So, why isn't the PSP the de facto portable multimedia device?

[Steel_Wind]

People who want games are price sensitive. The Nintendo DS lite beats it in this category by a country mile.

People who want music and video? There are a hundred million reasons why the PSP does not succeed here. It's called Ipod.

At a price disadvantage over the DS. Without a significant price advantage over the Ipod and with significant tech disadvantages measured against the video Ipod.

And that's why the PSP is a novelty item, while the DS has sold 65 million and the Ipod a hundred million.

 

[John Crichton]

People who want games are price sensitive. The Nintendo DS lite beats it in this category by a country mile.

People who want music and video? There are a hundred million reasons why the PSP does not succeed here. It's called Ipod.

At a price disadvantage over the DS. Without a significant price advantage over the Ipod and with significant tech disadvantages measured against the video Ipod.

And that's why the PSP is a novelty item, while the DS has sold 65 million and the Ipod a hundred million.

Price with the DS/PSP isn't as important as games selection. The PSP is getting killed more on software than anything else. Having the entire library of GBA games is a huge advantage, too.

As for tech vs. the iPod? That certainly works as iTunes is fantastic but I'd say an equal problem is the size of the PSP as the price is better than the iPod that plays videos. Let's not count the nano here as it's not a multimedia device - simply a music player.

 

[Vigilance]

And we're not even getting into how customizable the thing is. ROMs, ripping whole DVDs to Memory Stick and so on. I just don't think that the utter failure of UMD is a reason to write the thing off as a gaming machine with tacked on features. Have you used one to watch a movie, view images or listen to music? It ain't bad. I won't be using mine for those things but if it was all I had I would. I'd just be really annoyed about the size compared to a normal MP3 player.

I get that it's customizable, though I think if they had come charging out of the gate with that functionality, rather than making folks figure out how to do it themselves in order to try and sell them some overpriced UMDs, that it would have worked more to their advantage.

But the thing is, IMO, and this was sort of my point, though I didn't put it as directly as I will here, there seem to be two "killer aps" for portable media devices: games and music.

When you say your PSP would work for pictures, music and video, but then go on to say you arent doing any of that with it, you make my point for me. If you don't use it for those things, and I dont think most people are, then they dont add much value.

I think the number of people who want to look at old photos, surf the web or watch video on a portable device are not large enough to win any serious market share.

And the PSP is 2nd or 3rd tier at everything it does EXCEPT video. Which again, in my experience, isn't a big market. What sells a device is its primary purpose. The NGage was a lousy gaming platform, so the fact that it was also a phone and an MP3 player and a GPS device and whatever the heck else the system did was not enough to save it.

Cause it was a games device, just like the PSP.

 

[Ranger REG]

People who want music and video? There are a hundred million reasons why the PSP does not succeed here. It's called Ipod.

I'd rather say multimedia cellphones like Razr.

And that's why the PSP is a novelty item, while the DS has sold 65 million and the Ipod a hundred million.

Sony better get their heads in the game. If they're smart, they come out with a PSP Lite, little smaller, more affordable (because we don't need the "gravy") and is a dedicated, wi-fi handheld game platform.

 

[Felon]

Felon can correct me if I'm wrong, but he wasn't talking about the PSP vs the DS. He was talking more about the PSP vs the iPod/Zune and their kin.

John is absolutely right, and after reading three posts in a row going off on tangents about how it stacks up as a game console, I'm glad he said it. I think I laid out very clearly in my opening post that I was evaluating the PSP as a multimedia device that's got a big screen, low price, wifi internet connectivity, and can play games. I'm saying this is what it can do that an iPod can't. I don't even know what DS stands for, and I'm not really that interested in finding out, unless of course it's an even better multimedia device.

Right, but I did address why it's not very popular as a multimedia device too.

Popularity is one thing. Effectiveness is another. Is it an effective multimedia device?

And of course, again looking at what I said, the reason it's not ideal for audio or video is because that's not it's primary purpose. It's a game machine.

How is that at all a qualitative reason? I am weighing pros and cons. I don't get an ipod because "that's it's primary purpose". I get it because it has features the PSP lacks

When you say your PSP would work for pictures, music and video, but then go on to say you arent doing any of that with it, you make my point for me. If you don't use it for those things, and I dont think most people are, then they dont add much value.

You're trying to make some point about market penetration, which isn't germaine to the topic of how the PSP performs as a multimedia device compared to other such devices. What most people do isn't a compelling agruement for that topic. Maybe they lug around laptops on their trips. Maybe most people make poorly-informed decisions. I hear that betamax was actually superior to VHS.

 

[Felon]

People who want music and video? There are a hundred million reasons why the PSP does not succeed here. It's called Ipod.

This is another non-answer answer.

There are a million reasons why an Ipod is better for multimedia than a PSP? I'm not that high maintenance. I'd settle for two or three.

 

[TwistedBishop]

Popularity is one thing. Effectiveness is another. Is it an effective multimedia device?

I have a PSP and enjoy it, but no, it isn't a very effective multimedia device. All aspects of the system were compromised to cram the others in.

As a music player, it's large and cumbersome. As a movie player, it has a short battery life. As an internet browser, it has the typical handicaps of browsing on such a small screen coupled with the WiFi sapping the battery quickly. As a game player, it again has moderate battery life (~5 hours) and less than perfect controls with only one analog nub (which isn't that great to begin with) and a problematic face button that sits too close to the screen. Even just importing files and managing them on the memory card has always been more trouble than it should be.

All those faults get crammed together and added into generally fragile device, or at least one that gives off that impression, having such a big screen with no protection and so many moving parts.

 

[Arnwyn]

Hmmm... (possible) reasons why the PSP isn't the "de facto" portable media device:

1) Playable formats - poor. It plays mpeg4... kind of... and there have been resolution issues for quite awhile that only might have been fixed now with a recent firmware update. Maybe. It doesn't play most formats "natively" and requires fiddling with on a PC (either through a disc you have to buy from Sony, or some 3rd party programs you have to find out on the net). It's just not user-friendly nor intuitive. [This is the biggie reason, IMO.]

2) Kind of big. Some people might not like the size of it compared to the Ipod. *shrug*

3) Have to purchase storage cards (comparatively expensive Memory Stick storage cards at that) to actually hold your data (as opposed to having a built-in HDD).

4) Competing products. The Ipod has Itunes - a nice website with lots of stuff available all ready to go for your Ipod. Done and done.

5) PSP Price - if #1 above sucks (and it does), then the PSP is too expensive for those who care about portable media and not games.

6) UMD price. Way too expensive for what they are (PSP-only, no special features). They might have been popular if they sold for a quarter of their price ($4.99 or so).

7) Battery life - comparatively short.

Disclaimer:
The above are possible reasons why the PSP isn't the optimal device for portable media - they are not exhaustive, nor may they be entirely accurate as seen by the general population.

You're trying to make some point about market penetration, which isn't germaine to the topic of how the PSP performs as a multimedia device compared to other such devices. What most people do isn't a compelling agruement for that topic. Maybe they lug around laptops on their trips. Maybe most people make poorly-informed decisions. I hear that betamax was actually superior to VHS.

Didn't you ask why the PSP wasn't the "de facto" portable media device? What do you mean by that? Maybe it is. How do you know it isn't? If consumer perception has nothing to do with the equation, then maybe the PSP really is the actual best portable device out there (and the original premise of this entire thread is flawed). Could you explain more clearly what you mean in you OP?

P.S.
What is the current "de facto" portable media device right now, and why?

 

[Vigilance]

This is another non-answer answer.

There are a million reasons why an Ipod is better for multimedia than a PSP? I'm not that high maintenance. I'd settle for two or three.

1. Poor battery life, especially when spinning the disk.
2. Large size. It might be an advantage for gaming or video, but it's way too monstrous to serve as music.
3. Lack of codec support for popular formats.

Good enough?

 

[John Crichton]

What is the current "de facto" portable media device right now, and why?

That's a good question. I don't know but as an owner of many portable devices such as a Razr, laptop, iPod (generation 5.5), PSP and PalmOne LifeDrive I can say that there isn't one that does the Big 4: movies, music, photos & internet perfectly. I'd have to say that the iPod does 1 of them very well (music) and 2 aren't terrible (movies/photos) and is probably the best of the bunch in terms of ease of use and portability.

A quickie breakdown:

Razr

It's phone with a tiny screen that can take and view pictures, play music and movies plus have limited net access. But what it does best is just be a super-small phone. It's nice to have a camera with terrible resolution on hand but the low-res screen makes viewing most media unbearable. Memory size is also a problem. Bottom line: Not a multimedia device.

Laptop

It's a frickin' computer. It does the big 4 and then some. But it's huge, heavy and only portable if you have a desktop and a plug nearby. Bottom line: Not a portable multimedia device.

iPod

Plays music. Nice screen for photo viewing. Screen is too small for extended viewing of movies/TV. No 'net access. Bottom line: Does 3 of the big 4 and is the closest thing to a de facto device out there, IMO. Interface is excellent. Very easy to move media to and from the device.

PSP

Does all of the big 4. Internet is a pain. Photo viewing is nice as are movie/TV watching, especially compared to the rest on this list. Music sounds fine but the thing is too big. Bottom line: If it was smaller and was a little easier to put video on it this machine would be great for mulitmedia. As it stands now, it's a C+/B-.

LifeDrive

A portable computer that fits in your pocket with a 4GB HD. Plays music, movies, views photos and can connect to the 'net via Bluetooth or regular wireless. Picture viewing is nice. Movie viewing is sketchy. Audio is average. Internet works well with pages optimized for the screen. The device is a little heavy and the HD access speed is a problem from time to time. Media playback for music is above average but video playback is lacking. Bottom line: At $400, price and shaky feature set put it just below the PSP as a multimedia device.