iPod vs. PSP: Comparing the software capabilities

by Frank Hedley  |  June 12, 2008

Many people have wondered, few have asked, about the outcome of the video iPod release on the market as an indirect competitor for the Sony PSP regarding the video streaming media devices section. It's not as if it's all a big mystery, but we can feel legitimate to question such a competition since the two media devices show striking feature similarities.

Every creation has a purpose. And every thing Apple has made insofar has quite rendered its competitors useless. But fear not, Sony is here. And it was here before Apple entered the stage with the prancing video iPod, and we can all rest assure it will still be here even after the iPod will be going through quite a few generations, so the PSP is not to be easily treated like a "damsel in distress". Nonetheless, the two media devices have yet to demonstrate their powers and why the customers would be choosing one over the other.

Looks & use

First of all, the looks. Apple has won fans so far with its super slick and tender design that always gave its products the advantage of the cool factor. The video iPods like the Nano, Classic and Touch are a tribute to electronic beauty. Their interface is fun and easy to use, consisting of a touchpad (for the iPod Touch) or the Clickwheel for the other iPods which makes scrolling through your playlists a walk in the park literally. Speaking of purpose, the PSP on the other hand, was never meant to be just for music. This is just a consequence of its system. Because of this, the PSP is quite different in style, it weighs more, has a larger screen with enhanced colors in order to support video games and its interface is way more complex, since the PSP is supposed to act as an active device which interacts with its user. Yes, you don't need buttons for movies, but if you want to play FIFA a wheel just won't do the trick.

Tune power

Technically speaking, the iPod will beat the PSP at music formats, since playing music was designed to be its first and foremost purpose. The PSP, on the other hand, is an entertainment media device from the beginning. Altough the iPod supports more audio formats, like MP3, AAC, WAV, AIFF, MP3 VBR, Audibles and other, the PSP supports just a few common used formats, which are enough. But its storage space isn't enough, you have to store your music on the Memory Stick Duo, which is pretty pricy and holds up only to 2GB, as opposed to the built in memory of the iPod of up to 160 GB. So hands down for the iPod. The iTunes software is also a plus for the iPod because it litteraly does everything for the user when it comes to ripping CDs, creating playlists and organizing tunes. The PSP is rather complicated to organize because you have to drag and drop the files into the correct directory and when it comes to ripping CDs and transffering them to the PSP you do have to be a bit computer savvy or search online for a proper converter.

Video & picture quality

There is no fun media entertainment device without pictures, so let's look into this subject a bit. Much like for videos, you could think that the bigger the screen the better but this isn't quite so. When it comes to iPods, you can preview pictures directly form the camera with a certain available device, something that the PSP can't do. With a PSP all you can do is watch pictures from only Sony digital cameras by replacing the Memory Stick Duo, and... that's about it. Sure, they may look better on the PSP screen, but the storage space will just pile up since you can't transfer them. And who cares how big your portable media device screen is when you have a TV output like the iPod?

So if the iPod has a small 2.5 inch screen (3.5 inch for iPod Touch) and nor does it have an external speaker system like the PSP, it did get one thing right and that's the new video addition where you can connect the iPod to a TV set and output the content to the large screen via an adapter. The PSP will require a rather costly, technically challenging, and rather odd looking device that basically captures and redirects the content to the TV screen.

You can not take the TV set with you on trips, so let's give the PSP some credit for it's 16:9 formatted movies, 16 million colors screen and external speaker system that enables different users to watch the same movie whereas with the iPod you would probably have to share someone's waxy ear phone.

Gaming & extras

When it comes to gaming experience the PSP has no match. The iPod has some gaming options, like Solitaire and Brick but for the most part these offerings are quite a joke compared to what can be played on the PSP, Lumines, Need for Speed, Grand Theft Auto, Game Boy Advance, Sega Genesis, Quake, Nintendo games, sports games, and more are all available. Not only is the small screen a limiter, but the iPod’s controller isn’t suitable to playing anything but the simplest of games. The PSP, on the other hand, is a complete portable console gaming system.

When it comes to extra software, the good news is that you can run Linux on an iPod. But this is all. The PSP, on the other hand, has managed to get Windows and Linux running, plus it can run games from about 10 other console systems, surf the Internet with its built-in wireless card, run a web/FTP server, and much more. Overall, iPod has extras that cost money and the PSP has extras that you can download for free. Tough decision, right?

The bottom line is that, from the start, the comparison was rather unfair since the PSP is definitely a gaming console and the iPod is a music player with new video integration. So to choose between such two capable devices is really a matter of your taste in fashion and media, if you're music addicted the iPod is right for you, and if you like gaming experiences you have to have the PSP. But things are not settled yet, since Apple will surely be coming up with new and better iPod versions, and for sure Sony will match up the challenge.

Related articles:

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Portable vs. Home Entertainment / PSP vs. Playstation
Becoming PSP - PlayStation Portable vs. Creative's Zen Portable Media Center
Becoming PSP - PlayStation Portable vs. the Nintendo DS
iPod vs. PSP: Comparing the hardware

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