The PSP

It’s Beautiful

After digging through the entire contents of the cardboard box to get to the PSP at the bottom, the first thing that hits you about the PSP is its screen. It’s big. It’s widescreen. It’s about twice the size of the GBA SP screen, though Nintendo can still boast that the DS has twice as many screens.

The button layout should be familiar to anyone who has used a PlayStation controller, with its split d-pad and buttons labeled using shapes instead of letters. Unlike the DualShock controller, there is only one pair of shoulder buttons and one analog stick. Actually, the analog stick is more of a circular nub and only has about 3mm of play in every direction. All the buttons are digital, leaving pressure sensitive functions something still unique to consoles.

Aside from select and start, the rest of the function keys are ones that you wouldn’t find on the DualShock. Directly below the screen are keys to take you back to the main browser, adjusting the brightness level, and changing/muting the volume. Left and right stereo speakers are found on the lower respective corners of the display. On the left side of the unit is a switch to enable or disable the Wi-Fi, which is usually left in the off position when conserving battery life. Beside that is the MagicGate slot for the Memory Stick Duo. Directly underneath the wrist strap loop is the plug for the headphones and remote. On the right side is the power and hold switch, and next to it is the DC in for the AC adaptor. The top of the unit hosts the mini-USB connector, the infrared port, and an open switch to pop open the UMD hatch. Making up central back-side of the PSP is the UMD hatch, which operates identical to that found on most MiniDisc players. Also on the back is the battery compartment.

Overall, the PSP is riddled with buttons and switches, though none of which seem to run contrary to ergonomics. It’s a very compact design, making use of every square inch. After inspecting all the physical features of the hardware, you’ll probably find fingerprint smudges all over the slick, shiny piano-black finish and screen. Now you know why Sony included the cleaning cloth (though we really should get a lifetime supply instead of just one).

The UMDs look like rounded MiniDiscs without the protective slide cover over the part that’s exposed to the laser. This means that the discs themselves are exposed and can be scratched up if not handled with care.


The Memory Stick Duo looks like… well, a Sony Memory Stick. We really wish that the PSP would accept other forms of flash memory, such as SD, but then again, the words “Sony” and “proprietary” always seem to go together.