Sony PSP

The Sony PSP which is also known as the PlayStation Portable is a handheld console which is produced and marketed by the well known Sony Corporation. The development for this console began in 2003 and it was unveiled at the Sony press conference in May 2004. The system was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24th 2005 and in the PAL region on September 1st 2005.

When the PSP was launched, the portable console was the first handheld game console which uses an optical disc format, Universal Media Disc (UMD) as its primary storage medium. There are other distinguishing features on the console these include a large viewing screen, robust multi media capabilities and connectivity with the Playstation 2, Playstation 3, other PSPs and the Internet. Despite the PSP being produced by the well renowned manufacturer Sony, the sales of the PSP lagged behind its main competitor, the Nintendo DS.

A remodelled PSP was launched in September 2007; this was a slimmer and lighter version of the PSP. After this relaunch, sales quadrupled within the United Kingdom and sales also increased in North America. The PSP Slime & Lite now offers a new high gloss finish. The serial port was also modified in order to accommodate a new video out feature. Sony has included the ability for the operating system, referred to the System Software.

Updates for the PSP can be downloaded directly from the Internet. The PSP also allows users browse the Internet, the browser supports most common web technologies, these include HTTP cookies, forms, CSS and also basic JavaScript capabilities. The browser on the portable console also allows limited tabbed browsing which allows a maximum of three tabs. As this console is often marketed towards children, parents are able to limit the content by enabling Browser Start Up Control, this blocks all access to the web browser and a four digit pin can also be created within the security settings. The browser which is featured on the PSP is slow compared to other modern browsers; this is due to the console running out of memory due to limitations put in place by Sony.

Remote play is also offered by the console, this allow access to many features of the Playstation 3 console from a remote location using the PS3’s WLAN capabilities, home network or the Internet. There are certain features offered by remote play and these include viewing photos, viewing slideshows, listening to music, watching videos, and accessing audio. The market for the PSP now appears to be dwindling, especially due to the Nintendo DS exploiting the market and also making the market saturated.

It remains to be seen whether Sony will release any new products which will compete within the market which the PSP currently operates within. At present the Nintendo DS sales also continue to decrease, just as the PSP sales have.