Improved PSP gets even cooler new features

Recently, I showed my Sony PlayStation Portable to my friend, Jeff, who's 38. He never had seen the hand-held game system up close. He gazed in wonder as this 6.7-ounce "toy" played the movie "National Treasure 2" vibrantly on a 4.3-inch screen, then we toured a video game that looks and moves as impressively as any PS 2 game.

I showed him photos of Charisma Carpenter stored on the PSP. We surfed the Web (albeit slowly) using its internal WiFi. But he didn't get a chance to listen to music on it, iPod-style, though it has that capability.

All this, I told him, costs $200. And this new version, the PSP 3000 (released in October), comes with a built-in microphone so you can make Skype phone calls on it. Plus, the 3000's new LCD screen features less glare and much more screen detail than before.

Jeff experienced mild consumer surprise, or what I call PSP Envy. He asked if he could buy my PSP from me. No, of course not.

If this sounds like my love letter to the PSP, it mostly is. The PSP is kind of like the iPhone, but with far superior gaming and video, and no mobile phone service and no touchscreen.

Yet, there's scant pop culture buzz for the PSP, which surprises me constantly. Everyone talks about the Wii, "Rock Band" and the Xbox 360, while parents of little kids know all about Nintendo's hand-held DS.

But the DS -- fun in its own right, offering less detail-illustrative computing power in its touchscreen -- is primarily for kids, while taller game addicts often go for the PSP.

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