Recently, Sony has been having tons of troubles piled on its back. The largest one was that Lithium-ion battery fiasco, followed by PS3's Blu-ray supply problem. Europe market was near write-off. Present money-spinner PSP was also in deep quagmire. Its archenemy, Nintendo DS and DS Lite, gave PSP a big dust cloud.

Battle between PSP and Nintendo DS showed rather a reasonable consequence. As a non-game media player, PSP has a hopeless character input system. Ever tried to type browser URLs on the PSP? Writing a lengthy Kanji essay with your K-tai 10 keys would be far less stressful to your overworked ticker.

Compared to this PSP madness, DS' softkey and stylus input are quite streamlined and efficient, even though these are not full-keyboard level. Far healthier for the new horde of customers, no more-young folks and senior citizens.

What is the best strategy for Sony to prop up the sagging sales of PSP? Of course, more peripherals and more gadgets to attach.

PSPJ-15003 camera unit and its case.

Fist to come is digital camera unit for the PSP, PSPJ-15003 Chotto Shotto ("a little shot"). Included in the package is a graphics editor, Chotto Shotto Editto. Its rhyme has grown a bit too tedious.

PSPJ-1503's camera part has the resolution of 1.3 megapixels. But, somehow, only toy-like 640 x 480 pixels for still pictures (JPEG). Absolutely not for serious photography. For the movie function, 480 x 272 and 30 frames per second (Motion JPEG). 15 seconds of clip can be recorded. Video output can be converted to AVI format so that it can be played back by another PC via Memory Stick. All in all, PSPJ-1503 would be considered as a glorified cheap Web camera.

Price tag is also more than reasonable at 5,000 yen (US$44). Will be available on November 2.

PS-290 GPS receiver unit and its case.	PS-290 on PSP's UBS slot.

Next is another GPS receiver unit, PS-290, to be released on December 7. Already, maps for PSP have been on the market. Japanese de facto map data from Zenrin Co. of Fukuoka.
With the new GPS unit, you will be able to sport a portable navigation gear.

Bundled software include a navigation package and a few silly GPS-compatible games. Both camera and GPS go to mini-USB jack on the top of PSP. It means you can't connect both of them at the same time. Of course, some clever third-party firms will soon solve this problem by patching up a sort of USB bus and its driver software.

PSP showing Zenrin map.

Sony hasn't realized yet, or hasn't said anything. But the most useful peripheral for PSP would be a full USB keyboard! Who will build it, I wonder?

 

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kaisei1
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