and video files will output in 480p on a widescreen television. This is an interesting solution for those traveling with a season of their favorite TV show on memory stick. I should note the UMD at 480p isn’t quite near DVD quality, but is certainly viewable on smaller sets.
Audio
The speakers are definitely loud enough, certainly much more power driving the PSP Slim speaker than the NDS Lite speaker. I keep the speakers at about 60% volume in a quiet space and they still seem over-powering. Of course, the speakers lack any heavy bass, but that’s typical of a handheld. If you want to hear the bass, buy a nice set of headphones. I use the Bang & Olufsen A8 earbuds and they are a fantastic combination with the Slim.
Conclusion
The PSP Slim is a sleek device that outclasses is predecessor, but does it warrant a repurchase by current PSP owners? If you can re-coup some of the dough you dished out for the older model by selling it on Ebay, I say go for it. I always found the previous PSP to be far too bulky and large to justify its handheld status. The redesign on the PSP Slim is just what Sony needed to release to attract back some of the folks that jumped over to the sexy NDS Lite. Besides the $169.99 piano black model you see in the pictures, Sony also released two $199.99 special edition packs. They are a silver model including Daxter, a Family Guy UMD & a 1 Gig Duo Pro memory card and a Star Wars themed white model with a Vader silkscreen, Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron & the same memory card.