PSP: The Definitive Verdict (Page 7)

After two weeks of intensive handheld gaming, we offer a comprehensive and detailed review of PSP, along with an extensive photo shoot, all-new high quality videos, and market analysis.

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Full Whack for a Value Pack

In terms of the other Value Pack contents, by far the most useful extra you'll find in the Value Pack is the 32MB Memory Stick Duo, that at least gets you on your way with plenty of game save space and room for a few of your favourite MP3 files and perhaps some photos to show your friends. You won't be able to take things much further than that though, and you'll only be able to paddle in the pond that is MPEG4 playback - more on that later.

The Value pack's protective case is a bit of a Godsend

A close second in terms of usefulness of Value Pack accessories is the protective carry case, a moderately stylish wallet with a nylon (probably) coating on the outside and soft padding on the inside. It means you can stick the PSP in your pocket without worrying about scratches, and if you were to ever drop the machine, pretty much reduces the chance of total disaster to zero (though we wouldn't advise that you try it - especially not with ours). The wrist strap, meanwhile, is a nice addition and makes the PSP a little more difficult to steal.

Value Pack also includes the wrist strap

Unfortunately the least effective addition is one of the best looking extra contents - the PSP-branded earphone and audio remote control set (similar to what you'd find bundled with a portable CD player - remote control, as in the tiny bit that lets you change tracks and so forth without reaching for the main unit).

The bundled earphones look great but aren't perfect

For a start, the earphones are a little more uncomfortable than most, and start to hurt quite a lot after any kind of prolonged use, while the remote control - the only kind that works with the PSP - has no LCD display and is unable to jump from one folder of MP3s to another, making life a little difficult for those wanting to use PSP as a serious music player for the moment. The problem is further augmented with the lacking MP3 playback features offered in the front end.

Just Browsing

The front end and browser system is nicely presented, with a bold red background and nicely designed icons for settings, photo viewing, music and video playback, and finally game access. When you first power up your PSP, the front end kicks in and gives you the chance to configure some basic system settings - username, date and time, battery status, and most conveniently, language - so that you can do everything in English if you like.

The front end is functional and looks pretty

At first it's pretty confusing as to how you're actually supposed to get any media onto your Memory Stick Duo. Although any fool can connect the PSP to their PC via a standard USB camera-style cable (where one end is smaller than the other, remember), and it doesn't take a genius to figure out how to get the PSP into USB mode via the Settings panel either, thus prompting your PC to recognise the new storage. But where exactly are you supposed to put all your files to get them to work in the PSP's media viewing system?

The answer lies in formatting your Memory Stick Duo from scratch with the PSP itself, which can be done under settings. This will erase anything on the stick beforehand, so you may as well do this as soon as you get going. The PSP then creates some clearly labelled folders inside the top "PSP" directory, for Game Save Data, Music, and Photos. Game saves are filed automatically of course, while your JPEG and MP3s can simply be copied into the relevant folders, with subdirectories only allowed to go one deep thereafter for some reason. For Video files, inexplicably you must create this folder yourself, named "100MNV01", it seems, in the same directory - into which you can put all your MPEG4 files.

Continue Through Feature:

• Page 1: The Hardware Buzz, Hot Property
• Page 2: Two Weeks, Inside the Box, Build Quality
• Page 3: Secret Screen, Ergonomics, Triggers
• Page 4: Sleeping, Useful Buttons, Faulty Units
• Page 5: More on UMD, Make Some Noise
• Page 6: Thanks for the Memory, Battery Power
• Page 7: Full Whack Value Pack, Just Browsing
• Page 8: Movies and Music, Will You be My WiFi
• Page 9: It Plays Games Too - Performance
• Page 10: PSP vs DS, Final Thoughts

See also: Full Launch Report from Tokyo
               PSP Set for Launch in Japan
               PSP Launch Could be a Disaster