Portable Size-Off: How The PSP Go Measures Up

The new PSP Go, leaked just before E3 thanks to the June issue of Sony's own Qore, is tiny little thing. Bigger than an iPhone—but not by much—and slimmer than the original PSP.

When placed side-by-side against some of the current portable gaming competition, the PSP Go illustrates just how different it is from its peers and predecessor. The screen ratio looks similar to older PSP models, but is considerably smaller in size—3.8 inches versus the PSP-3000's diagonal size of 4.3 inches or 11% smaller.

On par with than Sony's other slide-out device, the Mylo 2, from which the PSP Go looks to have borrowed some of its design choices.

The PSP Go is also pretty efficient on overall hardware footprint. The LCD screen is 0.3 inches larger than the iPhone, but thanks to the slide-out controls, doesn't have nearly the same amount of extra plastic flanking each side.

The removal of some of the PSP's original buttons (display, sound, volume) go a long way to keeping the look more efficient than earlier models.

Versus the Nintendo DSi and DS Lite, however, we see just how much smaller the device is in its open position compared to its dual-screen competition. Screen-wise, the DSi and PSP Go are closer than ever, as the former got a quarter-inch boost over the DS Lite's screen, with the Go shaving off a half-inch.

Weight-wise, the PSP Go sounds pretty light—approximately 3.8 ounces, if the 43% lighter than the PSP-3000 figure (and our math) is accurate. That makes it lighter than the iPhone (4.7 ounces) and Nintendo DSi (7.5 ounces).

Keep in mind that these PSP Go figures aren't official, so things may be slightly off. But if you need to budget pocket space for the Fall, it might be handy.