My initial thoughts on the PSP Go weren’t great. I didn’t like the look of the device in leaked pictures and just wasn’t all that impressed.  After seeing countless hands-on videos and reading the specs I am left really wanting one but being slapped in the face for having such lust for the device. Apparently, Mr. $250 does not want me to get the device.

Hardware

Sony has sacrificed some features such as the larger screen for overall portability. If I didn’t own a PSP 2000 this would not be an issue but since I do, it is kind of hard to downgrade in screen size, but all the impressions of the screen are positive. My next thought moves into touch screen territory. Unlike many who have expressed interest in touchscreen for this device, I am not looking to play games with the screen. As a system that hides its controls through a sliding screen, what could provide a more friendly user experience than being allowed to control your media through the  touch screen interface? As it stands now, you will need to continuously open and close the device to navigate around the system. None of the hands-on impressions I have seen tested out using the shoulder buttons but it is a question I have submitted to Sony.

I then have to ask why are they still using 802.11b? Why not upgrade the system to 802.11g for wifi connections? Where is the navigation add-on we were promised a year ago? Where is the camera? This may not be a true PSP successor but these are certainly additions that could demand the premium they are asking for the device.

Software

As far as games, the line-up is ever so impressive but what about everything else? During E3 Sony released Media Go, an iTunes like application that allows you to manage your PSP media, games, music and access to the PSP PlayStation Store. While Media Go certainly seems to be more responsive that the previously used Media Manager, I still run into one glaring issue; I cannot queue downloads. For a device that allows the user to be on the “Go”, if a user downloaded a demo or purchased a game, their PSP or store visit will be halted until  said download is complete. To expand on this the downloading of content from the Store requires the PSP be connected. Certainly not a big issue but to the average iPhone, iTunes user who is accustomed to downloading to their hearts is content and syncing later, this does present somewhat of a inconvenience.

Price

Everyone has made it fully aware about what they think of the price. Sony claims that price is not a barrier of entry and that the PSP Go is positioned to be a premium product. Sony is also trying to rid themselves of the rampant PSP piracy while also pushing digital downloads. So why is the PSP Go priced $80 over the standard model which comes in a bundle? One could assume that they are building a better pricing structure that benefits retailers much more. One again could also assume that the Go is no more expensive to make than the PSP 3000 due to a smaller and lighter packaging with removal of various parts such as the UMD drive.

Overall

It seems Sony has not learned their mistake with the $599 PS3 fiasco. “Value” seems to be a word they have used often but unfortunately for them consumers do not walk in a store with a check list to determine the value. In one step Sony has has announced a product that could make headway in digital distribution and cut down on the rate of piracy for the PSP while simultaneously providing an expensive barrier of entry that will do nothing to help DD, or piracy.

During the E3 conference I started to fall in love with the device. I love that it has blue-tooth support for tethering as I can now access the PS Store from my mobile phone. I love the new memory support and the large on-board memory. I was set to upgrade to the PSP Go this fall and give my 2000 to my brother but that isn’t happening now. The value just isn’t there. A trip to Dell’s website can net me a PSP for $119 while another trip to Amazon can get me 16gb memory for $40.  For now, the PSP 2000 is good enough and does everything the Go can do and at a cheaper price to boot!