Review: Pspgo

For the first time, the PlayStation Portable is truly portable. At 128 x 16.5 x 69 mm, the new PSPgo will slip comfortably into your pocket. And by ridding itself of the Universal Media Disc drive – the disc-based format that historically contained the games and video media for the PSP – PSPgo users will no longer have to cart around loads of small discs in order to take their media on the road. Instead, the PSPgo boasts a 16GB onboard flash drive, with a Memory Stick Micro slot for an additional 32GB of memory.

The additional features for the PSPgo, however, are fairly few in number. The speakers are better and the display is much sharper and brighter. The major addition, though, is its newfound Bluetooth support, allowing the use of Bluetooth headsets and tethering to enabled mobile phones. In fact, for a system that’s considered an ‘upgrade’, a couple of features had to be compromised as part of the trade-off to the smaller form factor. The display, for instance, is a little smaller than its predecessor, at 3.8 inches as opposed to the PSP 3000’s 4.3-inch display. And the compact size, while brilliant in most aspects, made the device a little uncomfortable to play at times, particularly for some driving games that rely on a heavy use of the right shoulder button.

PROS: Nice and compact portable-multimedia solution; there’s no further need to lug around loads of discs. Bluetooth support. Superior display and speakers.

CONS: Fairly hefty price, and despite its portability, it’s sometimes a little uncomfortable to play.

VERDICT: If you already own a PSP, it’s hard to justify an upgrade to the PSPgo at this point in time without a price cut on the horizon. But if you’re looking to buy into the handheld multimedia market, the pros certainly outweigh the cons, making this the definitive PSP model to consider.