Full Review

14 September 2007 - Lighter and thinner are the two words used by Sony to promote its new PSP Slim and Lite, but should you be bothered? We get gaming to find out.

It happened to the PlayStation and the PlayStation 2, and so 2 years after the launch of the PSP it is now its turn to go on a diet. Boasting a reduced figure of 33% lighter and a whopping (read unimpressed) 19% smaller the claim is that the new design will give you a new reason to put this in your pocket.

The result? Well you'll be hard pushed to notice to be honest. The new front design of the PSP Slim and Lite is virtually identical to the original as is the large screen and the location of the buttons surrounding it.

Sony haven't managed to pull off the amazing makeover that the Nintendo DS received when it went from standard to Lite here.

So what has changed? Well not much. The main difference is a move to Piano Black plastic rather than a metal backing and the overall build quality in our mind suffers because of it. It might be lighter but we would worry about the longevity.

As we've mentioned the screen is still the same large size and beautiful because of it, as is the console's performance with no improvements in graphics, although they are still leaps ahead of the Nintendo DS.

The unit still sports a Wi-Fi connection for getting online when you're in a wireless hotspot (although the switch has moved to the top rather than the side) and the Memory Stick slot is still, as ever, present for storing images, movies and game saves.

Around the back and the UMD slot is still there although you now open the door by pulling on it rather than having to slide a key.

Basically everything is more refined in a attempt to save space and weight.

Although you can now output video from the PSP to your television there is no cable supplied in the box. Also missing is a soft pouch meaning you'll have to invest in a screen protector if you want to keep that screen scratch-free.

VERDICT
When Nintendo revamped its handheld console, it took it from a kids toy to must-have style gadget for the masses. The size was massively reduced, and the "cool factor" strengthened beyond belief.

Here and the PSP Slim and Lite hasn't really changed that much compared to the previous version. In fact, side by side, and it's more like a tough game of spot the difference.

Has it made the PSP and more appealing than the Nintendo DS? Personally, the sad answer for us, is no it hasn't. Compared to the DS, the screen might be bigger, the graphics might be better, but given the choice of the two, we'd still prefer the DS every time.

More of a losing those pounds put on over Christmas than a brand new you.