So I've paired my PS Vita with my various bluetooth headphones... with mixed results. Generally the PS Vita firmware seems to be a work in progress-- basic functionality is there but everything feels unfinished and maybe subject to revision. Hopefully the bluetooth feature will get some upgrades soon.
I first paired my PS Vita with my Creative D100 bluetooth speakers. The Vita speakers--despite their poor placement, it's way too easy to cover them with your thumbs while holding the Vita-- have fairly good sound quality... but they aren't all that loud (also a common problem of all the iterations of the PSP, as many may remember)
So my Creative D100 bluetooth speakers are great for a volume boost, plus they sound good (though a bit bass-heavy)
It's very easy to pair bluetooth headphone devices with the PS Vita. But I find that whatever bluetooth profile Sony has equipped the Vita with, it's very basic, probably low-power to save battery.
There is a noticeable at least 1 second audio delay with both my Creative D100 speakers and my HeadRush Adrenaline bluetooth headphones. It's a longer delay compared to using my HTC Legend phone (no delay) and my PSPgo (no delay with the D100 speakers, possibly slight delay with the Headrush Adrenaline headphones )
PLAY/PAUSE FF/RW controls on the bluetooth headphones will work on the PS Vita *only* during music playback, and the music has to already be playing-- pressing the PLAY button on your bluetooth headphones won't start the music if the PS Vita is in a music list, for example.
Also, all my other devices, PSPgo, phone, netbook-- use their native volume output PLUS the bluetooth device volume. As I've written, the volume in bluetooth headphones can boost the PSPgo volume quite a bit. But the PS Vita DOES NOT use its own volume when connected to a bluetooth device, if you press the volume buttons on the Vita while in bluetooth mode they don't do anything. It ONLY uses the volume on the bluetooth headphones itself, so that means whatever volume power the bluetooth device pumps out, that's all as high as it goes. Often I have to crank up my bluetooth headphones full volume to get decent sound, whereas with my other devices I use maybe half volume on the bluetooth headphones themselves. That will suck up more power of the bluetooth device, making it provide all the volume all the time.
There is one saving grace: the PSPgo Bluetooth remote PSP-N270. There are 2 modes for that Bluetooth device, regular and a low-latency mode which takes up more power but provides a more stable connection to reduce audio delay. Using the PS Vita with the PSP-N-270 low latency DOES reduce/eliminate the audio delay.
Overall, I hope that a lot of these issues can be fixed via firmware rather than a hardware limitation. I'm not sure.
I picked up the Creative D100 Bluetooth speakers today at Staples for $39.99... it was also that price during a Dell.ca sale a couple months back... I wasn't ready to part with the $$$ back then but when I heard about it being on sale at Staples, I couldn't resist again and took a bite.
CNET has a video overview of it:
The front has the appearance of one "uni-speaker" and in the center is the Bluetooth button, a light (blue when connected, green when not connected) and 2 buttons to control volume.
A closeup of the buttons (sorry for blurry picture)
The back has a hole that could be used as a handle maybe (if you have small hands)... I think it's for the sound quality? There's also an AUX port for wired audio in, but you *can't* increase the volume for that on the speakers, you can only do it from the source device. Also AC adapter port and ON/OFF switch.
No, I didn't peel the plastic off the back yet... yes, I'm one of THOSE types of people.... my Neuros Recorder II+ still has the plastic on it, 3 years later.....
On the bottom there's a panel for 4 AA batteries. The speaker looks like it would be really light & cheap feeling, but it has a surprising sense of weight to it; it's not too heavy, but won't easily tip forward or anything. There are also 4 rubber feet on the bottom for grip.
The sound quality is very good. My favourite earbuds are the Creative EP-610s, so I knew that the sound would be good. The speakers are a nice compact size, not overly small but still easy to lug around especially when using battery power.
I paired it with all 3 of my bluetooth devices: HTC Legend, PSPgo, and Toshiba NB-205 netbook. Initial pairing was easy. The BIG problem is switching between the devices. The manual says that you hold down the CONNECT button for 1 second, the light is supposed to blink then go solid blue, and then you can reconnect to another previously paired device. However, I can NOT get it to blink & go solid blue, thus, it WILL NOT reconnect..... it's very annoying.
I plan to use it mostly with my HTC Legend, so I will try to keep the multiple device use to a minimum. BUT AGAIN... when I disconnect from my HTC Legend and come back to it later, I need to manually go into my BLUETOOTH SETTINGS on my phone, and hit CONNECT. Both of my other Bluetooth headphones connect AUTOMATICALLY with my HTC Legend when I turn on the Bluetooth. So it's not as smooth a process.
UPDATE... after a day of using it, I ended up resetting it to factory default & pairing all my devices with it again. And now it does seem to switch between devices as advertised... just have to give it about 20 seconds to connect. That's one of the problems with Bluetooth-- depite being a "standard", every system seems to have its own quirks: some you have to turn on one first, then the other device-- or vice-versa. Just a matter of understanding the Creative D100's idiosyncrasies...
Pros:
sound quality is good if a little bass-heavy.
Battery life is rated at 25 hours(?) for 4 x AA. If true, that's impressive.
Small & portable though not too small.
Easy to pair devices (if not as easy to switch between them)
Cons:
Power switch is on the back. Would have been easier to access on the front as all the other buttons are there, especially if you have this placed on a recessed shelf.
Front is just fabric "speaker cover material" which feels like it could puncture easily.
No low battery meter.
Casing is a rough matte finish-which is good- but somehow, it STILL manages to be a massive fingerprint magnet! How does that work?
The cons are fairly minor ones, with the power switch placement being my biggest gripe. Also, it could use a proper handle, that would have been nice. But so far this is a pretty sweet Bluetooth speaker if one is looking for that sort of thing.
I really like my PSPgo PSP-N270 Bluetooth headphone remote, it's good quality and compatible with all my BT devices, but it still needs a wired set of headphones. Sure, they don't have to be tethered to the device but they're still tethered to the remote... and they get in the way sometimes. I've been looking for a true wireless BT headphone solution for some time.
I saw the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones[listing at The Source] on sale at The Source... I tried to research them to see if there was any review information out there but all I could find was Marc Saltzmans' Youtube video (which I will post at the end of this review).... apparently The Source has a no-return policy on headphones, so I ended up taking a chance-- plopped down my $39-something (including tax) to try them out and give a review!
What's in the box:
Headphones
proprietary power adapter-to-USB cable
2 sets of rubber in-ear bud thingies
instruction foldout
nylon carrying pouch which feels really gross & smells funny
Product specifications (from the instruction foldout):
Bluetooth V2.1+EDR
Support profiles: Headset, Handsfree, A2DP, AVRCP
Operative range: Class 2, 10 metres (approx. 30 feet)
Battery: 170 mA rechargeable lithium
Talk time: up to 9 hrs
Music time: up to 8 hrs
Standby time: up to 16 days
They have a really small form factor. They fold up nicely, I could see these being very pocketable and in that respect even more convenient than my PSPgo bluetooth remote... I usually clip that to my shirt and wrap the headphone cord around my neck. With these, just take them off & slip them in my pocket.
The yellow stripe separates the 2 parts of the "cup". The outer side has a bit of a soft rubber feel which is comfortable when touching, say, while operating the controls or whatever. The inside of the cup that faces your head is hard plastic, but it doesn't actually touch your ears so it doesn't affect comfort.
I thought the band that connects the ear pieces was just a regular cable, but it's not-- it's a stiff flexible band that pulls the ear pieces toward your head keeping them in your ears. This is the direction of the pressure when it's stretched as if wearing it:
Despite that squeezing, it's fairly comfortable and feels very secure on the head.
As mentioned, the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones come with 2 sets of (medium & large size) rubber in-ear buds that you place over the actual headphone speakers:
They are soft rubber, but they kinda stab into your ear canal... like if you take a single sheet of paper, it's soft & flexible, right? But if you roll it up into a tube and push the end against something, it's quite rigid. That's sort of how the tube part of the buds feel.
Even though the rubber buds do a fairly ok-to-good job of outside noise isolation, for some reason the audio quality through the headphones is not as good.... it is amplified though.
So I've been using these foam covers I got from the Dollar Store years ago, for my PSP-1001(!) headphones.
They feel a lot more comfortable, the audio quality seems a bit better but there is no outside noise isolation.
I like the stylish control buttons, they kinda remind me of the Sony Walkman logo...
The buttons are easy to press, and are very clicky. In fact, they are a bit too clicky-- it's good that they are tactile enough to know you pressed them without being able to see them, but as they're right up against your ears, the clicking of the button presses is quite loud. There's also a lot of travel to them-- as in you have to press down on them quite a bit to register a press-- so you can't just press them with an index finger alone, you need your thumb to pinch the headphone cup when you press a button.
The bluetooth light flashes very infrequently, it seems like every 10 seconds or so. I suppose that's good for those that don't necessarily want to be a big flashing beacon while walking down the street or whatever. The instructions say that when the battery is low, it will flash red once every 15 seconds... once every 15 seconds??? Like who's gonna even notice that?? Not that you can even see the light while wearing them... so it may be difficult to tell when the battery runs out before it's too late.
Hold down the POWER/PLAY/PAUSE button for 4 seconds to turn the headphones on/off. Hold it for 7 seconds to pair the headphones with a device. I've paired them with all 3 of my BT devices: my Toshiba NB-205 netbook, Sony PSPgo, and my HTC Legend Android smartphone.
The right side has a port for a proprietary power adapter-to-USB cable. There's no wall adapter, you can only charge via USB out of the box. I suppose I may need to get a USB wall adapter some time, but for now I'm using my PC to charge it. And don't lose that proprietary cable... or uh-oh!
The power port on the headphones has a flimsy rubber stopper to cover it, but it never seems to stay in. I also think it will break off after a short time. It feels cheap.
Connecting the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones to my devices was fairly easy. I did have a bit of a hiccup when first pairing it to my HTC Legend, which is odd because it's the easiest of my devices to deal with bluetooth headphones-- the PSPgo remote had no trouble pairing with it. But it wasn't a big deal at all and eventually the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones paired with it fine. The only issue I have now is the PLAY/PAUSE button doesn't work with the HTC Legend-- it worked ONCE, but since then it doesn't seem to any more. Odd.
I paired the headphones to my PSPgo, and all the button functions work well with it. Had no problems pairing it. Of course the PLAY/PAUSE and TRACK+/- buttons don't work in SensMe, but I think that's more a problem on the PSPgo end as the other remote has the same issue.
And when I need to re-connect the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones to my PSPgo after using it with another device like my phone, when I connect it it gives me this error:
But it still connects. Go figure. I have similar/worse problems with the PSPgo BT remote after using it with other devices also, so I also chalk it up to another PSPgo BT issue rather than the headphones.
I haven't used the MIC on the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones yet, so I can't comment on the quality of it or the phone functions. In his video, Marc Saltzman says something like "there's a MIC, but these are primarily headphones" which sounds like the MIC is probably nothing to write home about. Still, with it's placement it might be better than the PSPgo remote's MIC.... I haven't used that one either but I can't see it as being very effective. At least this one is close to your face.
So the sound quality of the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones.
Unfortunately, sound quality is mediocre.
They don't sound BAD necessarily, but I've been rocking my Creative EP-630 earbuds on my PSPgo Bluetooth remote, and those sound really good. They are my favourite earbuds, I have 2 pairs of them. Maybe I am spoiled since I rarely use average sounding earbuds anymore.
The audio from the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones is a bit muffled. Yes, bluetooth audio in general is not as good as through regular cables, but I'd say the PSPgo Bluetooth remote audio has better fidelity... but it also have a bit of background hiss, like Sony's Mega-Bass system used to. The HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones don't have any hiss at least. And using foam covers rather than the supplied rubber ear buds slightly improves the audio quality.... but again, at the cost of lack of noise isolation that the rubber buds provide.
The range is advertised as 10 metres, about 30 feet. With my PSPgo, I find that the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones do work at that range (with a some audio cut outs) but with my HTC Legend, the range is much much shorter. I'm not sure why, because my PSPgo remote also has the same range and it's the same with both the PSPgo and the HTC Legend.
I bought the HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones on sale for like $34.99... apparently their regular price is $70.00? $70.00 is way too much for these, but if you're looking for some affordable bluetooth headphones in the under-$50.00 range, there's not much selection in Canada. In the U.S. they seem to have much more choice like from Amazon.com or wherever, but here in Canada I've rarely (maybe never) seen bluetooth headphones for $35.00. Don't expect too much from them, but they're compact, easy to use, fairly comfortable (when using foam covers) and work as advertised.
If you only need one bluetooth headphone device, I might the PSPgo remote over these because it's pretty good and works surprisingly well with other devices like my HTC Legend... though I haven't tried it with an iPhone/iPod touch and can't guarantee it'll work with all devices. But for a budget set of bluetooth headphones, this isn't bad... not that we in Canada have much choice.
Marc Saltzman's HeadRush Adrenaline Bluetooth headphones video overview :
So I've spent the last week or so being tortured by these Jabra Halo bluetooth headphones that I bought. I believe they are the model that I saw in Hong Kong & regretted passing up on.... I got them from Future Shop during a sale.
I like the PSPgo Bluetooth headphone remote, but I really want to be free from wires altogether, and I also want the ease of over-the-head headphones. There are very few of those that are bluetooth, and fewer still that aren't HUGE.
The Jabra Halo bluetooth headphones were at times very nice but other times frustrating as hell. There are some really good things about them, and I really REALLY want to like them. But the problems are just too much.
The good - they are so comfortable.... the outside band is a soft vinyl, while the inside and earphones are a really nice soft velvet. They are fairly stiff, and shaped with the earphones slanting "outward" to try to mimic the ear shape.
They fold up, making them a bit more compact. It's also how they turn off apparently.
The sound is pretty good. It's better than I thought it would be, and it's actually a bit better sound quality than the PSPgo bluetooth remote. The Jabra halo control placement is good, though instead of having touch volume controls, they should have made those tactile buttons; a volume rocker button.
The bad - I had connection problems nearly right away... it paired with my PSPgo fine at first, but none of the controls on the headphones worked. And I kept having to re-pair it every time I turned off & on my PSPgo. So I was thinking, "these are not going to work out... damn I really like them too....." and was determined to return them.
Then yesterday I re-paired them for the upteenth time and adjust the bluetooth profile on the PSPgo first to HSP (mono headset profile)-- that was pretty bad sound quality, but the volume and play/pause buttons finally worked! So then I switched it to AVRCP and the sound quality went back to stereo yet the headphone controls kept working. Success, I hoped. Maybe I'll keep them after all!
But then I kept having problems where the PSPgo and the headphones kept thinking they were paired, but no sound was coming out of them. One time I even got the controls to work, but there was no sound. What the...????
Also all the removing and adding of the Jabra bluetooth profile kept causing my PSPgo to freeze on a "please wait..." screen.
So I've decided that I just can't win this one.... I'll be taking them back tomorrow. Sucks, I really like them & just want them to work. I don't think it's a bad unit, from all the reviews I've read it seems like pairing is a consistant problem, which is odd considering Jabra is all ABOUT bluetooth-- you'd think they'd know how to do it RIGHT.
But that's another sad thing I've noticed about bluetooth... there are NO good bluetooth headphones that stand out in the field. Every model I've come across has poor reviews. I have no idea why bluetooth headphones are so hard to create.
Finally my PSPgo Bluetooth remote-- the PSP-N270-- came in the mail from Play-Asia! I charged it up and have been trying it out today.
It doesn't come with any headphones, which surprised me because I thought they might at least include those white earbuds that are included with the previous PSP remotes. Not that I need any; I'm using my fave earbuds, Creative EP-630, which I find have great sound.
One thing I was not really prepared for was registering or "pairing" it with my PSPgo (and my Toshiba NB205 netbook which also has bluetooth)... I knew that this is a Japanese product and the instructions would be in Japanese, but I honestly thought that there'd be more pictures in the instructions! Preferably using cute anime-style characters, hehe. But there's very little by way of diagrams, so I was left guessing as to how to pair the device to my PSPgo.
If anyone can translate these and give me some tips on pairing multiple devices, please let me know.
I don't have a cellphone and have never really used/set up a bluetooth device before. But it seems that you hold down the POWER button when you start it up, and the flashing blue light turns into a flashing orange light & I believe it's ready to be paired. So then you go into the PSPgo SETTINGS menu and register it under the BLUETOOTH® DEVICE SETTINGS. It was not too difficult.... I was online looking for info about the bluetooth remote when I read that it could be paired with up to 8 devices. So after I paired it with my PSPgo, I then registered it with my NB205. And it worked well enough... but then it lost "pairing" with my PSPgo, so I'm not sure if I'm not doing things right or what. I re-paired it with my PSPgo... it's a shame I can't yet figure out how to use it for both because I have to say, for some reason it sounds really good with my NB205 netbook! The bass comes out much stronger than with the PSPgo. Maybe the NB205 bluetooth transmitter is stronger?
During normal use the PSPgo Bluetooth light stays on steady, while the remote light flashes about every 3 seconds.
As you can see, it's a bit larger than the PSP-1000 & PSP-2000/3000 remotes, but it has a better clip. And it's really light weight.... it's hard to believe there's a battery in this, it's so light.
The (non-removable) clip is good for clipping it to my shirt or a pocket.
Controls are basic, similar to the previous remotes: PLAY/PAUSE, FF, REW, and VOLUME.
There appears to be a microphone on the remote for Skype and maybe cellphone calls if you have a cellphone paired with it?
On the right side there's the POWER and MODE buttons, as well as the mini B USB charging port.
On the left side there's "telephone" button, which I assume is for answering incoming cellphone calls. And also a pinhole RESET button.
The remote comes with a small standard to mini B USB cable, and notice that the standard side has the notches specific to the PSPgo power adapter, meaning that you can charge the remote using the adapter or a PC.
Since this effectively turns the PSPgo adapter into a mini B USB charger, can we charge a PSP-2000/3000 with it using the USB port? Probably... but the PSPgo battery is lower capacity than those PSP models so I'm not sure how effective it would be.
Once it's paired with the PSPgo, as long as you have the BLUETOOTH® CONNECTION set to ON in your SETTINGS menu and the wi-fi switch on, it will usually connect to the remote if the remote is powered on. When it's connected you see the Bluetooth® "B" symbol in the volume bars:
When the PSPgo is connected to the bluetooth remote, the standard audio jack is disabled; plug in headphones to your PSPgo and there's no sound. And if you have BLUETOOTH® CONNECTION set to ON when you connect the PSPgo to your PC or TV using the USB, a warning message pops up that the Bluetooth will be temporarily disabled-- even if you don't have the wi-fi switch on.
So ultimately, how do things sound listening through the PSPgo bluetooth remote? Pretty good, actually. There is some background hiss-- but the earbuds I'm using are very sensitive to sound quality. You can't hear it using the stock PSP earbuds from previous remotes, for example. Even though you control the volume, you're not actually adjusting the volume on the PSPgo-- it's on the remote only. For those who complain that the PSPgo's volume isn't loud enough (a common PSP problem) this remote can boost the volume A *LOT*. You can turn up the PSPgo volume, then turn up the remote volume some more.
The range seems quite good. I think it's listed at about 30 feet, but I found it works even farther. I tested it at about 60 feet between PSPgo and remote... there were some dropouts past that range. At short range it seems fairly solid. I never keep my PSPgo too far away from me, but there are times when I walk into another room leaving it behind while listening through the remote with no problems.
I've always considered the PSP headphones remotes to be an essential accessory for me... I bought my first PSP (PSP-1001) in 2006 as an MP3 player, and the remote lets me put the PSP in my pocket and control basic functions with it clipped to my pocket. Because of the ease of control, it's actually a bit more handy than my dedicated, smaller mp3 player. But the PSP K-series are relatively big & bulky, the PSPgo is nice & small and I hoped that the bluetooth remote would return that convenience & functionality that has been missing from this model of PSP so far.
It comes close, but it's not quite as good as the previous remotes. Yes it controls the same basics, but with the previous remotes I could pause the music, and the PSP would eventually go into SLEEP MODE. Then when I was free to start listening to music again I would press PLAY on the remote and it would wake the PSP up, press PLAY again and it resumes playing where it left off.
The problem with the bluetooth remote is that it can't wake the PSPgo up from SLEEP MODE. So yeah, you use the remote to pause the music and if it's left alone for 10 minutes the PSPgo goes into SLEEP. But if you want to resume, you have to pull the PSPgo out, turn off the HOLD switch, slide it up, make sure that the remote is powered on... it's a lot more unwieldy. The big gain is that there's no cable connected to the PSPgo itself.
But the biggest problem with the Bluetooth remote is that there is a slight delay in sound; noticible when watching video. It's not so bad that it's unwatchable, but there is a very small delay. With music of course there's no problem since there's nothing to compare it to.
Then there's the additional power consumption of having the wi-fi/bluetooth switch on. It does shorten the play time of the PSPgo. The remote's power consumption seems not bad. I turn it off when my PSPgo is off (the remote will also shut off by itself if there's no signal for a period of time) I'd estimate the battery time of the remote to be about 5-6 hours.
And when you use the play/pause or track buttons, there's a BEEP through the remote, I guess to let you know it registered the button press, but it would be nice if I could disable that. There doesn't seem to be a beep when adjusting volume until you reach the maximum volume on the remote.
So this is the evolution of the PSP headphone remote. There are definite drawbacks: not being able to wake the PSPgo from SLEEP MODE is a big one. Shorter battery life for the PSPgo and having to recharge the remote is another.... it's nice that the USB cable fits into the PSPgo adapter, but that means both your PSPgo and the remote are competing for the adapter. It would've been nice if they made it a splitter so both devices could be recharged simultaneously. It's just lucky that a few days before I happened upon an open-box PSPgo adapter at Future Shop for like $4.83 or something.... I thought, "do I really need another adapter?" but at that price, what the heck, y'know? Good thing I got it so now I can charge both devices.
And like I said, there is a bit of a delay in sound, most noticible when scrolling through the XMB or watching video, though it is a very SLIGHT delay.
The big advantages to this new remote is of course not having the PSPgo physically tethered to your ears. And the remote gives you the choice of using your own headphones. Plus it adds volume on top of the PSPgo's regular volume, so that's a boost.
I don't think that bluetooth, or at least this implementation of bluetooth remote, is quite "there" yet as a proper replacement of the previous inline PSP remotes. But it's about the only choice we have for the PSPgo.
It came out on December 24, 2009... what a bizarre release date. One of the first things I did after I came home from China was order it.... Play-Asia is based in Hong Kong; it's ironic that I was in Hong Kong until Dec. 23..... grrrr. Not that Play-Asia has a storefront; I suspect they are purely mail-order only. I doubt I could've found them but maybe I will try if I ever return to Hong Kong (hope so)
So it took about 2 weeks just for the order to ship, and probably another 3 weeks from today for it to arrive.... oh well.
In Hong Kong, I passed by a few Bluetooth headphones.... they were so tempting, but I knew I was gonna buy the official Bluetooth remote so I passed them up. There was a somewhat nice Sony Bluetooth headphone dongle that could have the same functions as this one, but it isn't made for the PSPgo, so I didn't bite on that one. My biggest regret is that I also passed on a Jabra Bluetooth headphone, I think it was this one. I should've gotten it because I think it was only about $85.00 CAD, and the listing on Future Shop/Best Buy has it listed at about twice that price. And I could've used it for my netbook too....
What totally pisses me off about Canada is that there's no end of Bluetooth headSETS. As in, mono speakers for cellphones. But try and find Bluetooth headPHONES as in, listening to music, video, etc. Sheesh. There are very few choices & they're expensive.
It says it's compatible with PSPgo Japan, but I (hope) that it's compatible across all PSPgo models. I'm sure they all use the same Bluetooth standard. In any event, I will do a review once I've had some hands-on time with it. Hope it's not laggy with audio for video playback.
Tokyo, September 24, 2009 - Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) announced today that it will release Bluetooth® Stereo Head-set Receiver and Converter Cable Adaptor for PSP® (PlayStation®Portable)go (PSP-N1000) on December 24, 2009, in Japan, at a recommended retail price of 4,980 yen and 1,980 yen (both including tax), respectively. These peripherals will also become available in North America, Europe/PAL territories and Asian countries and regions beginning January 2010*1.
[bold added by me]
Hmmm. This is the only mention I've come across saying that the Bluetooth remote would be available in North America at all. But it's mid-January 2010 now, and where is it? Still haven't heard any mention of it in this part of the world.
I've groused about the lack of a headphone remote for the PSPgo... it's just very convenient to have basic music controls at your fingertips while the PSP remains tucked away in a pocket (or wherever) Despite the larger size of the PSP, sometimes the headphone remote convenience of having it clipped to my pocket makes it superior to a smaller mp3 player that I have to take the entire thing out of my pocket just to change the volume or pause it.
It looks like it's basically a standard mini-USB port for any PSP accessory that uses that, like the PSP camera or GPS.
That's great, it's awkward looking, suX0rs, etc. blah blah blah.... the rest of the internet can go on about it.
What got MISSED in that news is this thing:
It looks like a PSPgo remote, but with no cable leading back to the PSPgo, it makes me think it's Bluetooth???? If so, that's pretty cool. While the thought of having headphone wires leading to a Bluetooth dongle kinda defeats the idea of Bluetooth, it's still a good idea. You can use whatever headphone/earbuds you want, which you can't if you're buying specific Bluetooth headphones. Hopefully the remote has a clip so it's more like an iPod Shuffle or Sansa Clip, but with the PSPgo safely tucked away.
At this point I don't know if it is Bluetooth for sure, but it would be awesome if it is.
