Sneak peek at the PSP

Auction looses a few systems into the world ahead of schedule; one lands in our capable hands.

The official Japanese launch for Sony's PlayStation Portable is still a week away, but we got a hold of a retail unit--the value pack--today through a prerelease auction being conducted by Sony itself. While we haven't gotten hold of any games yet, Sony's versatile portable unit does a lot more than just play games, so we've started putting the anticipated portable system through its paces with an included demo disc full of media (highlights from which you can see on our "all updates" page).

The first impression that we've got from actually holding a PSP outside of the dimly lit showrooms where we've previously seen it was that the handheld is slick and well-designed. The most unique thing about the PSP's body design is that there are no separations between the plastic panel used on the LCD screen and the rest of the handheld's front surface. That is, the PSP's front surface is simply one huge plastic panel--the screen cover is transparent and the rest of the area is black. Complimenting the PSP's front surface are its buttons, which are actually transparent if you take a look at them from the side of the handheld.

Screenshot: >> Click here