George Carlin, one of my favorite performers, has died.  Read the AP obituary.

Toying around with my PSP tonight I selected the Network Update option from the XMB. Lo and behold there is a new firmware update available even though Sony has not yet updated the PSP website with the new version. Version 4.00 has the following updates:

• [Internet Search] has been added as a feature under [Network].
• You can now change viewing speed during video playback. Use this feature if you want to watch a video quickly, or if you want to slow down playback and listen to the dialogue carefully.

So that’s it! Or at least that is what is reported during the firmware update process. Earlier other features were rumored to be added such as Adobe Flash 8. An early check by me reveals that this is not the case.  So we’re all still stuck using an old version of Flash on the PSP.

Immediately after posting my six-month review of the PSP-2000 I received a trackback from a site I had never heard of before (I am NOT going to post the site’s address.  If your curious send me a message and I’ll give you the address).  I thought it was pretty strange as there was no way someone could have read the post that soon after me posting it.  I took a look at the site the trackback came from and found that the site contained no original material at all.  The site contained nearly 10,000 uncategorized posts all linking to other sites and every page had a huge advertisement for a paid file download service. 

I decided I’d let that one go and not delete the comment but a few days later I received a very similar post from a different website (again, I’ll withhold the address).  This second site didn’t contain any overly intrusive advertising other than Google’s AdWords.  The site was once again nothing but a collection of excerpts to other blogs.

I Googled “wordpress site reposts” trying to find any reporting on this practice. My first item in the search results was for a plug-in called “rePost”.  Ah, so now I’m starting to understand.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame any author or plug-in, especially rePost.  What I began to realize is that with user-friendly publishing tools like Wordpress and its plug-in system it is now incredibly easy to set up a website that exists solely for the purpose of leveraging bloggers content to slap blatant affiliate network advertising in front of the viewer.

I’ve never understood what the logic is in this. These websites must work or they wouldn’t exist but who really cares to surf on over to a website that contains no original material and whose only intent is to reap the money skimmed from affiliate advertising networks and dubious subscription services? The money made can’t be that great nor can the traffic be that substantial.

This kind of comment spam is another way that spammers are getting around spam tools. These comments also devalue original content by implying through use of the trackback that some kind of positive relationship exists between the blogger with valuable original content and the site containing affiliate advertising or lame subscription services. I’ve now marked the comments from those sites as spam and removed them from the article.  I hope the other authors linked from these spam sites have done the same.

On 6 September 2007 Sony introduced the PSP Slim and Light (PSP-2000) to the North American market. I purchased mine in December 2007 and have been using it for over six months now. I have been duly impressed with the little device. I read many reviews of the new PSP prior to making my purchase. Many critics compared the PSP-2000 to the original model, the PSP-1000. I have never owned the PSP-1000 but have had ample opportunity to test drive them.

The PSP-2000 drew a lot of attention for it’s reduced weight and thickness. Some viewed this as reduced durability and also reported that the many incremental improvements in the PSP-2000 over the older model did not create a “must-have” product in the PSP-2000.

I can now say from experience that the PSP-2000 is indeed a must-have product and that its many incremental improvements add up to more than the sum of their parts. A couple major drawbacks still hinder the PSP. The first is a lack of accessories from the aftermarket which could stand to make a fair profit capitalizing on Sony’s ignorance of the market and the PSP’s multimedia capabilities. The second damning flaw is the persistence of deal pixels in the screen.

The Bundled Stuff

I bought the Daxter bundle from Target. My purchase was based on the value per dollar since the bundle includes Family Guy, the Daxter game, and a 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo for US$199.99. Today a 1GB memory stick and the Daxter game are each about US$20 and the Family Guy Freakin’ Sweet Collection can be had for as little as US$5. That saved me at least US$15 over buying the base system (US$169.99) and each item. The money I saved was actually well more considering how quickly prices for the Memory Stick Pro Duo have been dropping.

The first thing that bothered me about the PSP was the “Icy Silver” color. However, after six months of use I’ve really come to appreciate the color. Compared to the “Piano Black” PSP, the silver models hide fingerprints very well. I wouldn’t recommend to “Ceramic White” model to anyone. I’m sorry but the geek factor of having Darth Vader’s mug on the backside of the PSP is just too high. Same goes for the new Chains of Olympus bundle that is forthcoming. The colors themselves are great but the video-game-specific silk screens can be left out.

One thing I haven’t grown to like in the last six months in the Daxter game. I haven’t enjoyed it at all and it’s a pretty weak game to package with such a nice system. That was probably intentional on Sony’s part though as they would be losing money by bundling a higher quality game with a starter-bundle game console. The game is visually impressive but I get tired of seeing the hairy back end of an annoying marmot. I put the game down without ever finishing it.

The Family Guy - Freakin’ Sweet Collection, creator Seth MacFarlane’s favorite episodes,is an excellent inclusion to the bundle. The Family Guy is hilarious satirical humor and this collection makes for good viewing on the airplane or for just killing time. Having never seen much Family Guy in TV I enjoyed the Freakin’ Sweet Collection so much that I bought all of season two on UMD.

The 1GB memory stick included with the bundle made it possible for me to start listening to my MP3’s right away. The user interface was not easy to navigate at first and the shoulder buttons were too sensitive that they kept skipping past my songs with the slightest touch or bump. But being able to load up my music and photos was nice out-of-the-box touch.

Usability

The usability of the PSP-2001 is really where it shows that its incremental improvements add up to a remarkable new product. The many small features add capability to the PSP-2000 that just isn’t there in the PSP-1000 and it already appears that Sony is going to be adding features to the firmware that will not install on the PSP-1000.

From a usability stand-point my single biggest complaint is the location of the power switch. It is right under the pad of your right hand and in an intense game it is very easy to accidentally turn the system off. This is especially annoying during online play. Considering that the PSP-2000 is a revised system from the PSP-1000 it should have been completely obvious that the power switch needed to be moved elsewhere as was done with the WLAN switch.

Aside from the power switch, all other controls are smooth and responsive. The d-pad and the shape buttons ride higher from the surface of the PSP-2000 compared to the PSP-1000. As mentioned earlier the shoulder buttons are quite sensitive. I don’t like the very short delay in adjusting the volume when I use the volume buttons. It seems like the short delay is there for the “are you sure?” factor but I am impatient and I want the volume to adjust as soon as I press the buttons.

The A/V-out feature is an excellent addition to the PSP-2000 and greatly enhances the PSP as a multimedia device. If it were the only thing added to a PSP-2000 it alone would create a must-have addition to the PSP. The A/V-out feature along with the WiFi capability would make the PSP the perfect centerpiece for an automobile entertainment system. Unfortunately this is where the lack of accessories hinder the ability of the PSP.

There are only a few manufacturers out there making automobile docking stations for the PSP. The ones that I’ve found don’t use the A/V port at all. In fact none of the docks I’ve seen have a fixture for the charger either. You’re stuck with using a dock and whatever wires you’ve rigged up to dangle unsightly from your PSP. If an aftermarket manufacturer wanted to capitalize here they’d make a powered docking bay with an A/V port plug-in that can be integrated into the car’s stereo system and the dock itself integrating nicely into the console or dash. With many of today’s car stereo’s supporting generic audio-in due to the success of iPod’s that shouldn’t be hard to do.

Firmware

Out of the box, my PSP had firmware 3.70 installed.  I’ve updated the firmware twice since then and am now using 3.95.  The features I’ve seen added are impressive: increased support for themes, Skype, Internet radio.  The themes are great.  I’ve even created my own using Sony’s theme creation tool.  I’ve never used Skype but having it on my PSP for free may tempt me to do so.  At this time I have no reason to use it though.  Internet radio uses the Shoutcast service and offers a great selection of music genres for your entertainment.

I have no interest in updating my firmware to one of the many hacked versions that are out there.  I’d consider it with a second PSP but for now I am content use the comparatively limited software support provided by Sony.  If there were a firmware that provided exceptional web browser support with sound programming community support I’d consider making the leap.

Wireless

The PSP contains 802.11b wireless support.  Most games take advantage of it for multiplayer but I use the Internet browser far more.  I’ve often been a fan of ultraportable laptops so that I can just sit and surf.  The PSP takes it one step further.  It’s so small I can sit anywhere and comfortably surf through many mobile-enabled websites such as CNN, Yahoo!, and Google.

The web browser’s support is not as well rounded as it could be.  Flash support is out-dated and the browser prompts for permission to run certain scripts every time they’re encountered.  The browser’s history list is excellent and it’s a good thing since text entry for the PSP is a chore.

Fatal Flaw
When the PSP was first introduced there were many complaints of dead pixels on the screen. Sony’s response was for the consumer to get used to it. In my optimistic little world I imagined that Sony would quietly fix the problem and let subsequent production runs of the PSP show that manufacturing improved and that dead pixels were just a symptom of a new product. In that I have been disappointed and I find myself the unfortunate recipient of a PSP-2000 with a single dead pixel in the upper right corner of the screen. It doesn’t affect game-play and in certain backgrounds it is unnoticeable but it’s still irritating to me to know that you can still get a PSP with a dead pixel on the screen in a three year-old product line.

Aside from the dead pixels, the screen in the PSP-2001 is bright and beautiful.  Movies look great.  I haven’t noticed any ghosting of images on the screen and even in daylight the screen is still visible.

In the End

With Sony adding features to the PSP that leverage the features of the PS3 it seems that we may have this PSP for a while. This will give the after-market a chance to catch up and take advantage of the multimedia capabilities of the PSP. In the meantime the consumer will have to enjoy the PSP-2000 and its many improvements for what it is without being able to realize the full potential of the PSP.