Ash1138's Live Space

One of my favorite magazines and one I subscribe to is WIRED Magazine. It's a great magazine known for it's coverage of technology but is also excellent for it's coverage of world and social issues. And for less than $1.00 an issue with subscription, it's definately a great buy.

However, this wasn't meant to be an attempt to sell magazines. This month's edition of WIRED, in their regular feature called "Play Test," they got me thinking about media players again. As I perused these cutting edge gadgets, I couldn't help but thinking, "why would anyone buy one of these?"

The reason I thought this is because I'm the proud owner of a Sony Playstation Portable (PSP). Look, I can understand why people own an iPod (or iPod clone). If you are only interested in music and you want a device that can hold your entire library in a small convenient package, the iPod is mostly a good choice (it has it's problems which I won't go into here). However, we are talking about multi-media players. For people who want to watch video, these devices just don't cut it.

The Sony PSP came out in March of 2005, and it's still the best portable multi-media player on the market. I know because I have one, and even after reading articles about the latest and greatest in a top of the line magazine, they just don't measure up. There are only two drawbacks to the PSP as a multi-media player. 1) It's size. It's noticably bigger than even a first generation iPod. 2) It's memory. The PSP uses flash media (MemoryStick Pro Duo) cards with the maximum size being (currently) 8GB. Many top of the line players use hard drives giving them a capacity of 60GB+. However, the other features of the PSP easily overcome these drawbacks. Let's cover them.

1. Games
The PSP is slightly less powerful than a PS2, but considering it fits in the palm of your hand, that's damn impressive. Some claim that games aren't important to them. Maybe so, but I've found just about everyone loves some sort of game (even if it's solitaire on the computer), and the PSP has something for just about everyone. It's not just for gamers. In addition to games on disc, you can also download games and play internet Flash games.
No other media player can compare.

2. The Screen
The single most impressive thing about the PSP in my mind was Sony's decision to go all out with it's screen. Earlier I mentioned the size of the PSP as a drawback. Size doesn't matter when you are only listening to audio, but when you bring video into the mix, suddenly those "nano" sized players aren't so appealing. The PSP screen feels huge compared to other devices like a video iPod. It's also widescreen (16:9) and is capable of 30fps playback (unlike 15fps of some devices). Finally, the quality of the screen itself is just beautiful. When it came out a year and a half ago it was bleeding edge. Sony was really looking ahead.
Few media players can compare.

3. UMD
Sony uses a proprietary new disc format called UMD. It's primarily used to deliver the games, but it's also quite popular for commercial video releases (TV shows and movies). Every other media device forces you to used downloaded/ripped content. Only the PSP offers the option of professionally produced, commercially released media on disc that delivers a DVD-like quality experience. Many, including myself, have made valid complaints about how Sony has handled the UMD media market. Currently UMDs are way overpriced. Hopefully that will change because no one wants to pay $20.00 for a movie on UMD when they already own it on DVD. This causes it to be only a novelty to many, but at least I can check out movies with my Gamefly account (think Netflix for games).
No media player can compare.

4. Recordable Media
Like all players, you can record media and play it back on this device. Photos, music (multiple formats including WMA unlike iPod), video, and games can all be stored on memory. The current release of the PSP comes with a 1GB memory stick. This seems low, but one advantage over other Flash memory players is the ability to upgrade with more memory. The prices of memory sticks are coming way down and come in various sizes: 1GB (about $30), 2GB ($60), 4GB (about $110), 8GB (about $350, ouch!). When I bought mine a year and a half ago, I upgraded the then included 32MB card to a 512MB card for $80. Last Christmas I got a 2GB (the largest available at the time) card for $120.

People are overly concerned about memory. Ironically, you need more memory for a pure music device than you do for multi-media. The reason is because with your music device you simply want it to hold all your music without the fuss of switching stuff in and out all the time. You listen to music all the time, but you don't watch movies all the time, especially the same movie. On my PSP with a 2GB card, I can have about 2-3 full length feature films, 12-20 CD's worth of music, dozens of photos, all my game saves, and a few game demos. It doesn't serve me as a jukebox but it holds plenty of media and makes travelling or sitting around waiting anywhere a much better experience.
Some media players compare more favorably.

5. Wi-Fi Online
The PSP doesn't make the best web browser in the world (although a keyboard is coming out for it), but the fact is, you can surf the internet on it. More importantly you can use it for things the internet allows for besides web browsing. I subscribe to various podcasts via RSS feed for instance. There's talk of an adapter coming out that will turn your PSP into a VoIP phone! Considering the PSP has a mic input and already allows for VoIP communication with it's online games, I'm surprised someone hasn't come up with a way for this to connect with Skype.
No other media players in this price range can compare.

6. LocationFree TV
This is simply amazing. Imagine using your PSP to control your TV/DVR and have your shows streamed to you in real time anywhere in the world (where you can get internet connectivity). I can have 200+ channels of cable TV, plus my cable providers On Demand content, plus whatever's on my DVR almost wherever I go. Whether I'm sippin a Starbucks, waiting to get my haircut, experience airport delays, waiting for a big blockbust movie I had to show up early for, or just sitting on the pot, I got TV. I know no one needs that much TV, but you gotta admit, that's freakin cool as hell.
No media player can compare.

7. USB Interface
Many media players have USB connections. It's necessary in order to move media files from your PC to the device. However, few actually allow for the USB to be a true universal connection. With the USB port you can connect peripherals that give even more functionality to the already incredibly diverse PSP. Examples include a device that turns your PSP into a GPS navigator. Add a car mount and screw those other devices that cost as much as a PSP alone. There is a camera add on that turns your PSP into a digital camera of sorts. I'm not sure how good it is, but it's kinda cool. I already meantioned the VoIP phone potential. There's a device that works as a translator for when you travel abroad. It even allows the PSP to communicate with devices you wouldn't expect. Did you know if you plug the PSP into your XBox 360 via USB, the XBox will access it's media and allow you to play through the XBox? This is useful if you want to hear your tunes on your home entertainment or view pictures or videos on your TV.
Few media players can compare.

8. Price
Currently you can buy the PSP Core pack for MSRP of $199.99 and it comes with a 1GB MemoryStick Pro Duo. The best rated Flash media player in this issue of WIRED was the iRiver Clix (2GB) for $200.00. Granted you are paying for the micro size here, but who wants to watch something on a 2.2" screen and at 15fps? The PSP may not get lost in a haystack, but at least you can enjoy what you're seeing. When you consider the quality of the device along with all the myriad of things it's capable of, the price is actually pretty amazing.
Very favorable compared to other media players.

Read about the PSP on Wikipedia

When I consider all this, I don't see why people would spend more money on other multi-media players. If you want a massive storage device for all your tunes, that's one thing. If your iPod happens to play video too, that's great. But if you are looking for a true multi-media experience where you can truly enjoy watching video content, and iPod's not gonna do it for you. You'll want a real multi-media player. You can spend more for a top of the line player that isn't as good, but why would you?

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For those of you who already have a PSP....

I just ran across this little Halloween treat. A special Halloween demo of LocoRoco!

If you haven't tried out this awesome little game yet, get the original demo here.