I’m typing this on a brand new Sony PSP Slim & Lite. On paper the size (19% slimmer) and weight (33% lighter) difference may not sound like much, but once you get your hands on the improved model, it just feels much more natural. I’m not crazy about the glossy finish though – the piano black surface is a fingerprint magnet. It comes in silver, too.
I’ve been playing for just some days with an original PSP, and after extended play, the new model doesn’t cramp up my hands nearly as much – I take that’s because of the reduced weight. The face buttons feel a lot better, expecially the D-pad.
The single downside I have encountered so far is that the headphone jack doesn’t accept my standard (I think) 3.5 mm audio plug, which the old PSP did. Gotta look into that, it’s something of an annoyance as-is, but something that’s easily offset by the shorter loading times, extended battery life, TV output and what have you. The changes all feel natural and with some interesting titles incoming, this may be the break the PSP needs to grow up, so to speak.
I think it’s out in 2-17 days (depending on retailer, it seems) here in Finland. Too bad they can’t really communicate how much better it feels with advertising – you need to handle it to tell the difference, major as it is.
UPDATE: The headphone jack does accept the standard 3.5 mm stereo audio plug. It’s just a very snug fit, you may need to use a little force. Obviously I’m not taking any responsibility for forcing your way into your hardware, but that’s how it worked for me.
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