Here is our Review of the Sony PSP

Buying a PSP:
If your planning on buying a PSP our first tip is pay a bit extra and go for the 'Giga Pack' as you get some essential extras that you will probably end up buying later on. Like the 1gb memory card which is definalty required as the PSP does not have its own hard drive.

Owning a PSP:
Our first concern was Security: Here is a device that can access the internet and receive e-mails, and of course potentially pick up viruses and other nasties. Will AV updates be on their way? Were reluctant to use it for e-mail and any downloading at the moment. Don't forget to regularly do a Network Update to keep yours up to date.

Using the PSP:
There are a few things to consider here: The PSP is not touch screen nor does it have a keypad, however, browsing the PSP is very comfortable and the 'texting' style interface that you get when entering text is very easy to use. If you like the PS/PS2 controller then using the PSP should be no problem, it has the L and R buttons and an Analogue stick.

A few Bad Points:
- Its a Sony which means it typically uses its own formats: The memory card is the Memory Stick Duo and the Games/Films are on 'UMDs'.
- The video format is currently just MP4s which means a bit of 'ripping' is required to watch other film formats.

The Verdict:
The PSP Rocks! For such a small device the screen and graphics are excellent. The games catalogue is now as good as most consoles and the extra features make this a high quality 'All-in-one'. The Web Browser is a very nice add-on (apart from security concerns) and the Network Update means more features are on their way. Final Word is: This won't disappoint, so go get out and get yourself one!

By ITWare