Playstation Vita coming in 2012

Ok, now THIS is the Sony I remember. Despite everyone assuming that the PS Vita will be out "here" (North America) in late October 2011, Sony's pushed back their date to 2012. I was skeptical of a release this year from the get-go. I can usually tell when Sony is BSing-- because most of what they say is BS-- and when they kinda mumbled that during E3, I filed that under the "yeah right" category. But I was still hopeful. Oh well.

This is kinda good for people who were on the fence about getting a 3DS. I think the threat of PS Vita's arrival in 2011 caused Nintendo to jump the gun a bit on that massive price drop. Now that Sony's backing away from their overly-aggressive launch window, Nintendo's probably a bit pissed.

If Sony & Nintendo's handhelds last another generation I think we'll see more staggered release dates. I think both companies would love to see new iterations in the middle of each others current handheld lifespans, rather than both starting at the same time.



later
don

Playstation Vita - do I want?

I've been fairly obsessed with the Nintendo 3DS lately, but the Playstation Vita is in the back of my mind... the PSP is my all-time fave gaming/multimedia handheld after all....

But I have to admit, I'm not super SUPER excited over it the way other bloggers & posters seem to be. Sony did say that it was coming this year, and according to 3rd party leaks it may have a UK release date of October 28, 2011?

I've been kind of skeptical that the PS Vita would be out in 2011, but maybe it could happen... so that's got me perked up, that it's within reach this year.

Another thing I can't understand the excitement over is that everyone assumes that it will be super powerful & do everything. These were the EXACT SAME assumptions fans made before the PSP came out, but 2005 was so 100 years ago (give or take 94) Nobody who was around back when the PSP launched is even ALIVE nowadays, right??

Ok, there will be a PS Vita SKU with 3G connectivity. I think they all have wireless B/G/N(?) and there's a capacitive touch screen-- good that it's capacitive-- and touch panel on the back, motion sensors (like the 3DS) and GPS(?)

But we don't know the media playback formats, nor do we know anything about what kind of "apps" there will be. This thing isn't running Android where you can mod it like crazy, nor is it an Apple iOS device with a huge selection already.

So why are people just assuming that it's going to be this multimedia monster when there's no solid official indication to back it up yet?

Then there's the game: well, everyone's excited for an Uncharted game, then there's that Little Deviants where you pinch the front/back touchpads & such, and a few other portable versions of third-party franchises vaguely announced (title only)

So why the excitement? Sure, if you're an Uncharted fan then I guess this is your portable year. But it's like Nintendo pinning all their hopes on Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for the 3DS. It's ONE game, what ELSE is there?

I've made it no secret that I haven't been happy with Sony over the years. Sorry to come off as a hater... like I said, I *love* the PSP, and I'm really looking forward to its successor. I don't know, maybe it will blow away the 3DS. I can tell you I used my PSP(s) way more than my DS Lite (though I do love my DS Lite) because I value multimedia as much as portable gaming, and the PSP fit that niche very well. Maybe the PS Vita will.... but it's whole different ballgame now. This is the era of the Smartphones. They are for different customers but there's clearly a lot of overlap between the user base.

In 2005 the market was shocked to see Sony enter the handheld gaming field with a big splash. In 2011, we have 2 dinosaurs of the videogame industry pumping out slight iterations of past innovations, expecting to charge $40.00+ per cartridge game in a world where pocketable phones with huge processing power can load games on their internal storage that might cost from $0.00 to say, $8.00 or so per game. Aside from the quality and physical buttons argument, the portable gaming industry has changed.

Even though the PS Vita feels like a last kick at the can, I'm still anxious to learn more about it. I'm sure I can see it in my collection, but right now I can't see it being my go-to device the way the PSP was.



later
don

Playstation Vita memory cards

Engadget's posted a pic of the Playstation Vita memory cards.... apparently they come in various flavours from 4GB up to 32GB....

As expected, they are proprietary and not even a previous version of memory stick. How can they be sure you'll be forced to buy a new one if there was a chance you'd have one already? And it's not like they could use some other format--let's say SD-- that is fairly inexpensive & very common... oh wait. They could. they just choose NOT to.

Actually, I suspect this is more than just making us buy a new chip. Maybe there's some sort of hard-wired security measures in the memory cards to allow for purchased downloaded games, but more important to Sony-- anti-firmware modding measures? I may be way off on this, though. Just my guess.

The question for me is whether it's worth it to buy a big memory card. Does Sony expect it to be filled mostly with PSN purchased content? Or will PS Vita have robust media (video) support?



later
don

PSP2 is NGP

Engadget's got a rundown on the NGP here.


Oh man, a lot of news lately. I was glued to Engadget's liveblog at 10:00pm last night & would've posted about it but my netbook battery was low....

So the PSP2 has finally been revealed! And at first look it looks like.... the previous PSP. But a closer look reveals many small differences.

2 SKUs - one with WI-FI only, a 3G model available (All Japanese NGPs will be 3G) - I shudder to think of the 3G purchase price here in Canada.... I'm sure it will only be available with a 3 year contract through Rogers, Bell, or Telus...... *sigh*. So unless you want to pay $2000.00 over 3 years for a NGP, the WI-FI only version will probably be the only viable option (I hope I'm mistaken but I've recently learned too much about the awful cellphone companies here in Canada to be optimistic)



Games will run on "new media" a.k.a cartridges - though I'm sure there'll be download games too (At this time I haven't heard/seen what kinda flash storage NGP will use, memory stick or SD?)



Specs include a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, 5-inch touchscreen OLED display with 960 x 544 resolution, dual analog sticks (not nubs as on the current generation), 3G, WiFi, GPS, a rear-mounted touchpad, the same accelerometer / gyroscope motion sensing as in the PlayStation Move, an electronic compass, and cameras on both the front and back.

rear touchpad:




Price hasn't been announced, but Sony says NGP will be available-- this year??? Awesome!


The bottom of NGP seems to show (yet another) proprietary USB/media port, a headphone jack & maybe a memory stick door?


The top of NGP shows power button & iPhone-style volume buttons. No hold switch??



I have to say, when you look at the comparison photo of the NGPs with the PSP-3000, the NGP looks huge. It's very chunky. I knew that Sony wanted to go bigger with the PSP 2, but it seems like portability is taking a back seat in design.... also the overall design looking exactly like the previous PSP. It just seems to me that Sony Computer Entertainment from the years 2007-present don't have any innovative design staff left. Whoever came up with the original PSP design deserves kudos; it was a slick little package that carried the Sony legacy of high-class electronic products. But since then, all we've seen are recycled designs from that era: the Sony Mylo design recycled as the PSPgo. And now the 2005 PSP design recycled in 2011. Some might see this as a case of "if it ain't broke..." and I might even agree with that to some extent. It's just very conservative.

But overall, the NGP is getting me very excited. We don't know much about it right now, hopefully we'll get a clearer picture of the overall video/media support & more specs soon.

GameSpot video comparing it to a PSPgo:





later
don

E3 2010 big loser - PSP

Man... I can't believe what callous neglect everyone is showing the PSP this E3.

The only announcement seems to be:

"that 70 PSP games will be released "between now and December."

That's it. No details on WHAT most of the games will be (besides Patapon 3).... or anything. 70 games *should* sound awesome. But here's where I think that it goes south in a big way:

• How many of those 70 games are PSP Minis? How many of them are not only PSP Minis, but PORTS of iPhone games or whatnot?
  
  
• How many of those games are movie tie-ins that are put on every console anyway?
  
  
• How many of those games are Japan-exclusive?
  

What if like 50 of the 70 games are PSP Minis or movie tie-ins? That would be a SUCKY 70 games list, wouldn't it?

Sure, we know that God of War: Ghosts of Sparta is in development, and there may be a few other high profile PSP games as well. But the bulk of that 70? PSP minis, or movie tie-ins... or Japanese exclusives that we'll never see here....

Where's the LIST of those "70 PSP games"? The 3DS has a list of upcoming games at least. Don't just announce "there's 70 PSP games coming kthanxbai".

And not getting any announcement of a PSP2..... that just feels like a REALLY BAD sign. You know the end of the movie Se7en where Morgan Freeman's character is all set to retire, but he can't? That's where I feel like that's where the PSP is right now. A dead horse. But I'm not saying that it's not still a good platform-- I use my PSPgo every day (mostly to watch taped TV shows)-- and there's still some joy in the system playing the best PSP games of the past. Just not anything new.

By not announcing a PSP2, Sony is basically saying that they have no idea how to counter Nintendo's handheld strategy. They have no answer to the 3DS. And looking at some of the upcoming games announced for the 3DS, with titles like Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, and Saint's Row it looks like it's going after the PSP audience, like it's saying, "you few PSPers left out there, we hear you and are ready to absorb you into our fold. We know how abandoned you are, so here are a few morsels of games to bring you over from that dead system to our living one."

I have no idea what a PSP 2 should be like... what should it have that would set it apart from an iPhone or DS? Yes, 2 analogue nubs, great graphics, touchscreen, well-rounded media capabilities. But what would position it to succeed more than the PSP? I don't know.

And it looks like Sony has no idea either.


later
don

E3 2010 coming soon

I've been looking forward to the news to come out of this year's E3 for months.... obviously for me, the big bit of news I'm most looking forward to is more info about Nintendo's 3DS.

At this point, nobody knows how it will work, really. But it's scary how LITTLE gaming websites actually know about 3-D in general. Even scarier when tech sites like Engadget also show little/no knowledge of the tech.

I'm certainly no expert, but I have seen the no-glasses-3-D in action, at the Shanghai airport last year. I've also seen the glasses-required-Samsung 3-D-TV on display at Future Shop. People keep comparing all 3-D to the movie Avatar... but if you've actually seen a few sources of 3-D on a smaller scale, you'd realize how idiotic such comparisons are.

Here's how I think the 3-D will look like with the 3DS: imagine the screen being a box, about 1 inch deep. Now imagine the objects in the box-- let's say Mario in a Super Mario Bros. game-- look like paper cutouts, placed at different depths within that 1 inch box. Nothing comes OUT of the screen, just like actors don't leap out of the stage onto your lap while performing a play.

I suspect the 3DS will just make it look like the screen has a bit of depth behind it. It won't be revolutionary, but maybe that will be kind of cool depending on if the developers have enough imagination to make use of it.

I have to admit I can't remember exactly what the images on the "no glasses" 3-D TVs at the Shanghai airport looked like, whether they popped out of the screen or what (I think they did, a bit) but I do distinctly remember that the glasses-required Samsung 3-D TV only had a "inside a box" effect when playing Monsters vs. Aliens.

The other big news *might* be the announcement of PSP2. But it's so iffy that Sony will drop the announcement at E3, it's hard to have my hopes up. I'd like to see it, I think it's PAST time they released a truly next generation version of the PSP, with **TWO ANALOGUE NUBS ALREADY**.....ahem. Sorry, but come on. We all know it should have them. That's the single biggest mistake Sony made with the PSP, and considering all the mistakes they have made, that's saying a lot.

Because of those 2 news items, this E3 is my most anticipated in years. I sure hope they don't disappoint.


later
don

PSP-3000 want

There've been a lot of sales on PSP-3000's the last few weeks in Canada & the U.S.... I came *this close* to buying a PSP-3000 a couple weeks back when Future Shop had the core PSP-3000 on for $149.99. That's only $20.00 off though... and I resisted the temptation & held out until my Television de Portable P2 came in. Glad I did.

Right now Roger Video Rogers Plus has all the PSP bundles, the Star Wars/God of War/Madden/etc. PSP-2000 bundles, *and* the Ratchet & Clank PSP-3000 bundle on sale for $129.99. That seems like a really good deal considering they're bundles, not just core PSPs.

I have to admit, I'm very tempted to get the R&C black PSP-3000 bundle. I already have Ratchet & Clank, but at that price it's worth it for the PSP alone.

But... the same arguments against getting the PSP-3000 still apply for me. I already have 3 PSPs (1 PSP-1001, 2 Star Wars PSP-2001s)... I simply don't need a FOURTH PSP. I should get rid of 1 of my PSP-2000's as it is. And with the Television de Portable, I can finally play games on my non-HD tv using my PSP-2000, but it's probably a bit nicer through the PSP-3000..... still, is that really worth it?

The more pressing concern is that all these sales going on in Canada & the U.S. are shaping up to be fairly clear indicators that a NEW PSP is coming. PSP Go! will probably be announced at E3 in about 1½ week.....

Unlike others with their pie-in-the-sky wishlist thinking that PSP Go! will have touchscreen, slideout, camera, kitchen sink, etc. features added on... I don't think it will have any of that, except built-in memory. And maybe a camera... but I suspect PSP Go! will basically be the "PSP-4000", just a minor upgrade by Sony, for the year 2009.

The main point of PSP Go! seems to be download-only game/media content. I would be VERY surprised if Sony offered a way to transfer UMD games we already own to the PSP Go! without having to re-buy them off the PS Store. Rather, Sony probably sees it as a product for those who don't already own a PSP & only want to buy stuff off the PS Store.

But I don't want to buy content off of the PS Store. If that's about all PSP Go! has to offer, then it just wouldn't be all that useful to me. I do like the idea of a really thin PSP though, and with the lack of a UMD drive, it might be very thin.... if they also made the battery built-in.... So maybe getting a PSP-3000 would be better for me. But then comes the point that I don't need a 4th PSP...... sigh.........



later
don

PSP Go?

GameSpot article: "UMD-less PSP2 due by early November?"


We're starting to hear a timeline for the not-quite-confirmed PSP 2 now... at this point, this is still all just rumour & speculation.

From the article:

The new PSP will apparently, as rumored, be losing its UMD optical drive. Like Apple's wildly popular iPhone, it will reportedly come in two models with 8GB and 16GB of flash memory. It reportedly will not, however, boast the second thumbstick many PSP owners have asked for.

According to 1up's sources, the new PSP will launch in September in Japan with more than 100 "classic and new" digitally distributed titles. Ellis claims that the long-delayed Gran Turismo Mobile "is said to be one of the premier launch titles." Similar launches in Europe and North America will happen in "either late October or early November," according to the report.

Curiously, though, the 1up article went on to say the PSP Go! name was not confirmed, only "likely." It also said the design "could provide an 800x480 pixel touch screen for the system, as well as a camera on the system's backside" like the mylo. (Emphasis added.)

My thoughts on the article:

Third paragraph first: I think those comments in the 3rd paragraph are the most speculative; it reminds me of the touchscreen & camera that was supposed to come with what we now know as the PSP-3000.

Second paragraph: I'm still feeling that the digital PSP library isn't full enough to support a download-only handheld. I can see they're adding to it with all the announcements lately, but still... unless there are a bunch of games to be announced maybe at E3 or something.

And finally, the first paragraph: having built in memory would've been one of the things I'd be most envious of, but 8 & 16Gb don't compare to the 32GB I'm rocking in my PSP right now...I'm so happy to have that much memory. Hell, I'd love 64GB. And no second thumbstick makes me think, "what's the point of having another PSP if you're not going to fix the BIGGEST single problem with the PSP". I've learned to live without a second analogue nub, but seriously.... Sony, just admit it was a FATAL ERROR to not bother to include a second one.... Sony obviously assumed that developers would accept a control change and work extra hard to deliver games that wouldn't need it. And they were so very, very wrong. If anything, we're seeing that devs want all controls to be the same, across all platforms. If the Wii wasn't the insane seller that it is, they'd be happy to ignore it. The only reason they don't is that they can't. Unfortunately, the PSP is not as lucky. Since its sales aren't insanely hot, it CAN be ignored by lazy devs. The only thing that blows a hole in my theory is the DS, which has a different control scheme in the touch & mic... but lots of devs ignore those features I guess, so maybe it fits into my theory alright.... I dunno... to be honest, as much as I like the DS, I really don't know why it sells so well. I personally haven't found that killer-app that makes it such a top seller (though Brain Age 2 is about as close as a DS killer app to me that I have)


Ok, now my thoughts are going off on a tangent. In summery, PSP 2 coming. Maybe.

Dizzy from all the tail chasing......



later
don

PSP in 2009/2010?

::::Just some concept art I found online::::

I dunno. I posted some thoughts about it already, but the rumourangs about a "PSP 2" just aren't going away.

It's a bit sad, because with the announcements of new UMD games and the lilac "Hannah Montana" PSP... which I have to admit I'm liking (the colour) more every day... this good news should have fans feeling the PSP is on a major comeback. But because of these "PSP 2 with no UMD drive" rumours, I can't help but feel like why would I want another PSP if a major redesign is just around the corner... just behind all the Sony suits hiding something behind their backs going, "nothing to see here...."

These rumours aren't just some vague rants or individuals looking for their 15 minutes of fame. Before the PSP-3000 was announced, NOBODY would have thought there'd be another PSP iteration so soon after PSP-2000 came out. It wasn't even a year. Sony themselves should get a big part of the blame for the persistence of these rumours.

I think that "PSP 2" will come out soon, and PSP (2000/3000) will still be in stock, they will share shelf space like what Nintendo plans with the DS/DSi: they said the DS will still be available, and it's $130.00, while the DSi will be $170.00. This is a little more honest than Sony just ignoring that the PSP-2000 is still on the shelves at all, which it is.

I can see Sony spinning this as "if you want to play the UMD PSP library, you can buy a PSP-3000, if you want to all download, buy our PSP 2"... of course you can download games onto a PSP too.

The main thing is that I don't think Sony is ready to release the PSP 2 because it sounds very dependent on having a robust library of downloadable games. Maybe the PS Store in Japan can do it, but I don't think any of the other PS Stores have enough games to properly support a new handheld console. They'd have to have a killer app of some sort, at least one must-have game that would be PSP 2 exclusive.

I've been keeping track of Sony's mp3 player development, and their latest, the Sony X-1000 is supposed to be their answer to the iPod Touch. It has a touch screen, but also tactile buttons.



Traditionally Sony's mp3 players & the PSP have some overlap but never really meet, they stay pretty separate. So it might not be an accurate indication of what's to come for the PSP 2 but maybe...

I'm not exactly sure why people need touch so badly in a PSP. Is it just a sheep mentality: "Ooh, the DS and iPhone use touch and they're really popular, so that's what will save us!"? I don't mind the feature maybe... but why not add accelerometer motion controls while you're at it? Loco Roco with tilt controls?? How awesome would that be?

If Sony does keep the tactile buttons, they'd better add a second analogue nub. That's the top of my list. If the PSP had 2 analogue nubs back in 2005, things would be very different today. Yes there would be more ports, probably a lot more FPS ports. But that momentum would possibly have allowed some more creative games to also be developed for the system.

A big point is storage... I'd like to see some built in flash memory as well as being expandable. It would have to have at least 32GB, which Sony's mp3 players are currently maxing out at, but I think if they wanted to be serious it should have 64GB, if not more. Another indicator of Sony's abandonment of PSP is the lack of a 32GB memory stick being announced. Every February they've been announcing a new memory stick that doubles the capacity of the previous maximum stick. last February we got 16GB, but this Feb... nothing so far.... this could be due to Sony's fear of people using the big sticks for piracy, but it could also be if a PSP 2 is coming, especially a 32GB one, they want that to be a selling point and not compete with it with a regular memory stick. That's a sketchy theory I admit-- hell, a 32GB memory stick could come out in a few weeks for all I know.


Bottom line is I can't shake the feeling that a "PSP 2" or a "download-only PSP" is coming soon. It won't necessarily replace the current PSP right away but it's meant to, eventually. Unless Sony can assure us that things are not going to change, 2009-2010 is looking murky for PSPs future......


But even if that does happen, the PSP will still have a few big-name games lined up for it. Plus there are lots of games in its back-catalogue that are really forgotten treasures. I know I have at least 5 PSP games in my pile that I have to dig into, including God of War: Chains of Olympus. I'm going to try to keep in mind the positive news, that new games are coming for PSP, and that even if a PSP 2 comes out, our PSPs aren't going to just stop working. What I love about the PSP right now will still be there a year from now...



later
don

iPhone: The Killer Handheld? Or Handheld Killer?

I've been thinking about this subject for a long time... originally I was going to title this post Did the iPhone Kill the PSP? Hence the picture... but it's a bigger issue than that: Are download-only games the future of handheld gaming?

There've been rumourangs bouncing back & forth for the last year or so about a new PSP... one of the most persistent details is "no UMD drive-- using only downloaded games".














Looking at all these rumours & gossip, the way they describe this supposed-new-PSP:

• No UMD drive
  
• hard drive or built in (flash) memory
• touch screen

Geez... what does that sound like.....



It's bizarre that these "fanboys" don't even realize they're describing a device that's already been out on the market for the last year now... okay, I understand that if you're a single console owner --let's say you only own a PSP-- you might not pay much attention to what's going on with the DS or iPod or whatever. That's natural.

But handheld tech has changed so much since 2004-2009... really, 2005-2007 showed the most flux I'd say. When the PSP first came out in 2005 (in North America) it was bundled with a 32 MB memory stick. Shortly after, the largest memory stick available was 1 GB... and it was considered an expensive luxury. Nobody would have been predicted that flash memory would drop in price and rise in capacity as quickly as it has.

Because nobody could have predicted that, obviously Sony & Nintendo didn't either. in 2004/2005, handheld gaming looked like console gaming did, that it was cartridge/disc based. Sony's gambit was to expand their handheld to other media stored on memory stick.

Then Apple moved in with the iPhone.

Apple already has the lions share of the mp3 player market with the iPod. Last I heard, Apple was #1, with Sandisk being a *DISTANT* #2. I think that Apple has 90% share of the market. So when they moved into apps... and GAMES... they've got a solid foundation from their iTunes market to fall back on should their apps/games market fail.

But I don't think it has failed. I'm not as knowledable about iPhone/iPod Touch apps/games as I should be, but I think there are TONS of them available, with more on the way. Third parties seem to be tripping over themselves trying to get in on the "goldrush" that is iTunes Apps Store.

iPhone/iPod Touch has proven that people are willing to buy download-only games/moveis/apps. And now Sony & Nintendo are playing catch-up to that idea.

There's all this talk about a "PSP 2 that doesn't take UMDs" surfacing again, and it's starting to sound more & more likely....

People Fanboys are saying, "Well, what about stores being cut out of video games sales??? They'll never support a device that does that." Yeah, because I wonder how many of those stores that sell iPhones/iPod Touch see a SINGLE CENT from music/games/apps bought through iTunes. Yet they're still selling the hardware, aren't they? Again with the coke-bottle Fanboy glasses. Sometimes you have to look beyond just your product to see if ideas are working or not.

I'm thinking that a downloaded-games-only PSP 2 would have a touchscreen, 2 analogue nubs & face button/D-pad configuration in "classic Playstation style". It should have built in memory as well as a memory stick slot. Call it the PSPN-- as in "Network"... basically, it sounds/looks like an iPhone/iPod Touch.... but what Sony would count on is that they're Sony, and that gamers want God of War, Ratchet & Clank, etc... Sony exclusive titles.

I could easily see Sony putting their press spin control into overdrive, saying junk like, "You can still play your UMD games on your old PSPs, and use PSPN for downloaded games you buy from our PS Store!" and they could even throw a few crumbs to old PSP owners by releasing a game or 2 every year for the next couple years. it would be nasty, but it's better than the way Microsoft screwed over treated us Xbox owners when they said, "We're not developing for Xbox, we're only doing 360 stuff. But if you third party devs still want to, it's your funer--err, we mean, go right ahead."


The DS isn't immune to the "download threat" either.

Sure, it has the cameras & music playback, but I'm pretty convinced that the DSi is Nintendo's way of covering their ass in case downloaded games does take off in a big way. That's the main reason for it I think.



But I'm not sure the DSi is equipped to stand the test of time if the handheld market does shift to download-only. I'm not sure what the limits are for its SD card capacity..... again, I'm sure Nintendo is relying on them being Nintendo to combat Apple/anyone else.: "Where else you gonna get the next Mario game??"

The biggest problem with DSi's download capability as far as I can see is that you need not just an internet connection, but Wi-Fi to use it. I don't think you can download DSiWare games to an SD card plugged in your PC's card reader. That's frustrating.

But if you want the big first-party Sony & Nintendo franchises, you have to buy their systems. I think we're seeing iPhone/iPod Touch games as knockoffs of some of those big franchise games. They coould be amusing knockoffs, but they are not the "real" thing. Another factor to consider is the price for these iPhone/iPod Touch games. Seems like a lot of the games are really cheap, like $5.00 & under. Does anyone expect a Mario game to ever be that cheap? or a big Sony game? Doubtful.

I think Apple is ahead of the game in the handheld market because they have the download service (iTunes) and the hardware (iPhone/iPod Touch) while Nintendo & Sony are playing catch-up... both are going at a snails pace with their online stores.

I'm no advocate for download-only content... I've talked about my probs with PS Store, and I'm a big hater of DRM. I just find that in real-world use, it's more about breaking your legally-bought content than protecting against piracy. So this possible shift to download-only makes me nervous.

I've been thinking about getting an iPod Touch for awhile... sure glad I didn't get one last gen, since they added the volume rocker this gen... that would've pissed me off, it's something I really demand in a media player. But the main reason I'm hesitant about iPod is the same reason I chose a PSP over one in 2006: iTunes dependence, and DRM. DRM may be disappearing from iTunes, but it's the overall "you have to do everything through our software" policy that really bothers me. I like PSP's drag & drop. Plus I'm not sure that all my PSP Video 9 encoded video files would play on an iPod Touch. I have all this video that's PSP-format, and I need something that would play all that.

Still, if those things are compatible, I might just go for it. Is iPod Touch the handheld for the future?




later
don