Portable Size-Off: How The PSP Go Measures Up

By Michael McWhertor

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The new PSP Go, leaked just before E3 thanks to the June issue of Sony's own Qore, is tiny little thing. Bigger than an iPhone—but not by much—and slimmer than the original PSP.

When placed side-by-side against some of the current portable gaming competition, the PSP Go illustrates just how different it is from its peers and predecessor. The screen ratio looks slightly off from the one that ships with the older PSP model, in addition to being smaller in size—3.8 inches versus the PSP-3000's diagonal size of 4.3 inches.

Whether that means game displays will be stretched (I hope not) or letterboxed remains to be seen.

The PSP Go is also pretty efficient on overall hardware footprint. The LCD screen is 0.3 inches larger than the iPhone, but thanks to the slide-out controls, doesn't have nearly the same amount of extra plastic flanking each side.

The removal of some of the PSP's original buttons (display, sound, volume) go a long way to keeping the look more efficient than earlier models.

Versus the Nintendo DSi and DS Lite, however, we see just how much smaller the device is in its open position compared to its dual-screen competition. Screen-wise, the DSi and PSP Go are closer than ever, as the former got a quarter-inch boost over the DS Lite's screen, with the Go shaving off a half-inch.

Weight-wise, the PSP Go sounds pretty light—approximately 3.8 ounces, if the 43% lighter than the PSP-3000 figure (and our math) is accurate. That makes it lighter than the iPhone (4.7 ounces) and Nintendo DSi (7.5 ounces).

Keep in mind that these PSP Go figures aren't official, so things may be slightly off. But if you need to budget pocket space for the Fall, it might be handy.

looks so sweet.

for some reason , i think it looks sweet now (after i mentioned like a gazillion times it looks fugly)
but im keeping my old psp :]

The size is very important to me

haha pullus, you will succumb to the new psp!
PS: I bet there will be a really nice trade-in program at gamestop for it.

Hmm, I value the larger screen. No PSP Go! for me.

Wait, WTF!? They screwed up the aspect ratio, and made the screen smaller. Who the hell made this thing? They should be fired.

No seriously, that's ridiculous. Now games have to be letterboxed or stretched, and it's a significantly worse portable video player. Wow. Smooth move Sony.

Its not the size that bothers me its the slide

definitely getting this

To be fair NAZ, this is just like the DSI, an answer to the Ipod Touch. They are still keeping the 3000 version, so people who like a bigger screen will a get a  choice.

All I need to know is the battery life before i make up my mind.