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When the Sony PlayStation Portable launched, it was a must-have purchase: it looked cool, had a great screen for games and even its own dedicated movie format. Nintendo had to rush through a better-looking DS. The PSP raised the portable gaming bar.
Now, though, with the DS Lite selling well and the UMD movie format proving a bust, the PSP has been reborn as the PSP Slim & Lite. But if you’re expecting something radically different, think again.
Slim and, indeed, ‘lite‘
It certainly lives up to its title: the weight has dropped considerably, and it’s been flattened as though by some mighty Kryptonian hand – one of Superman’s party tricks was to crush a piece of coal into a diamond, and the slimming process has left the back of the PSP shinier than before, too.
The Wi-Fi switch is now on the top, there’s no infra-red and you now open the UMD drawer by hand rather than a spring-loaded release.
This has helped slim it down, as has the new, thinner battery, which offers a longer life – a big plus.
TV times
The pin-sharp screen remains the same as before, thank goodness, and the navigation buttons are where you expect them to be. A ‘TV out’ socket allows you to connect a cable and play your games on a TV screen.
It isn’t really worth upgrading for the look of the thing, but the reduction in weight – by a third – could tempt some.
However, some purists may prefer the more demure styling of the original with its matt black back and the pingy spring-loaded drawer.
Old PSP batteries can be used on this console, too, and offers increased playing time over the one included, though the battery cover won’t fit over it. And although there’s extra RAM to speed up loading times, this isn’t significantly faster.
If you already own a PSP, don’t upgrade. If you’re new to the machine, enjoy this slimmer version with greater battery life.
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Comments
PavPev
5 years ago
The PSP Slim & Lite is a refinement of the original 'Phat' PSP, it's led to a lot of people not really giving it the credit that it's due as many people feel it should have been the PSP 2, whereas it's more like the PSP 1.5. Everyone knows it's slimmer, lighter etc etc but there are a few downsides too. The simplified UMD drive leads to first-time users not knowing which way in the UMD's go, the new position of the headphone jack means that the connection is more exposed and therefore can get damaged more easily and the infra-red port is gone all together. This won't matter to most users, but those who run custom programs (homebrew) may miss it's unlocked functionality. The speakers have been moved onto the front, which doesn't seem to make it any louder, it just exposes them to dirt more often and the openings look ugly. The plastic construction also makes it feel flimsy; it was obviously chosen over the original metal innards to lighten it, but my original has been dropped and battered so much and I'm sure a Slim wouldn't withstand the same punishment. But then the pro's; It loads the firmware and games noticibly faster, has the added TV-out function (haven't used it, but it's nice to know it's there!) and the buttons do feel like they've been tweaked and angled slightly more ergonomicaly. So for 'Phat' owners is it worth it? As an upgrade, yes, it does everything better, unless you like your homebrew, which it can run to limited capacity. For new buyers it presents a nice option of Phat or Slim. The Phat is obviously cheaper now (though not much) and can be found pre-owned and can still do 95% of what it's slimmer brother can, so it's a good budget option.