The PlayStation Portable is a famous handheld device developed by Sony. This device is well known for being Sony’s first portable gaming device carrying the title PlayStation after releasing the PlayStation and the PlayStation 2.
A brief history of the PSP, in June 2003, a handheld device carrying the title PlayStation is announced by Sony CEO Ken Kutaragi. However, the images and specifications of this device are not discussed. In November 2003, Sony began having meetings to discuss about the first concept drawings of the device. The handheld device was announced as the PlayStation Portable and it is announced as the first handheld device to use optical disks in May 2004. The optical disks that the PSP uses are known as Universal Media Disc(UMD). Then in June 2004, the PSP was on show to promote its capabilities, featuring games such as Metal Gear Acid and Wipeout Pure. Sony officially launches the PlayStation Portable worldwide in October 2004.
Despite being only a handheld gaming device, the PlayStation Portable demonstrates its high-end performance using the UMD to its advantage. This is what makes this device unique compared to other handheld devices such as the Nintendo DS. This device also revolutionise handheld gaming consoles after its launch, with the PSP’s ability to support many features over other handheld devices.
The previous PlayStations such as the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 mostly focuses primarily on gaming; with the PlayStation 2 begin to include movie functions, such as being able to watch DVD movies, whereas the PlayStation Portable is more of a handheld device but is still focused on gaming.
Features of the device
Ability to support UMD
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As mentioned above, the PlayStation Portable is the first handheld device to be able to support Universal Media Disc(UMD). The UMD is basically an optical disk as shown in the diagram above. It is 60mm in diameter, smaller than our usual Digital Versatile Disc(DVD), which is about 12cm in diameter. It also contains a 660nm laser diode. The disc also contains a dual-layer storage capacity of up to 1.8 GB, which allows larger storage of data compared to other handheld devices. What makes the UMD unique is that only the PlayStation Portable device can play this type of disc.
Audio
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As for the audio system of the PlayStation Portable, this device uses build-in stereo speakers. This allows excellent sound quality from the device. The device also has a build-in microphone installed inside. This allows the device to perform functions related to speech and voice communication such as the usage of Skype, an online application which allows the users to make voice calls or video calls over the Internet. People nowadays prefer to use Skype to communicate which each other rather than to use the telephone to save cost. With the PlayStation Portable having this feature, this allows people to communicate with each other without problems. Other than that, this device supports different file formats such as MP3, which also makes it a good music player. It is also compatible with 3.5mm headphones as it contains a headphone jack at the bottom of the device.
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Gaming
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Probably the primary function of this device, the PlayStation Portable is specially designed for gaming, following previous Sony PlayStation products. This device has a specially-made analog stick on the left, almost similar to the Dual Shock 2 controllers from the previous PlayStation 2 gaming console developed by Sony. This allows gamers for a better and more realistic gaming experience. The design of the buttons and analog stick are also quite similar to the Dual Shock 2 controller, the controller for the PlayStation 2. The triangle, square, circle and X buttons are on the right-hand side, similar to the Dual Shock 2 controller as well.
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The games played on the PlayStation Portable runs smoothly and fit nicely with the console. Famous game titles such as God of War, available only on PlayStation gaming consoles, returns with a new title, God of War: Chains of Olympus and is available only on the PlayStation Portable. This game received many excellent reviews and positive comments. This proves that the PlayStation Portable is excellent when it comes to gaming. With excellent graphics performance and sound quality, this shows the PlayStation Portable’s amazing visual and audio quality. The gameplay is also fantastic, with the controls being very realistic. The game makes full use of all of the PlayStation Portable’s buttons, including the L and R shoulder buttons.
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Wireless Connectivity
The PlayStation Portable also supports wireless network with its new Wireless Local Area Network(WLAN) feature. This allows players to connect and play with each other using the Ad Hoc feature. The Ad Hoc feature allows players that have the same game connect and play together using the multiplayer function under a certain range with one another. Other than that, players who have a PSP and a PlayStation 3 that is connected to the internet via broadband can use the Ad Hoc Party feature. This feature allows players to connect with each other anywhere with a wireless internet connection and play with each other.
The PlayStation Portable’s wireless connectivity also allows web browsing and surfing the internet. An online application such as Skype is also supported by the PSP.
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The wireless connectivity of the PSP allows it to be more than just a handheld portable gaming device, but it also can be treated as a web-surfing device. It also saves the trouble for users to carry a laptop which is quite large and is always prone to theft. The PSP is portable and convenient for users who are always on-the-move.
Memory Storage
The PSP uses a Memory Stick PRO Duo, a type of memory card designed for smaller memory card designs such as the PSP.
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This memory stick is supported by MagicGate, which increased the memory stick capacity to a size larger than the previous design, the Memory Stick Duo, which is quickly replaced by the Memory Stick PRO Duo due to its limitation of only 128mb in size. With the use of the memory stick as the memory storage media, users can store their songs, movies, games and game save files without problem.
USB Support
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Another wonderful feature of the PlayStation Portable is USB support. This allows users to pluck in a USB cable to the device and transfer their songs, movies, games and other data into or from the PSP without hassle. Other than that, the PSP also supports USB charging. This means that users are able to charge their PSP by connecting the PSP to a computer to recharge the battery.
Redesigns
After the first generation PlayStation Portable has been released in December 2004, several redesigns are announced, bringing more customizations and improvements to the device.
PSP-1000
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The first generation PlayStation Portable. Launched in December 2004, this device is the original version of the PSP. It has a USB 2.0 port, supports UMD, has a headphone jack and uses the Memory Stick PRO Duo for memory storage. Because it is the first generation PSP, it uses 32mb system software for RAM and internal storage. The PSP-1000 is no longer in production.
PSP-2000
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The second generation PlayStation Portable. Also known as the Sony PSP slim because of its lighter and slimmer design compared to the PSP-1000. It was launched on September 2007. It also contains a video output and microphone port which the PSP-1000 does not have. Charging via the USB cable is introduced. The position of the speakers is also repositioned at the face of the PSP for better sound output. The PSP-2000 uses 64mb system software for RAM and internal storage, double of the PSP-1000.
PSP-3000
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The PSP-3000 is the third generation PlayStation Portable. Released in October 2008, about a year after the release of the PSP-2000, this design brings some improvement which the PSP-2000 does not have. First of all, the PSP-3000 has a built-in microphone, which allows users to use voice communication applications such as Skype without having to use any headset devices. This design also has an improved anti-glare screen, which reduces the glare while using the PSP outdoors. The screen has also been improved, using an LCD screen which has better visual performance compared to previous PSP designs.
PSP-Go
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The latest PlayStation Portable design from Sony, the PSP-Go. The PSP-Go is released in October 2009. The PSP-Go’s design is completely different from previous PlayStation Portables, as it is now designed similar to a slide phone. This design makes it smaller compared to previous PSP designs. It is also lighter compared to the previous PSP designs, weighing at only 158g, while the PSP-3000 weighs only 189g. One major change in this PSP design is the usage of UMD. The PSP-Go no longer uses UMD. All games have to be downloaded online from the official PlayStation store. Games can also be downloaded into a PlayStation 3 and transferred into the PSP-Go via USB cable. Another major improvement is that the PSP-Go now has the Bluetooth function. This will be an important feature to all users in many different ways, such as transferring or receiving data. The slide-to-open feature of the device also brings a new gaming experience to players.
Recommendation
Although the PSP is a great gaming device using the UMD for its games(except the PSP-Go), there are pirated PSP games in the market. Pirated games can be found online in the Internet and downloaded online for free and saved into the PSP memory stick. Players can then play the games for free without having to worry about forking out a single cent. This is a serious problem as it will cause losses to the gaming industry. Sony has tried many methods to reduce this problem such as providing more firmware upgrades to stop hacks; however the piracy will always be there.
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Therefore, I recommend players to only buy original UMD games to discourage piracy.
For users who travels a lot or are always on-the-move, perhaps you could consider getting a PSP for yourself, as the PSP would surely entertain you and be useful to you while on-the-move. With wireless connectivity, an excellent music player and handheld gaming device as some of its features, it will be worth getting this device.
Conclusion
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As a summary of this device, the PlayStation Portable is the first ever handheld gaming device created by Sony. The PlayStation Portable functions more than just an ordinary portable gaming device as it can also play music and movies in many different file formats. The device also supports wireless connectivity, allowing users to surf the Internet if there is Wi-Fi available in the area.
This definitely is a wonderful device with more features to come in future designs which will bring more advantages to owning a PlayStation Portable, benefiting anyone that will be using it. Although this device may be a little pricy for some users, but if they would be willing enough to spend a little more for this device, they will definitely enjoy the features this device has to offer them