Well, the technology comparison is... somewhat interesting. Just judging by how the games look/play like I say the DS is at about N64 type power. The PSP seems like a PS2 with one analog instead of two. I admit that I think the jump between four shades of grey to any colour (like GB to GG or even just to GBC) makes comparisons hard.
The battery limitation issue is also not the same but closer than I think you are giving it credit. One of the more arguable complaints about the PSP is the battery life (5-7 hours). The DS gets about twice that. Now that handhelds have rechargeable batteries it's not the same as having to buy economy size packs of AA batteries but it is still an area that could use improving.
The games are another comparison that begs to be made. The Game Gear had great games but it didn't have a lot of games. The Game Boy had great games and tons of games. The Game Gear had great software aimed at the same demographic as the Sega Genesis. The Game Boy had software that was all over the map (remember the Berlitz city guides? the French translator?) as well as having all the titles that appealed to the NES audience. Anyways, the Game Gear didn't have as much third party support so it didn't have as many titles. The Game Boy did. To me it sounds a little similar.
As far as mod/homebrew goes, the Game Boy and Game Gear didn't have the huge scene and it would be very hard to compare it to today. Both the PSP and DS have large and very active mod/homebrew communities. FWIW the PSP scene largely revolves around hacking the firmware first and foremost. Once you get past the need to hack the PSP's firmware to run homebrew and play PS1 games both handheld scenes have a very comparable level of activity.
Thanks for the provocative thoughts Final-Fan.
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