TECH TOLA

"Geek gone wild" - that's how I would mention the moment I held my Sony PSP-3004 the first time. I had never seen it before except for in pictures online. I had read a lot about it and as I did not want to miss the offer by eBay India, I ordered it. It costed me 9500 INR (approx USD 200) for a PSP 3004 with a free iPod Shuffle 1GB which I have been notified to receive in 45 days time by eBay.

The Playstation portable is sometimes looked at as a device which is a total waste of money which is a entirely false insane statement. My friend had a colleague who was annoyed by his purchase of his new PSP, as the latter had recommended to go with an iPod Touch. With many silly articles floating around the web advicing you why not to buy a PSP, here I am to support the party which says - 'Why you should really own a Sony PSP ?'

#1 - Looks - "If looks could kill I would have been dead by now"

Lets have two guys taking out their gadgets out at the same time amidst a crowd. One with iPhone/iPod Touch/Any other sleek mobile phone and the another with the latest PSP Slim. Guess who is going to win the longest stares from the audience ? Its the PSP Guy. Definitely. I am the living witness as I know what it is to take out your PSP in a local Volvo City Bus in Bangalore. Its absolutely glossy, sleek and sekzy !

#2 - Screen - "Haven't seen any other screen which can make even ordinary pics extraordinary"
Its big, bright and colorful. I know you have been reading a lot about the interlacing issues, but let me tell you seriously, it never mattered to me when playing the game. I could barely notice it. With a resolution of 480 x 272 pixels, the PSP 3000 screen is bright and superb colors. Be it games, pictures or movies, the PSP screen still rocks.

#3 - Performance - "If you show me any other portable gaming device which has such graphics, I quit."

Its the graphics which kicks ass. Particle effects are stunning and games have made good use of it. Its definitely like a PS2 in your hands. For those who think PS2 is an outdated machine with outdated graphics, go try God of War 2 soon after to read the last line of this post. Don't you ever even bother to compare the PSP Graphics with any other portable device.

#4 - Homebrew - "Only people who can really take over the world are hackers and gamers - Oracle in disguise of some human"

You can hack your PSP to install CFW (Custom Firmware) and run homebrew (independently unofficially developed) applications and game. Its legal and you have to do it. Though the PSP 3000 series is not yet hacked, I strongly believe homebrew will come into picture because even Sony made a statement that homebrew application were impressive and they will look into releasing an SDK very soon. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

#5 Connectivity - "Wi-Fi, Multiplayer gaming, Skype, RSS Readers, Tabbed browsing.. phew!"

You can play multiplayer games without the need for access point with Ad-Hoc mode. You can share a single game source with another one too ! Its just like a notebook/laptop with WiFi. Plus you have got RSS Reader, Online Radio, Skype, Go Messenger, Tabbed browsing capabilities, Flash plugin all built into this device. Need more, homebrew is your answer! Did I say you have a TV out port to play movies, games on your TV ?

#6 Games - "Learn from Japanese, make it cheaper !"

Let me be honest. Games are expensive, atleast for Indian market. American game companies have to learn from Japanese to make the game UMDs available at cheaper price and ripe more profit with volume. But still why did I mention this as a reason to buy, Its the quality of the gameplay. I did not regret a bit after completing my first game - Daxter, after just within a week after purchase for 999 INR only (approx USD 22). Moreover you can make a network and exchange games instead of buying them all over again. I am sure thats not illegal too. For people who need to try, you have got demos released for famous games that you can download for FREE !

#7 Playstation Store - "So smooth, so easy, so much fun. Thank you Sony."

You have something called Playstation Store. Its a software that can be installed on your PC and its available on your PSP with latest firmware update. Connect to internet and you can download demos, themes, videos, wallpapers at the click of the mouse. Also you can download PS1 hit titles for just 5.99$. Now thats really cool isn't it ?

Cons - only problem I find is with the speakers. Just wish they could be louder. I recommend the earphones for a full gaming experience.

My Wishlist
- Do more with the built in mic - A sound recorder atleast ?!
- SDK pleeeeez !
- A universal IM client ?
- JAVA support
- Flash performance increase (Can lead to more games)
- Netfront browser is good, Opera can be better. (Firefox first priority !)

Now go get a free demo from your nearest Sony store. Let me know what you think about this article.