Go Play AV: Portable Audio, Video, Media and Game Players

Life in Tech has an interesting opinion piece about why they believe the Nintendo DS has out sold the Sony PSP despite all predictions to the contrary:

When I was looking for a portable gaming system the Nintendo DS was out of the question; It was a kid’s toy and nothing more. Sony’s PSP was much cooler with its larger screen, better graphics capabilities, music/video capabilities and decidedly more mature games (Grand Theft Auto, baby!).

Like many, I saw the DS touch screen as a gimmick. The same could be said for the dual screens. Nor did its cheap-looking plastic compare to the sleekness of the PSP.

Eventually, from the pressure of my girlfriend to play Mario Kart DS, I decided to give it a go. She was having so much fun with hers, after all. For a slick $149 I purchased the DS Mario Kart pack.

Now, nearly nine months later, I’ve found that I never (I mean never) play my PSP. The DS became my handheld of choice. I asked myself how this could be possible, citing all the reasons above and I’ve formed a simple conclusion: the DS is a better value, period.

Read complete article: How the DS beat the PSP (and how the Wii will do the same against the PS3) - Life in Tech

Technorati Tags: nintendo, nintendo ds, portable entertainment, portable gaming, sony PSP, sony

PocketLint have reviewed the Sony NW-A1000, giving it an 8 out of 10. Reader support is even higher, at 9.4

THE GOOD: Styling, innovative search features
THE BAD: No picture support, must use Sony Connect
WE SAY: On the whole, another sharp shooter from Sony. With a long battery life, good sound via the included headphones, a slim body and innovative search features the NW-A1000 has a lot going for it. However the lack of picture support could be an issue if you are looking for a MP3 player with this functionality to show off that holiday you’ve just been on

Read complete article: Pocket-lint.co.uk Sony 6GB Network walkman (NW-A1000) review

Technorati Tags: digital audio player, mp3 player, portable audio, portable entertainment, sony network walkman

PC Magazine provide a review of the Sony NW-E505 Network Walkman MP3 player, rating it 3.5 out of 5:

The Sony NW-E505 looks like a very fancy cigarette lighter, but it’s actually a 512MB MP3 player with an integrated FM tuner. Although the device doesn’t pack extras such as voice-recording ability, and Sony’s SonicStage software still leaves a lot to be desired, it has one of the most attractive hardware designs we’ve seen. The sound quality is very good and the user interface is interesting, if not particularly intuitive. The most impressive feature, however, is the unbelievable battery life (53hrs!)

Bottom Line: The Sony Network Walkman NW-E505 offers good sound quality in a very attractive package. The battery life can’t be beat, but the required SonicStage software and lack of WMA support hold it back a bit.

Pros: Very long battery life. Attractive design. Decent earbuds.

Cons: SonicStage software is clunky and difficult to use. Repeat/Sound button is awkwardly located and tough to press

Read source article: Sony Network Walkman NW-E505 review by PC Magazine

Lookup on Amazon:

“Sony NW-E505 Network Walkman 512 MB Digital Music Player with FM Tuner Pink” (Sony)

Technorati Tags: digital audio player, mp3 player, portable audio, portable entertainment, Sony, sony walkman, walkman

MobileWhack - and a couple of others - alert us to this rather interesting news:

Sony has launched their new Portable TV rental service for owners of the Sony PSP in Japan. The goal? To make the PSP more than just about gaming, videos and music. Through the use of WiFi support within the PSP, users can now purchase and download video content from Sony’s Portable TV network and store them onto their Memory Sticks.

Users will be able to download TV shows, music videos, trailers, and other video programming from Sony’s website at a cost of $1 - $3 dollars each. The catch? This is a rental service and not an ownership service. The content will be usable for 1 - 2 weeks and then the videos can no longer be viewed.

Yet again, Apple has kicked a snowball down the hill, and with rumors about their plans for 2006 in media, the snowballs only getting bigger.

Read complete article: Sony launches Portable TV network for PSP : MobileWhack.com

Lookup on Amazon: “Sony Playstation Portable IMPORT (PSP) Value Pack INCLUDES GRETZKY NHL Video Game” (Sony)

Technorati Tags: Sony, Sony PSP

HiFi Blog reviews Sony’s NW-A3000

It’s a solid MP3 player with rather innovative software features and some goodies (replaceable battery) that you don’t regularly expect from big, arrogant guys like Sony. The lack of a color screen is a bummer, but not exactly a deal-breaker considering we’re talking about a portable audio player. Unfortunately, we guess that the rather high price tag will prevent many people from giving it a shot — which is what Sony needs to bet at if it ever wants to see bigger marketshare.

Read source article: Review: Sony NW-A3000 (and NW-A1000) — HiFi Blog

Technorati Tags: digital audio player, mp3 player, portable audio, portable entertainment, sony walkman, Sony

PSP3D report the availability of PSP Firmware 2.6 for , of course, the Playstation Portable

Here are the new improvements as shown on the PSP:
-(RSS Channel) has been added as a feature under (Network).
-(Simplified Chinese(gb18030)) and (Traditional Chinese (big 5)) have been added as options to (Encoding) under (View) in the (Internet browser) menu bar.
-Characters may be indistinct in some cases when these encoding options are selected.
-(Volume ajustment) has been aded as a feature to (Location free player).
-You can now download video data that supports copyright protection using the (internet browser).
-WMA had been added as a codec that can be played under (Music)(This applies to music saved on the memory stick).

Note that you must adjust a system setting to enable playback of WMA format music data, a connection to the internet is required to adjust the setting.

Reports of streaming music through RSS feeds are coming in. More exploitation capabilities?

Streaming video has also now been reported.

Read source article: PSP Firmware 2.6 is OUT! - Home

Lookup on Amazon:

“Sony Playstation Portable IMPORT (PSP) Value Pack INCLUDES GRETZKY NHL Video Game” (Sony)

Technorati Tags: firmware upgrade, playstation portable, portable entertainment, portable game console, portable gaming, psp firmware, software, Sony, Sony PSP

Engadget have advised that Sony announced a PSP Giga Pack

Don’t get all excited here, this isn’t the PSP with the integrated hard drive we’ve all been lusting after. No, Sony’s Giga Pack is far less interesting—the PSP is now being bundled with a 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo, a small stand, and the other usual suspects like USB cable, remote and earphones, slip-in case, etc. This does indeed make things easier (and cheaper) for those annoyed at having to spend a couple bucks in the regular PSP Value Pack bundle for the 32MB card when they’re just going to drop an extra $80 or $90 on the one gig card. Their listed price is ¥29,800 (about $250), which we’re hoping isn’t as much of a price cut as we’re going to see on the system for this coming holiday season—especially since it’s not really a price cut when they just bundle the same device with some more gear and then ask the same price. You’ll be able to get yours in Japan, Asia, Europe, and North America starting November.

Source: Sony announces PSP Giga Pack - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Lookup on Amazon:

“Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) Value Pack” (Sony Computer Entertainment)
(Note: This is not the Giga pack)

Technorati Tags: portable entertainment, portable gaming, Sony PSP

DAPReview report on news that Sony will be releasing a 8GB version of the Network Walkman series MP3 player, an NW-A1200:

Next to the upcoming Sony NW-A1000 (6GB) & A3000 (20GB), there’s another one of these things in the making: the NW-A1200. It’s basically the same thing as the NW-A1000, only with 8GB of storage capacity on-board. Measures 88,1×55x18,7mm and weighs some 109 gram, said to cost about 30k Yen (220 Euro).

As far as our opinion is concerned: it’s always good to have some competition. First the Zen Micro Photo, then the MobiBlu DHH-200 followed by MPIO HD400 and now this - all set at 8GB. Do I hear 10GB, anyone? Anyone?

Source: dapreview.net: News / Comments / NW-A1200: Sony wants to play the 8GB game too

Technorati Tags: digital audio player, mp3 player, portable audio, portable entertainment, Sony

Sony Walkman Bean NW-E307 (1GB, Cotton Candy Pink) Reviews. MP3 players Reviews by CNET.

The good: Excellent FM reception and battery life; retractable USB connector.

The bad: Poorly designed USB cover; awkward controls; tiny screen muddles interface; noticeable hiss during playback; music-store support limited to Sony Connect; slow file transfers.

The bottom line: Sony’s half-baked Walkman Bean tries hard to be hip, but bad design elements and hissy audio make it one square audio player.

Read full review: Sony Walkman Bean NW-E307 (1GB, Cotton Candy Pink) Reviews. MP3 players Reviews by CNET.

Lookup on Amazon:

“Sony NW-E307 Walkman Bean 1 GB MP3 Player Black” (Sony)

Technorati Tags: mp3 player, portable audio, portable entertainment, Sony

Another comparison of the video iPod vs. PSP, this time by Playlist:

It plays music. It displays photos. Oh, and you can watch video on it, too. No, it’s not the newly unveiled video iPod—this is the Sony PlayStation Portable. And while the PSP has a very different core function—it’s a portable video game console, first and foremost—the are enough similarities between it and the latest round of iPods to merit a side-by-side comparison.

Source: Playlist: Handhelds compared: video iPod vs. PSP