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.

Sony's PSP Go leaks out before E3, is obviously a go

Look up there, folks. That's the future of Sony's hopes and dreams in the handheld gaming sector. With just hours to go before the company's official E3 2009 press event, it looks like the pieces are all coming together. First a UMD-less game release, then a highly credible mole giving the PSP Go a name, and now -- live action shots. The images here were sourced from an obviously slipped June 2009 Qore video, and aside from giving us a look at the slider-based system (which, let's be honest, looks a ton like the questionably successful mylo), we're also told that it'll tout 16GB of internal memory, built-in Bluetooth and an undisclosed memory slot. If all goes well, it'll ship this Fall for a price to be determined, and it's actually notslated to replace the PSP-3000, as both of 'em will attempt to live on store shelves harmoniously... at least for awhile. Oh, and don't worry -- we'll be on hand in LA to bring you all the impressions we can muster early next week.

[Via PlayStation Forums, thanks Matt and A1]

Update: Video is now after the break! Thanks adizzy615!

Update 2: Official press shots have emerged. [Via Engadget Spanish]

Update 3: A few more official specifications are flowing from the full Qore video (pardon the sync issues). Here's the dirt:

• 3.8-inch display (resolution is undisclosed)
  
• 43 percent lighter than the PSP-3000
• 16GB of Flash storage
• Bluetooth built-in; supports handset tethering and BT headsets
  
• No UMD drive
• Memory Stick Micro slot
• New Gran Turismo, Little Big Planet and new Metal Gear Solid (!) on the way
• Full PlayStation Network support (movie and TV rentals / purchases)
• Integration with PlayStation 3 (works the same as the PSP-3000 does)
• Sony views each of its products as "10-year lifecycle products," so the PSP "needs to live on."

View the gallery here!

First iPhone 3G 2009 Screens Look Very Real To Me

I'm looking at these images from a Hong Kong blog, and they totally look like The Real Thing™ to me. Sure they are blurry, but those applications' user interface definitely screams Apple design. The gallery shows the compass and autofocus in action—which can't be done in current hardware.

These could very well be the first shots of the new iPhone, featuring the new compass in action—which the current iPhone lacks—and video functions, as well as the autofocus in the camera. They look like polished new Apple applications. You can also see how the camera app can change between video and still modes, as well as the autofocus overlay—I wonder if you could change focus with your finger—and MMS screens.

The more I look at these images, the more I'm convinced they are the real deal. The compass and the autofocus are hardware functions which are not supported by the current phone, which explains why these apps are not part of any of the iPhone OS 3.0 betas. As we get closer to WWDC, it seems that some stuff may be starting to leak. We saw potential parts from the next-generation iPhone 3G and what may be a new finish.

And I like the shot of the car's dashboard—which in theory was taken with its new camera

The Seven IMAX Wonders of the World

Far from your local cineplex's marginally enhanced "IMAX Experience," these seven theaters are the best, the biggest, and the craziest thunderdomes IMAX has to offer.

Cinesphere - Toronto, Canada
IMAX is a Canadian company, so it makes sense that their first permanent installation, built in 1971, would be in the New York City of the north, Toronto. The Cinesphere is a 752-seat theater boasting an 86-foot wide, 60-foot tall screen, and built in the shape of a Disney-esque dome. It's located at Ontario Place, an amusement park on the shore of Lake Ontario.

L'Hemisferic - Valencia, Spain
If you've only seen straightforward designs for movie theaters, even a (yawn) sphere, Valencia's L'Hemisferic theater will blow you away. It's constructed in the shape of a giant eye, with the theater in the "pupil," and doubles as Europe's largest planetarium. Designed by Santiago Calatrava, it was completed in 1998 and serves as the centerpiece of Valencia's "City of Arts and Sciences."

Darling Harbour - Sydney, Australia
The 540-seat Darling Harbour IMAX, in one of Sydney's most scenic areas, is the largest IMAX screen in the world at 117.2 feet wide and 96.5 feet high. Its projector requires not one, but two 15,000-watt bulbs, and requires an insane cooling system that "pumps 1,600 cubic metres of air and 36 litres of distilled water through the lamp housing every minute." The sound system is similarly massive: A 15,000-watt digital surround sound system. A note to Aziz Ansari: If you're trying to see Star Trek on a real IMAX, we might suggest a trip to Australia.

Futuroscope - Poitiers, France
Housed in the Parc du Futuroscope, an all-around awesome-sounding French theme park based on multimedia and technology, the Kinescope theater is the only one in the world to house every single type of IMAX: Normal, dome, 3D, dome 3D and flying-carpet-style. The "flying carpet" type screen features a second screen on the floor, giving the sensation of a mushroom tripweightless or floating experience.

The Golden Snail - Jakarta, Indonesia
Possibly the most gorgeous, organic IMAX theater in the world, the Golden Snail Theater (also know as the Keong Emas IMAX) in East Jakarta, Indonesia is meant to resemble the golden apple snail, a national symbol of Indonesia. It was the largest screen in the world from 1985 to 1991, and the 930-seat theater (quite possibly the largest-capacity IMAX theater in the world) is now mostly used for tourist films on the natural beauty of Indonesia. Interestingly, the Golden Snail Theater has never shown a film about the golden apple snail.

Science Museum of Minnesota - Saint Paul, USA
We could have gone with the oppressively garish "Broadway at Myrtle Beach" IMAX for the sole American entry, or even the world's largest IMAX dome (though not the largest screen) in the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. But for us, the Science Museum of Minnesota's crazy convertible dual-screen system takes the cake in the States. It was the pioneer of the convertible screen, which features both a flat screen and a dome that can be rotated to show made-for-domes IMAX movies known as Omnifilms. It also boasts the "largest permanently installed electronic cinema projector in the world," but the massive mechanical structure is what placed this theater on our list: The exterior of the theater actually had to be built around the screen's mechanism!

Prasads IMAX - Hyderabad, India
After the former World's Largest Screen (Adlabs IMAX in Mumbai) was torn down, the Prasads IMAX in Hyderabad stepped up to the plate. Prasads IMAX may not be the largest screen or even the largest dome in the world, but it is the single most popular theater in the world. Its 72-foot high, 95-foot wide screen is accompanied by 635 seats and a 12,000-watt sound system. The Prasads IMAX made its name by being the most attended screen in the world for major blockbusters like the Harry Potter and Spiderman movies.

Alienware's 'Allpowerful' m17x Obliterates Crysis With Dual 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M Graphics Cards

The mystery of the Alienware 'allpowerful' has been pierced a few days before E3—a brand new m17x stuffed with so much power it might just cause cancer: Dual 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M graphics cards and a Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad-Core CPU for starters.







You can also stuff it with up to 8GB of DDR3-1333 RAM, 1TB HDD or 512GB SSD, Blu-ray and all important for gaming, an edge-to-edge 1920x1200 display. It has an Nvidia GeForce 9400M integrated GPU, so you can boost our battery life from 15 seconds to 26.3 seconds when you need to go that extra mile. And ports, ports, ports—the thing is so beastly the USB ports are arranged vertically: 4 USB, eSATA/USB combo, DisplayPort (go Dell) and HDMI.
And yes, it's completely blinged out—lights pour out of it like it just landed on earth after a long trip from a planet populated entirely by a evolved race of disco lights. It's heavy, too—almost 12 pounds—but despite being thicker than a 18-wheeler it's easily the best-looking machine Alienware has put out (at least once you turn off the lights). It starts at $1800, but don't expect to stay that way once you start tricking it out with heavy-duty firepower.