First, let me explain how I use my PSP. I don’t play games on my PSP or any of my gadgets for that matter. (No offense to the gamers out there.) When I commute, I listen to music. When I travel, I watch movies. And when I hang out in a coffee shop I surf the web (when I don’t feel like busting out my PowerBook). Having the ability to show images is fun, too, but I typically just use the picture functionality to view maps or show off some of my photography.
To summarize my user habits, I use my portable device to listen, watch and surf. The new iPod falls short in one category and unfortunately, it’s a big one for me; surfing the web. Maybe this isn’t a big deal for others, but I’m trying to cover all aspects of these two devices.
Read on…
First, let me explain how I use my PSP. I don’t play games on my PSP or any of my gadgets for that matter. (No offense to the gamers out there.) When I commute, I listen to music. When I travel, I watch movies. And when I hang out in a coffee shop I surf the web (when I don’t feel like busting out my PowerBook). Having the ability to show images is fun, too, but I typically just use the picture functionality to view maps or show off some of my photography.
To summarize my user habits, I use my portable device to listen, watch and surf. The new iPod falls short in one category and unfortunately, it’s a big one for me; surfing the web. Maybe this isn’t a big deal for others, but I’m trying to cover all aspects of these two devices.
Here are the obvious similarities:
Black or white cases. (Really, there is a white PSP out there)
MP3 + AAC Audio (protected AACs from Apple only work on iTunes supported products.)
MPEG-4 video (The only one that really matters here. Seriously…)
Sony PSP ($250) Standard Features:
– Dimensions: 6.7 x 2.9 x 0.9 (inches)
– Weight: 9.92 ounces (.62 lbs)
– Display: 4.3
8 replies on “Sony PSP and Apple iPod Video Compared”
I own both an older iPod and PSP and professionally, I own a video and interactive company. If you haven’t seen video on a PSP, you would be blown away. It is sharper than any TV I have ever seen. The screen size on the PSP is also great. Not too small. I regularly use screens the size of the iPod with cameras we have in our studio and we WILL NOT use them for any shoots because they are just too small to get an accurate sense of how it will look in the end product. It is way below the quality of any television. That said, if Apple would just use the flip side of the iPod as a wide screen I would grab one up the day they were released. I have been an advocate of a video iPod for the last few years when everyone else said they would never want to watch video on an iPod and thought it should be audio only.
Personally, I would love a device that did everything. I also own a Palm Treo 650 and wish it had the hard drive capacity of an iPod. That may solve everything and allow me to watch video, play music, and have an organizer with an integrated phone… The best of all worlds!
That said, I don’t think any of these would replace the PSP. If you are not using your PSP for games you are missing the boat. I have never finished video games until the PSP. While I love games as much as the next guy, I don’t have the time or patience to dedicate in front of a PS2 to complete many of them. The PSP has changed all of that. Having the ability to play in extra time, I have been able to dedicate much more time at intervals of my day. It is also the perfect time killer when I am waiting around for the girlfriend to do her thing and I would otherwise be sitting on my hands etc… The PSP is the best device I own for gaming and video yet. I don’t fly much but next time I do I plan to pickup a number of movies just for that. The picture and sound are just that good, absolutely amazing!
Again, the problem is there is no such thing yet as a single device to do it all but for the most part, my Palm Treo gets the most use bringing together phone, organizer and enough music (with a good sized SD card) to get me through the average day and has for the most part replaced my iPod (until it gets a bigger video screen) but the PSP is more than worth carrying on days that I know I need a good diversion and time killer around.
This poster makes a good point. The PSP definetly pulls ahead the iPod in Web connectivity. I dont own either product but I wonder how effective a browser the PSP can actually have without a keyboard.
The iPod has internal storage. 30 GB worth for $299 and if you tried to get that much storage out of memory stick duo you would be looking at a pretty shocking sticker price. It is only a matter of time before iTunes starts selling movies, and then you can store several movies on your iPod without having to carry all those UMD discs. Sure you lose gaming and websurfing when you buy an iPod over a PSP but you get an item that does video and music better than the PSP ever could.
I agree with the other posters. Why on earth do you have a PSP ? Just get a PDA.
Calvin- Neither the Sony PSP or the new Apple iPod (5th Generation W/ Video) have a built-in camera. However, if you own a digital camera or video camera you can use either the PSP or the (video) iPod to display your pictures or movies if you connect the device to a computer that has your pictures or movies stored on it. Then you can transfer the files to the memory card on the PSP using PSPVideo 9.0 or to the iPod’s 60gig hard drive using Apple’s iTunes 6.0. Either software is a free download on the internet. The PSP costs about $150 less than the iPod Video 60GB but bear in mind that if you buy the PSP you WILL need a LARGE memory stick Duo for it (One gigabyte=~$150USD or Two gigabyte=~$300USD) so the difference in price is assumed right there. Bottom line is that if you play games, like the bigger screen, need internet access, and have gads of money, go for the PSP- but you will get nowhere near as much storage as on the iPod. If you want a kickass MP3 player, a lot of storage for vids/pics/music, and a brilliant navigation system, go for the iPod.
Rumor has it that there may be a digital camera add-on for the PSP in the future- and iPods have a ton of accessories available, too so who knows, maybe a camera coming for that too. Neither device with a camera attachment would even remotely be as useful as a REAL camera or video camera- as quality would be about as fantastic as it is on those useless camera phones, but maybe every now and then it might be handy to have…
Anyways- either choice will get you some of the hottest tech of 2005. Best bet- do what I did and buy ’em both. It’s only money- and quite a few hours of overtime but you’ll be well entertained commuting back and forth to work! Hope this helps.
Stick a 1-GB Memory Pro DUO card (7500 yen in Akihabara) in there and watch up to 3 movies from the memory stick too.
the camera is comming… i’ve heard rumors that say before the end of spring. You will also be able to turn it around and use it as a video phone.
Can someone answer this question, doo any of these two gadgets or any of that sort take pictures like a camara or like a video camara? Know what i mean, like the feature that the cell phone has. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!!
Nice point of view, but I think you should better point out that the PSP is much larger and is roughly twice the weight of an iPod — so you are basically comparing apples with oranges since the iPod can go, where no PSP has gone before: Into the pocket of your jeans! And: There have been Pocket PCs with built-in WiFi for quite some years now — they are even lighter than a PSP! I have been using them for surfing outdoors for some years now — works like charm and even syncs up with my Mac! Besides, you can easily play back music or video content on them or even watch streamed videos when you are online — without even having to lug around a PSP… 😉