Sony PSP 3000

Sony PSP 3000 has the same slim dimensions (2.81 inches high by 6.63 inches wide by 0.63 inch deep) and lighter weight (just over 7 ounces or 200 grams with the battery, game disc, and Memory Stick on board) as its predecessor. The 4.3 inch LCD wide screen remains, and it's been tweaked. Sony says the new screen now delivers better color reproduction, reduced glare, and reduced "ghosting" on high motion scenes. When compared with the 2000, Sony PSP 3000 3000 does, indeed, deliver better color vibrancy (you can toggle between "wide" and "standard" color in the options to see the difference).

As for glare reduction we didn't find there to be a huge difference. Don't expect to play in direct sunlight, for instance. But you might have better luck with fewer distractions from indoor light sources. But in its effort to deal with the ghosting issue, Sony's cure may have been worse than the disease. By increasing the screen's refresh rate, the new PSP seems to introduce a variety of video artifacts onto the screen. They appear as scanlines or jaggies, as if the image is interlaced.

They're more apparent in high motion scenes in games and videos but that's most of the content on the PSP. The silver version of Sony PSP 3000 has a matte finish, as compared with the shiny piano black finish of the black one. As a result, the silver body is immune to fingerprints and smudges that so easily show up on the black one. Unfortunately, the screen is identical on both smooth and shiny and it remains a magnet for fingerprints.

As mentioned above, the lack of a clamshell design (as seen on the Nintendo DS and DSi) makes investing in a case as much a necessity for the PSP as it is for an iPod or iPhone. Aside from a few very minor cosmetic differences, button layout on Sony PSP 3000 is basically identical to the previous PSP as well. The screen is bordered by controls on its left, right, and bottom side, plus two shoulder buttons along the top edge. The button layout is based on the classic PlayStation controller layout the four way directional pad on the left, square, triangle, cross, and circle keys on the right so anyone who's used a Sony console over the last decade should be able to pick up and play.

The bottom left of the front face also houses an analog thumb stick, for more precise movement. (A second thumbstick on the right, mimicking the design of the PlayStation controller, would've been a welcome addition.) More mundane media controls line the bottom of the screen select, start, volume, brightness, and a "home" button. (Some of them are shaped a bit differently than the previous model, and the "home" button now brandishes the PlayStation emblem.) New to Sony PSP 3000 is the built-in microphone, located just below the screen.

It can be used for online communication, be it within a game or for the PSP's built-in Skype application. The advantage of having the mic integrated into the body is that you can use it with any standard pair of headphones. By contrast, Sony PSP 2000 required a special headset for communicating online. Sony PSP 3000 is designed to play games and movies off something called UMDs Universal Media Discs.

We're not sure where Sony got the "universal" part of the name, because the PSP is the only device that plays them. They're sort of a cross between a mini CD and an old MiniDisc, and they only hold about 2.2GB of data. They load into a snap open door on the PSP's backside. Sony seems to be moving the PSP to more of a downloadable model for games and video (see the PlayStation Store section, below), so we wouldn't be surprised to see the UMD become more of a legacy medium for the PSP.