News Blog

The "new" PSP Skype Headset

(Credit: Amazon)

When we reviewed the Sony PSP Headset a few months ago, we determined that it worked perfectly fine with the console's newly enabled Skype feature--so long as you scrounged up the accessory extension cable needed to enable the two-way communication function. The problem was that the headset didn't include the cable: you needed to buy another set of Sony headphones--the PSP earbuds--just to get the included cable. It was one of those corporate catch 22s that seems to be par for the course in the world of consumer electronics.

Thankfully, Sony has finally addressed the issue. The Sony Skype Headset Kit for PSP bundles the headset and the remote extension cable into one package, all for a tidy $30. Another advantage: the extension cable is now black instead of white, so it matches both the headset and the color scheme of most PSPs. It's available now at a variety of online retailers, including Amazon and Buy.com. For Skype users who are always toting their PSPs through Wi-Fi-friendly environs, it's a pretty good deal. Just remember that the headset--and the Skype functionality--only work on newer PSP 2000 ("slim PSP") models, not the original PSP units.

Source: Amazon via Gizmodo

Ready for action: the slimmer, faster PSP.

(Credit: Will Greenwald, CNET Networks)

PHOTOS: Sony's new PSP, in depth

It's not hitting stores until September 10, but Sony is already sending review samples of the new, slimmed-down PSP to various media outlets, CNET included. Not counting the brief walk-through we got four weeks ago, this was our first bit of quality time with the final hardware. A full review is forthcoming; but in the meantime, here are some first impressions of what Sony is calling "the PSP 2000."

• Thinner and lighter: While the 19 percent depth reduction may not look dramatic in the comparative photos, when you actually pick up the PSP and hold it, the fact that the new model is 33 percent lighter than its predecessor is readily apparent. (One co-worker remarked: "It feels like the battery is missing.")
• Slightly improved cosmetics and controls: The thinner profile offers a slightly sleeker, more rounded look and feel. Even better, however, is that all of the control buttons (the d-pad on the left, the PlayStation circle, X, square, and triangle on the right, and the shoulder buttons on the top) all seem to have a bit more spring to them. They feel just a tad more responsive--and that's a good thing.
• Faster loading times: We need to put this one on the clock, but a couple of favorite games--Burnout Dominator and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories--definitely seemed to boot up faster on the new PSP compared to the old one. But don't expect miracles: the UMD load times are still poky when compared to the lightning-fast, flash-based games of the Nintendo DS and Game Boy.
• Video output: Sony included the component video breakout cable necessary to display the PSP's video on a compatible TV. (Composite and S-Video cables will also be available; each is expected to retail for around $20.) I had no trouble displaying videos on a 46-inch LCD TV, but there are several caveats. The larger the screen, the more unflattering the low-resolution PSP videos will look. Our Memory Stick Duo-based videos (transferred via TiVo To Go) looked chunky and full of artifacts--just as you'd expect a YouTube video to look on a big screen, for instance. UMD video fared much better: Jet Li's The One looked much closer to DVD quality (or at least TV quality). But the biggest frustration was that you can't zoom in on gameplay--games seemed locked in at their native 480x272 resolution. So if your TV doesn't have a robust zoom function, you're stuck with a window-boxed experience.

If those early impressions sound familiar, it's because they're right in line with GameSpot's analysis at the E3 show in July, when the product was first announced. Now, we already knew this was merely an evolutionary upgrade--the PSP2 it's not--but as far as product makeovers go, it's actually pretty cool. Anyone who's been thinking about taking the PSP plunge will be glad they waited for the new unit, while die-hard owners of the current PSP may just well find it to be a worthwhile trade-up as well. The price remains at $170 ($200 for the Daxter and Star Wars Entertainment Packs, each of which include a game and a 1GB Memory Stick Duo card).

If you've got any specific questions about the new PSP, ask them in the comments section, and I'll try to track down an answer for you.

Fans of the PlayStation Portable (PSP) media device must continue to wait for a download store, a feature that experts have said is a must if the player is ever to launch a significant challenge to the iPod.

Sony representatives, which have been holding press gatherings in major cities in preparation for the September launch of the upgraded PSP, refused on Tuesday to set a launch date for the download store.

They did reveal that the store will launch with "short-form" games. Whether music and movies will be available at rollout is "still unclear," said John Koller, a spokesman for the PSP.

What's the holdup?

Koller said that concerns about Digital Rights Management (DRM) are part of the problem. The company is trying to find the best way to protect movies from being pirated. Sony has always been big on DRM.

British business publication The Financial Times sparked expectations about the store when it reported late last year, citing unnamed sources, that a download service would arrive by spring. Sony refused to confirm that a store was on the way until recently.

Back in 2005, when the PSP debuted, some PSP fans clamored for a download store. Many rejected Universal Movie Discs (UMD), a miniature version of the DVD created for the PSP. The format has yet to catch on with the public.

Sony's delay at offering downloads has held the PSP back, say analysts like James McQuivey, with Forrester Research. The PSP, with its high-resolution 4.3-inch screen, ability to play videogames, movies and music, should already be challenging the iPod, McQuivey told me in April.

McQuivey assessed the PSP this way: "The Sony PSP is one of the best portable entertainment media devices that anyone has come up with in years. It has a relatively big screen, plays video beautifully, has good storage and audio. It could have been the first big mobile carrier for TV shows and movies."

Instead, iPod, and not the PSP, is one of the world's most popular multi-media devices. Still, Sony is at least headed in the right direction. Another smart addition to the new PSP is a video-out cable. One of the biggest complaints among PSP fans was that they couldn't watch PSP movies or games on their TVs.

A demonstration of the video-out feature was impressive. Watching the film House of Flying Daggers, there was little resolution loss. Koller promised that downloadable movies would offer the same high quality--just as soon as they arrive.

The new TV tuner only picks up Japanese TV.

(Credit: Gamespot)

Gamespot is reporting that when the new, slimmer PSP is released in Japan on September 20, buyers there will also be able to pick up a new TV tuner accessory, the PSP-S310, which will attach to the new PSP's USB port.

The article says that, "The peripheral weighs in at only 17 grams and is very portable, but is compatible only with the new PSP model. Also, since it's a 1seg digital TV tuner (ISDB-T broadcasting format), its use is limited to the Japan airwaves. The TV tuner will be released at the same time as the new PSP, and will retail for 6,980 yen (about $57), about the same as a low-end USB TV tuner for a PC."

The article also goes on to talk about a few other Japan-only items. On top of the ice-silver and ceramic-white colored PSPs that the U.S. market will see, Japan gets three additional colors: rose pink, lavender purple, and felicia blue. There's also a Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII limited edition bundle, "which includes a special silver PSP featuring distinctly colored buttons, logos, and a serial number. The limited edition set also includes the Crisis Core PSP game and a key chain, shaped like the sword of the game's hero, Zack." It's due to come out September 13 for 25,890 yen, or around $212. The new "basic" PSP will sell for 19,800 yen, or around $162.

Personally, I hope Sony hurries up and brings the TV tuner to the U.S. along with some sort of PSP-centric USB keyboard. Throw in a word-processing application and I'd be able turn my PSP into a UMPC for a fraction of the cost.

If there's one thing that seems very familiar about this year's E3 video game show, it's the lavishly produced, but oddly stilted press conferences from the big three game console makers: Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft.

Sony's Jack Tretton and Kaz Hirai in the PS3 Home platform.

Sony has a unique home court advantage in Los Angeles, and the company has hosted its E3 press conference at Sony's own Culver City studios in recent years. Despite saving a few bucks on renting a presentation space, last year's 2006 Sony press conference was an infamous dud, thanks in large part to the unveiling of the PlayStation 3's $599 price.

This year, the mood was somewhat brighter, thanks in part to this week's preemptive price cut, bringing the 60GB version of the PS3 down to $499. No one needed to point out to Sony that the "3" in the PS3 has pretty much stood for third place in the current generation of game consoles.

The slightly thinner new PSP

With that in mind, Sony used its press conference to concentrate on the one missing ingredient in its product line--exclusive games for the PS3 console. Thus far, the PS3 has had very few must-have games that aren't available on other systems, and this holiday season, the exclusives are finally starting to flow. They include:

Metal Gear Solid 4: The final installment in this popular stealth action franchise, and the first for next-gen. The chip we saw made no sense at all--in classic MGS fashion--but certainly looked impressive.

We'll take an extended look at two other PS3 exclusives, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Warhawk, later this week.

On the handheld side, the PlayStation Portable has a guaranteed hit with God of War: Chains of Prometheus, a handheld version of the PS2 hit, combining Greek mythology with button-mashing action.

Chewbacca introduces a special Star Wars PSP.

SCEA President Kaz Hirai has a surprise for the audience, a new version of the PSP hardware. Unfortunately, the unveiling was clearly the single biggest dud of the show so far. It was virtually identical to the current version. You couldn't tell by looking at it, but Kaz claimed it was 19 percent thinner, and perhaps a third lighter. It also had an output for sending a video signal to a TV, which was not exactly high on the list of new features people were looking for.

We overheard one attendee say, "I thought it was a joke and he had the real new PSP in his other pocket." Only slightly more satisfying were two new PSP designs. A silver model, and a special Star Wars-themed PSP, introduced by a guy in a Chewbacca suit. Seriously.

Perhaps the most intriguing new project from Sony is simply called Home. After an admittedly weak initial foray into the online community space, with the PlayStation Store, Sony is pulling out the stops and creating a fully 3D world, where PS3 players can create avatars, set up houses (hence "Home"), share media files, and of course, purchase things online and get into multiplayer games. A Home beta is currently going on, and the free service will launch later this year.

Why would somebody of sound mind wait 36 hours on the street just to be first in line when a store opens its doors for business? "It's fun," Richard Roth told our very own sleep-deprived reporter David Becker, after being the first person in San Francisco to buy a Sony PlayStation Portable. Then again, you should consider the source. Four years earlier, Roth said, he also was first in line to buy a PS2. "It's my 15 minutes of fame. You don't get on CNN for putting in a preorder at GameStop."

Such is the power of marketing to convince people of otherwise sound mind to act like goofs and spend as if their lives depended on it. Sony's quite good at this. Apple is even better--witness the expert way the company generates advance buzz for upcoming products.

But nothing holds a candle to the mania that settled upon this country in 1983 when Coleco's Cabbage Patch doll mania sent moms and dads across America into a months' long scavenger hunt--and the toys were butt-ugly, at that!