Sony has launched a lighter, streamlined PlayStation Portable, the PSP-2000 with a new video out port, the device should be shipped in September and is due to be launched simultaneously in Japan, the US and Europe.
The new device has a 4.3 inch screen, is 33% lighter and 19% thinner than the original version. This is pretty much what Sony does to all of its devices, and the final PS2 was a slick tiny device that could slip in a briefcase, while the earlier versions were cumbersome. Usually successive devices from Sony are also cheaper. The new device will weigh around 189 grams and be 18.6mm thick.
The initial PSP device for the $200 price it cost (give or take a few dollars for extras) was the most phenomenally designed piece of equipment we have ever seen, and it possibly remains a significantly greater achievement than the new iPhone. To make it slimmer and lighter and get over the impossibly bad mistake of not including a ‘video out’ port so the thing could drive a TV screen, is a big step to make it even more successful.
The video out port will let PSP play UMD disks, as well as downloaded and flash held video, through home TVs, and immediately make the PSP a carry case for video to take on the road and to a friend’s house. The new PSP can also be charged by plugging it into the PS3 using a USB cable.
The PSP has been out two and a half years, and so far has shipped 25 million devices and 100 million software titles. It’s a start, but we reckon that this could end up as a 150 to 200 million unit device over the next few years.