PSP- Playstation Portable Does anyone have one (or know someone who does)

[Guest]

[beckham1]

I get these points from work and they can be used to buy things...(not cards unfortunatelly) but you can now get a PSP as one of the items.  I am thinking about it, but want to know a little more about it.

If I am reading the info right you can also use it as an MP3 player.  Is this correct? Have you heard of any problems? 

Also it appears you need the sony memory sticks for that kind of stuff.  Is this thing going to cost me more for memory sticks than the PSP?

Any help would be appreciated!

[EmmasOneandOnly]

I played the Demo at walmart for the monkey game (cant remember what its called) and I'd recommend it. I wont be getting it thanks to its 200 dollars price tag but If you can get your hands on one get it.

[MakTheYak]

Yeah memory sticks are extra, but they are quite easily available. From what I've heard it is a good little system, although if you would rather listen to music than play games then you would be better off getting a dedicated mp3 player like an ipod as the battery will last longer and you'll be able to fit more music on it...

[Roz]

Oh completely - my years of gadget collecting have taught me to limit myself to buying dedicated things. I have an IPAQ and yes I can take photos on it and yes I can play MP3s on it but would I do so? No, because in the case of the camera the hardware isn't refined enough (lenses are still expensive to make well) and yes it plays MP3s, but does it have intuitive software like the Ipod, no, It's not just convenience, it's about quality too.

But if you might play games on it then GO GO GO BUY BUY BUY

[Geek Boy]

I've got one - it's great although to be honest I haven't played it for a while.  Seems like there haven't been any games worth shouting about recently.  I understand Coded Arms is very good though.

Yes it does work as an MP3 player and if you know where to look, you can download a couple of programs that allow you to put DVD films onto the memory sticks.  You can also display JPEG images.  Soundwise it's pretty good and the screen is stunning.  Oh, and you can buy films in UMD format now (that's the little disc things that slot in the back).  The discs are just like minidiscs but in a different outer case.

1GB memory sticks were scarce a few months ago but they seem readily available now.  Bit pricey though.  I use a free music program to rip CD's to the hard drive and then you just drag and drop them to the memory stick.  You will need a USB cable though, Sony don't supply one with the PSP.  I'm not sure if you can use itunes.  I guess you would have to set itunes to import data in MP3 format.  You wouldn't be able to transfer music you bought from itunes though as it's copy protected.

If you buy the value pack you get a memory stick with it but it's only 32MB - enough for game saves but little else!

[MakTheYak]

and yes it plays MP3s, but does it have intuitive software like the Ipod, no, It's not just convenience, it's about quality too.

Yeah that and the fact it doesn't have a stonking 40Gb drive behind it!

[Roz]

Very true, 1 Gig of SD card is fine though really Mark For most *normal* people - a 20 Gig IPOD would be enough

It does seem a lovely system, but I can't help wondering that if you aren't going to play games on it a lot whether it's the right thing to get - have you a list of the gadgets you can get?

[beckham1]

I did end up ordering one, well considering I have had these points loading up for 3 years and haven't ordered much of anything.  I am supposed to get it on the 25th, so I will be able to give you a little better review then.  I am going to be doing some traveling in the next couple months so lots of time on planes, a good three weeks of downtime and travel time.  I don't think I would use it a lot because I can play XBrick on a larger screen at home, although it has probably been 4 months since I have played my XBrick not a lot of gaming for me.

Well I don't think I would have bought one if I had to spend real money of my own, I hope the mp3 player is decent, we will see.