Sony PSP: The Portable Playstation.
The Sony Playstation Portable, or PSP is a revolutionary handheld gaming console that was first offered for sale at the end of 2004 or early 2005 in some parts of the world. Immediately the PSP was a hit, especially with those who already owned a PlayStation 2 or PlayStation 3 as they could be connected together over the internet for online play. Unfortunately it didn not manage to beat the sales figures for its closest competitor, the Nintendo DS, however it was priced higher and was a higher end gaming device that sold for $100 more than the DS.
When first offered the PSP was made in 2 different configurations, the Base Pack and the Value Pack. The Base Pack included the PSP, a batter and an AC Adapter. The Value Pack came with all the same features as the Base Pack but also included a memory stick, which was a 32mb Memory Stick Prod Duo and also a set of headphones, wrist strap and a pouch to carry the PSP. For those looking for a little style in their PSP it is available in 10 different colors, but not all colors are available in all parts of the world.
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The PSP has superior computing capabilities as compared with other handheld gaming consoles and features a nice big screen. It can be connected to the internet which allows players to play games online and also to surf the internet. Users can download software for the PSP and the browser supports many functions that a regular PC does, including flash, javascript, css and cookies. Initially the PSP was available with Wi-Fi which allowed for online gaming, but did not offer a browser. Soon Sony realized that they needed to offer a browser since it was expected with the wireless connectivity. A handy feature allows the user to size a webpage to better allow them to view the page. The Normal configuration loads a page as is, while the Just Fit configuration shrinks some parts of the page so that the whole page is visible on the screen. The Smart Fit configuration will load a page but drop some HTML elements down below, rather than needing to scroll sideways to view the page. Tabbed browsing is also possible to some extent.
In 2007 Sony decided to upgrade the PSP and offer it in a thinner version, much like they did with their larger game consoles. The PSP Slim and PSP Lite were offered and soon offered a lighter, thinner design without compromising any of the features. Most recently in 2008 Sony upgraded the system again and offered the PSP-3000. The latest improvements to the system include a better LCD screen, more video-out features and a built in microphone.
Overall the PSP is a great handheld gaming device with superb graphics and nice wireless features. So far over 50 million units have been sold worldwide. For the gamer who needs a great portable gaming console, the PSP offers everything you need and more.