PSP: The Definitive Verdict (Page 6)

After two weeks of intensive handheld gaming, we offer a comprehensive and detailed review of PSP, along with an extensive photo shoot, all-new high quality videos, and market analysis.

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Thanks for the Memory

The left side of the unit is where you insert your tiny Memory Stick Duo media, for game save and media playback purposes, and also houses the last switch we come to mention, the WiFi switch, which enables wireless multiplayer gaming with relative ease. The Memory Stick Duo is available in sizes of around 1GB, which is the size you're going to want to invest in if you want to use PSP for music and video playback in any kind of extensive manner.

The Memory Stick Duo is pretty tiny

Unfortunately it can be pretty tough to find the Memory Stick Duo (the smaller version that replaces the older, purple, physically larger Memory Stick) in its 1GB variety. They certainly seem to be easier to get hold of in the UK than in the US right now, but the main issue is the current cost of the large stick, which retails at over £200 from some initial research.

If you want to track one down, this link is a simple place to start. Hopefully the price will fall as the PSP approaches western markets.

Feel the Battery Power?

Perhaps the most talked about issue with PSP has been the battery life, and since launch there have been countless tests to measure exactly how this aspect of the machine performs. The way we see it is this: quit whining. For a start, the bare minimum you'll get out of most games is around the three hour mark, with typical extended play on Ridge Racers lasting some time beyond that.

PSP's humble Lithium Ion battery is bored with idle gossip

Less graphically intensive titles can last as long as six hours. You can play PSP while it is charging; you can get additional batteries and swap them if you have a long-haul flight or something (or just fly business class and use their power supply). Seriously though, when was the last time you really needed more battery time than this? If the answer is "quite recently actually, and I'll need more than that a lot of the time" then just get an additional battery.

The battery goes into this convenient spot

It's also worth bearing in mind that Sony is reportedly going to release higher capacity batteries for PSP as well. Currently, a full battery charge lasts two hours from empty. Really, there has been a lot of crying about nothing regarding battery life. We've been playing extensively on journeys of up to two hours, and then kept playing during the day. We've used it in all manner of circumstances and had extra hours of MP3 playback out of it as well. And not once has it left us in the lurch.

A rare glimpse of daylight

I am sure it'll happen at some point. And when it does, it will come as no surprise. Things do run out of battery. And then you charge them up again. Is it really that big a deal? DS ran out of battery on me once, you know. You know what I did? Charged it up. Anyway I think I have made my point here.

Continue Through Feature:

• Page 1: The Hardware Buzz, Hot Property
• Page 2: Two Weeks, Inside the Box, Build Quality
• Page 3: Secret Screen, Ergonomics, Triggers
• Page 4: Sleeping, Useful Buttons, Faulty Units
• Page 5: More on UMD, Make Some Noise
• Page 6: Thanks for the Memory, Battery Power
• Page 7: Full Whack Value Pack, Just Browsing
• Page 8: Movies and Music, Will You be My WiFi
• Page 9: It Plays Games Too - Performance
• Page 10: PSP vs DS, Final Thoughts

See also: Full Launch Report from Tokyo
               PSP Set for Launch in Japan
               PSP Launch Could be a Disaster