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Print 15 comment(s) - last by Zoomer.. on Mar 17 at 4:45 AM

Sony announced PSPs price cut and add-ons

Good news for prospective PSP buyers: Sony's PSP will be getting beefed up while also getting a price cut. Sony has announced that the PSP will have additional add-ons such as a GPS receiver called the PSP-290 and will be usable with PSP games such as Hot Shots Golf. This will presumably lead to the PSP having maps like in Japan, just in case you get lost watching a movie or playing a video game. The launch date for the PSP's GPS is set for the fall as of right now.

GPS is not the only new attachment to the PSP, the USB-attached PSP 300 EyeToy camera will be another add-on that Sony has decided to give to the hand held PSP with will be release some time in September. Along with having a new camera they will be giving new video and VoIP char service which will be released later in October. There are still no listed prices for any of these upcoming products.

A new firmware will also be available in the future that will allow the PSP to use Macromedia Flash and it will also add a new RSS channel that will playback internet radio and video content in which you can save for later use.

Now that the PSP has become an all-in-one device they also decided to drop the price of the nifty gadget to $199 that will appear at the end of the month. Nintendo also recently announced a bunch of new features for the DS



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interesting
By ksherman on 3/15/2006 11:44:38 PM , Rating: 2
makes it a little more tempting to pick one of these up... except that the battery life still stinks royally. That was the largest factor that turned me away before...




RE: interesting
By bwmccann on 3/15/2006 11:59:12 PM , Rating: 3
Not sure what you mean by battery life blows but I can watch two full movies on mine. This is by far one of the best devices ever created and give credit to Sony for continued support and options on this.

However kick them in the nuts for their playstation 3 delays!!!


RE: interesting
By killerroach on 3/16/2006 12:41:30 AM , Rating: 2
From what I read about the PS3 delay, the official reason was due to some problem with the specs on the copy protection for Blu-Ray not being finalized yet... so one piece of Sony seems to be working against another.

But I'm pretty impressed with the PSP price drop... don't own one yet, but that makes it a bit more appealing. Methinks I'll still wait for another price drop before I bite, however.


RE: interesting
By AkumaX on 3/16/2006 2:10:59 AM , Rating: 2
might not be worth it unless they can get homebrew working on the latest firmwares


RE: interesting
By Torched on 3/16/2006 9:12:58 AM , Rating: 3
Don't know where you heard that about battery life...
Gaming it lasts me about 4hrs
Movies like 4 to 6hrs
Music like 8 to 10hrs
Lite usage it can last up to a couple days.

About the emulation Sony offcially anounced a ps1 emulator and download service. http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/15/scea-psp-price-d...


RE: interesting
By AnaxagorasZeres on 3/16/2006 11:58:06 AM , Rating: 2
I haven't bought a new handheld yet.

But from what I can see, PSP battery life is bloody abysmal. The GBA got 20 hours for every pair of AA batteries you put in it. The DS has a decent 10 hours (I've played with a friend's a lot). I bet that'll be the handheld I'll get.


RE: interesting
By Torched on 3/16/2006 3:05:37 PM , Rating: 2
I can't see myself playing for more than an hour at a time but I can understand the need in unique instances.
I have not found the standard battery to be lacking. I can imagine, in contrast, playing on a gaming laptop and having the battery die after 4 hours which is quite comparable.


RE: interesting
By AnaxagorasZeres on 3/16/2006 9:42:35 PM , Rating: 2
True. I'm one of those people who don't like having to replace batteries (And I often end up in places where batteries are not available.). Which is why my 30GB 5G iPod pisses me off occasionally...


RE: interesting
By QueBert on 3/16/2006 10:56:07 AM , Rating: 2
they have aftermarket x2 sized batteries. Hay, I'm impressed with the standard battery lastibg long enough to view 2 movies. Where an Ipod Video struggles with 1, but to each his own :) And I'm digging the Macromedia thing.


People actually buy this thing?
By jskirwin on 3/16/2006 12:48:14 PM , Rating: 2
I'm a gamer, parent and corporate slave who has never quite figured out who this thing was marketed towards. Even at $200 it's way overpriced for games, since the games - mostly PS2 ports - are more expensive than the original games they are ported from.

I drive to work, so I can't sit and watch a movie on the train as some could I suppose. It can't take a phone call, or run CMS software - so it won't replace a cell phone or PDA. And listening to music? The thing is way too big for that.

Something tells me that once the PS3 launches, this thing will be quietly put to sleep.




RE: People actually buy this thing?
By bob661 on 3/16/2006 2:39:16 PM , Rating: 2
I'm interested in the GPS but it depends on how well it's executed.


RE: People actually buy this thing?
By Zoomer on 3/17/2006 4:45:44 AM , Rating: 2
This would be more useful for someone who commutes by public transport, or does not drive.



Ha!
By boinkle on 3/16/2006 3:18:27 AM , Rating: 2
Wow. Might be abe to persuade the missus to let me buy one at that price!




Didn't someone..
By Googer on 3/16/2006 4:43:48 AM , Rating: 2
Didn't someone already make maps for the PSP of the NYC subway system and a few US cities?

If I remember correctly the guy who did it was in a bit of trouble for his attempt.
Does anyone remember this or have a link?




GPS YES!!!
By Enoch2001 on 3/16/2006 11:47:58 PM , Rating: 2
The GPS add-on sounds very interesting and the addition of Flash via a firmware upgrade is long overdue, but I'd also like to finally have a USB keyboard accessory to plug into it. Would make posting in forums in WiFi hotspots so much easier.

;-)




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