Pramod de Silva
Sony entered the games arena with the original Playstation, which is
now in its third incarnation with a Blu-Ray drive included. However, it
is a bulky machine that you cannot take anywhere. This led Sony to
develop a portable version called the PSP. The device naturally could
not take the CD-size Playstation discs, so Sony developed a proprietary
disc called UMD for the PSP (Playstation Portable).
 The PSP was a huge success for Sony.Several years down the road, the
PSP is due for a makeover. Named the PSP Go, it is smaller and sheds the
UMD drive in place of 16 GB onboard memory and a Memory Stick card slot.
The 3.8 inch screen is smaller but apparently brighter. The audio is
reported to be clearer too.
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are standard. The controls conveniently slide
out. Users of the original PSP should feel at home as all the gaming
controls are more or less in their former places. Battery life should
improve with the UMD gone as there are fewer moving parts.Ironically,
the biggest competitor of the PSP Go is not a gaming device - it is the
Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. Sony has improved online access to battle
Apple’s App Store which has hundreds of games for download, some of
which are free.
But what if you have a load of UMDs, both games and movies ? Sony is
planning to offer them as (free) downloads for those who upgrade to the
PSP Go. A nice sweetener indeed, but Sony will have to clear copyright
and DRM rights for third party game and movie titles.You need to sign up
for a PlayStation Network ID to get games. You have to browse the online
store for games and videos before downloading them straight to your hard
drive.
Then you can transfer the content to the PSP Go. Rest assured, Sony
will have lined up several blockbuster games for the impending launch.
You can convert the PSP Go to a phone a la iPod Touch by using a headset
via Bluetooth and the built-in Skype app. Just like the Apple products,
users can upload video and audio to use it as a portable video device.
Sony’s famous Xross Media Bar makes navigation through the multiple
menus easy.The changes to the original platform means that the PSP Go is
a serious, feature filled multimedia device that can challenge the
iPhone and the iPod Touch. But Sony faces a huge task in offering a
store that can challenge Apple’s iTunes at its own game, so to speak. |
