Hands on - PSPgo Bluetooth remote PSP-N270

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.

It comes with a 2-sided foldout:

page 1

page 2

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.



later
don

PSPgo Bluetooth remote on the way

Alright... finally Play-Asia has shipped my order for the PSPgo Bluetooth remote!

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.

UPDATE: I was looking around the net, and came across this Sony Press Statement that says:

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.


later
don

Television de Portable P2

3 weeks ago I saw this at Play-Asia.com: It's called Television de Portable P2, and it claims to allow PSP-2000 to play GAMES on a non-progressive TV! It was discounted from like $80.00 to $19.90 U.S. (+$9.00 shipping) At that price, I had to bite!

It took almost 3 weeks to ship to Canada... which is slower than I'm used to with Play-Asia (they usually take 2 weeks). In fact, I was starting to get worried... I was ready to fire off an email to them just to make sure everything was ok, but then I got the package this morning.

Most of the text is in Japanese, which I neither speak nor read. I can understand "PSP-2000" though :)

It seems fairly straightforward; there's a composite video, S-Video, L & R audio plugs. So you can choose to use either composite (yellow) video or S-video cable.

Inside the package is very minimal, 2 pamphlets in Japanese (instructions). the Television de Portable P2 has a wire that splits into PSP video hookup & power adapter... those go to this rectangular dongle that looks about the size of a Zippo lighter. Then the wire leads from that to the tv hookups.

On the rectangular dongle, there's an adapter port that takes your PSP adapter. It needs to be plugged in for the device to work. What's nice is that it has the pass-through cable so you can hook your PSP up to the adapter while you're playing through the P2.

One concern is that the PSP adapter plugged into the Television de Portable P2, that little retangular dongle gets *HOT*, very quickly. There's a nice blue LED that shows when the PSP adapter is plugged in, but you don't want to leave it plugged in when you're not using it.

So as to how it works.... you plug in the composite cables, plug the PSP adapter into the Television de Portable P2, and set your PSP-2000 to "progressive" video, and it works.

The Television de Portable P2 cable is about 9 ft long. Comparing the signal & picture quality to my official Sony AV (composite) cables, which I extend using some RCA extenders I bought from the dollar store (cost about $4.00 for 2 of them... yay for Dollar Stores!)

I'm using a 27" CRT TV.

NOTE: You will see some moray pattern effects on the tv screen, this is mostly due to the camera/CRT TV, not necessarily visable in real life.

This is the official AV cables:

This is the Television de Portable P2. Picture quality is a bit more faded:

I booted up my favourite game, Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron. The colour doesn't seem bad, but the loading screen text is blurry, and very hard to read.

(I don't believe that moray pattern in that picture was visible in real life. Keep in mind that some blurriness is due to my camera.)

As with the regular component gameplay, there's a black border around the image, making the actual image quite small in comparision. On my 27" TV, I have to sit pretty close to it to really play any games on my PSP.

The picture quality isn't terrible, but it isn't sharp enough for small details, like small text. I'm assuming that it isn't much better for PSP-3000's composite TV gameplay, as any mention of it by forum posters usually goes like, "Yah my PSP-3000 plays games on my regular tv KTHX BYE" . I could be wrong, it may be a bit sharper but I suspect the limitations of an interlaced, non-HD TV can only show so much with a PSP game signal. Still, it is a bit disappointing. I really wanted gameplay on my regular TV, and it's the feature I was most envious about PSP-3000.... I *almost* bought a core PSP-3000 yesterday, and now I'm kinda glad I didn't. It's probably best to wait to upgrade my TV to an HD, LCD that can possibly zoom the PSP gameplay image so it isn't so small with the borders.

Still, I think Television de Portable P2 is worth it, if you only have a PSP-2000 and really want to play games on your non-HDTV. As far as I know, there aren't any other options out there, other than buying a PSP-3000. So it's cool.

UPDATE: I just tried the S-video output, and the picture was noticibly improved! The smallest text was still difficult to read, but most of the other text was much clearer.

Pros:

• +allows PSP-2000 to play games on a non-HD TV!!!!!
  
  
• +PSP AC adapter pass-through that allows PSP to charge/run on external power while playing Television de Portable P2.
  
  
  
  Cons:
  
  
• -picture quality isn't as good as it should be.
  
  
• -Television de Portable P2 needs to be plugged in to the PSP AC adapter to work, and it gets really hot while it is.
  
  
• -hard to find.
  
  

Overall, I'm pretty darn happy right now with it! Gives me that one feature I really wanted with my PSP, the option to play games on my TV.

I got mine from here:

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-jd-49-en-70-2r0t.html

Thanks for reading! Hope you found this review informative.

later
don

CapDase Alumor metal PSP case review (w./pics)

:::Note: originally posted on the Playstation Underground PSP forum 01-04-2007:::


CapDase Alumor metal PSP (PSP-1000) case:



I got this awhile ago. There's a bunch of pictures of it *here*


The CapDase Alumor metal PSP case comes in 4 parts: a inner silicone/rubber case, an "unbreakable" clear screen protector, and anodized aluminum front & back plates.




The clear screen protector... Capdase claims that it's "unbreakable", and it does look fairly sturdy, but I won't put that claim to the test.

I've heard that it's prone to scratches. Mine looks great, but I haven't subjected the case to rough & tumble use yet.

There are 2 white strips that run across the top & bottom of the protector, they're cushions so that the protector is slightly raised over the PSP screen & not touching it. Nice, it prevents it from pushing dust against the screen & scratching it.



The silicone inner cover - I'm not a fan of silicone covers, they pick up hairs & lint like kaaaa-raaazy.... it's kinda gross. But as part of this case, the inner cover provides some soft support for the outer metal cover.



You slip it on inserting the PSP through the screen or UMD hole, even though it's smaller I find it easier to use the UMD hole, but I took an X-acto knife & cut part of the back of the cover to make it easier to put on/take off. I found it pretty hard to do that without cutting it.




Once it's on, you lay the screen protector over it, the white strips will be hidden by the metal plates.




The metal plates go over everything, leaving a few bits of the silicone exposed: a strip around the sides (makes a nice contrast) and most ports can be accessed: power, wi-fi switch, USB, mem stick door, and there are holes for the speakers (both the "fake" speaker holes at the bottom of the front, & the REAL ones on the side)

The only port that is covered is the IR port, I guess CapDase got tired of waiting for an official use for this feature & gave up on it. But a note to homebrewers who use the IR port, it is covered by the silicone, if that's a concern. If you really wanted to, I suppose you could probably cut a hole out for it.





The buttons along the bottom of the PSP are covered by the silicone, but they are still easy to push.



The anodized aluminum looks & feels really good. Like the new 2nd gen iPod Nanos, only better. But because it's metal, it gets really cold. Picking up the PSP in the morning feels like walking across a cold tile... *brrrrrr*.... at least until it gets warmed by your hands.




The back plate has a stand, which is removable. I tried to remove it but I couldn't do it, I didn't want to force it too much. Note that there aren't any rubber "feet" on the bottom when the PSP is laying on a table, the metal back plate is smooth, so there might be some slippage, but it shouldn't go sliding around.





The stands angle can't be changed too much, but it sits at a nice angle.




Pros:

+Don't have to open or take PSP out of case to use it.

+anodized aluminum offers good protection & is stylish looking.

+not too bulky compared to other cases.

+silicone inner case offers a bit of padding (but I wouldn't want to drop it on the floor)

+screen protector is really nice looking


Cons:

-have to remove the entire back plate just to access the UMD.

-can't see the mem stick or power light, which is bad if your battery is low & it's flashing.

-because it's metal, it does add a bit of weight to the PSP.



later
don

Nintendo DSi - R.I.P. GBA slot

This is the DS Lite model I have, the Crimson/Black DS Lite that came packaged with Brain Age 2. I got mine on the release day in August 2007 from Future Shop which also included a bonus case (it looks nice but doesn't protect the sides so I don't use it anymore) and a bonus game, umm... Monster Trucks or something? It's fun, but I wouldn't buy it on its own.

I'm really liking my DS Lite, the killer app that got me to buy it was Brain Age 2. It's still one of my most played DS games.

So sort of lost in the big announcement of the upcoming release of the DS Lite redesign, the DSi, is that the slot for Game Boy Advance cartridges is now gone. Historically, Nintendo has been very consistent with maintaining backwards compatibility with its systems, up to a point. Sure, with the GameCube switching over to disc-based media, it cut itself off from the previous Nintendo cardridge-based media consoles. And the Game Boy Micro can only play GBA carts, not original Game Boy or Game Boy Color carts.

DSi makes a big step in severing ties to the vast Game Boy Advance cartridge library. A lot of people might think, what's the big deal? New GBA games aren't being released anymore. And with their focus on downloadable content, it looks like Nintendo is going to make GBA games available to download & save on a DSi SD card. So what does it matter? Well..... aside from Nintendo making GBA fans rebuy the games they already own on carts..... there are still reasons why the GBA slot is important, even to the DS.

Even though I own 2 Game Boy Micros, the GBA slot on my DS Lite is still important to me.

The big draw of the DSi for me is the media functions. But really, I *ALREADY* have those media functions like music playback because I have a Play-Yan Micro. I got the Play-Yan Micro for my Game Boy Micro, but it works just fine in my DS Lite (like all GBA carts, it does stick out... in fact it sticks out even in the GBA Micro, so it sticks out EVEN MORE in the DS Lite) It's a pretty good music & video player, plays back content from an SD card. That's all it does, it's very basic but it's nice. There's a good review of the Play-Yan Micro here.






Although, right now my DS Lite's GBA slot is filled with an Ewin Rumble Pack I got from DealXtreme for like $4.20 or so... and shipping was free! It was so cheap, I just had to get it.




I only have 1 DS game that supports rumble, Star Trek: Tactical Assault. The list of rumble supported games seems pretty small. There is at least one other rumble DS game I want, Custom Robo Arena, I've heard reports of it being like $10.00 at Wal-Mart in the U.S.... here in Canada, I can only find it at EB Games for like $40.00! Waaaaay too much. I'm hoping I'll spot it in Wal-Mart or Zellers, places like that for really cheap.



In Japan, they released a paddle controller that plugs into the GBA slot, I heard it's great for games like Space Invaders Extreme & Arkanoid. And even though it doesn't interest me personally, Guitar Hero: On Tour, the DS game relies on a fret-button peripheral that plugs into the GBA slot. That game only came out a few months ago, I think they're even planning a sequel. How do you think Activision feels about the DSi? They're probably biting through wood right now....

Not to mention that playing GBA games on a DS is still pretty fun.




later
don