Okay, so we’ve all seen the press conference, and we’ve seen the shakycam pictures taken by livebloggers. Now that Sony has released official PR photos, let’s take a closer look at them (click for high-res):
First of all, we know the specs: 19% slimmer, 33% lighter. As far as width and height though, it’s identical to the old PSP. In fact, from the front pic it would be pretty hard to even tell
that it’s the new model. You can see though, that they moved the speakers to the top area of the PSP, so your palms don’t muffle the sound during play. On the back, the entire surface is glossy now, and the battery cover has been changed (the button is on the side now, instead of the surface). It should also be noted that the new model uses a new 1200 mAH battery, replacing the old 1600 mAH battery.
None of the rumored changes are to be found, so unfortunately that means we get the same crappy analog stick and crosspad. There have been a few minor improvements however; on the new slim PSP, game data can be stored in a temporary cache. This will severely reduce UMD access time, which will improve battery life. Secondly, a video-out port has been added, so the PSP can be used as a media player for any TV with a video input (Component, S-Video, and Composite should be supported, if you can find the right cable, which is not included by the way). Also, the new PSP can be charged via USB! FINALLY. What a bad design flaw that was, on the original PSP.
The new PSP will come in 3 colours; black, silver, and white. As mentioned, it will replace the current PSP this September, for the same MSRP. Here’s hoping that some actual games will come out by the end of the year!
Check out the pictures of the other colours, and retail packaging after the jump.
Im not sure about the improved battery life, if Sony has chosen to use a 1200mAH battery that would reduce the autonomy. I hope Sony has reworked the electonics also.
Um………. They showed pictures of the new system at Gamespot side by side and it is smaller in thickness and lighter in feel. On the extra battry life Sony said they are going to allow you to plug the old battry in the new system. giveing you a 1 1/2 hours of extra play time for anything you can think of to do with the system. Sony also said they will release new battry covers to fit over the old battry. Though the old battry will increase the wight of the system but not by much.
Just to add to Gunwing’s comment, because of the extra memory on the slim version (64 MB vs. 32 MB), the UMD disk drive won’t be accessed as often because the data will be cached, causing the games to load much quicker and saving on battery life. That’s why the 1200 mAH battery will provide you the same amount of playtime that you get on the current PSP with it’s 1800 mAH battery.
I can’t see myself having a bump under my PSP Slim because of the thicker 1800 mAH battery. Let’s hope a company comes out with a 2000+ mAH battery with the same thickness as the 1200 mAH shipped battery.
The Daxter Pack looks like an awesome deal for the money (The extra $30 gets you Daxter, FamilyGuy UMD movie set, 1 GB ProDuo card and the cool silver colour)
i cant wait to get one of these bad boys. my psp has eatn pavement so many times i had to sell the games cause the umd/game disc loader wont open anymore. its now just a mp3/file view. . sony has an awesome deal on these things
I wish they had the Daxter, Family Guy and the 1GB ProDuo set for the Piano Black. That would be awesome. I’m still not so sure if I’m going to get the new one or stick to buying off an old one from a friend for $100.