Does PSP take the shine off next year's Xbox 2 launch?

[Phil]

I've used both the analog joystick on the DC and the odd thumb nimple on old laptops to surf webpages back in the day and I know firsthand what it encompasses. Of course you can get used to it to a certain extent, however the point is that it's tedious and not very intuitive at all. It's a step backwards. I guess you have a different idea of what convenient means...

Heh, no hard feelings. I've used the mouse-sticks ever since found on laptops since I am constantly on the run - some are better, some are worse. Out of experience, the IBM mouse-sticks are the best I've found and most confortable to work with. In fact, even at work when I have an external mouse hooked up, do I rarely use it. I find it just more confortable having my hands near the mouse-stick (-> I lovingly call it 'nipple' ) and the keyboard.

Point aside, I've also used the analog stick on the Dualshock 2 for logging onto Central Network via PS2 and it's a bloody hassle. I take it no one has used PSP's analog stick at this point though, so who knows... it may be closer to a conventional mouse-stick than one might expect. Certainly that would be good enough for me given the advantage of the larger screen at the same time (though the PSP res is still too small for convinient web usage).

Designed for cellphones means the webpages are designed for small low resolution cellphone screens and the navigation is designed for cellphones using a directional pad.

Exactly, which is where I have my doubts about surfing the web on a DS on a even smaller screen. The PSP screen is already far too small for convinient web-usage other than those sites specially designed for cellphones. I can't see the DS surfing on anything other than those specially designed sites - and given that one does surf those sites, seeing that they are already optimized for using a directional pad, I don't see how a stylus could possibly add to the experience (opposed to just tapping the d-pad up/down to get to the desired links). :?

 

[rabidrabbit]

No, the stylus should work so that you can directly tap on a link and it opens, at least that's how it works on SonyEricsson P900 phone that also has a stylus.
The use of stylus is up to the DS's browser, it's not controlled by the web page.

 

[PC-Engine]

Anyone remember trackballs and thumbpads on laptops? Those were the good times.

 

[London Geezer]

Anyone remember trackballs and thumbpads on laptops? Those were the good times.

Can't say i've ever seen trackballs on laptops, but the nipple things were quite irritating....

 

[sytaylor]

Anyone remember trackballs and thumbpads on laptops? Those were the good times.

I had a trackball on one of the first laptops they shunted me with when I started work for BT, and the damn thing wouldnt go lef without going up...

 

[London Geezer]

Anyone remember trackballs and thumbpads on laptops? Those were the good times.

I had a trackball on one of the first laptops they shunted me with when I started work for BT, and the damn thing wouldnt go lef without going up...

Huh? Not getting the dynamics.....

 

[sytaylor]

imagine a mouse that wont move left unless you move it up, only with a tracker ball, for some reason it just didnt register as movement.. v wierd

 

[wco81]

The main advantage of being able to surf on a gaming device is that you can directly download game saves and mods directly. You wouldn't need something like an Action Replay or MaxDrive for the consoles.

Secondarily, these are portable devices and there are enough public Wifi spots. For those of us used to looking up phone numbers or stores on the web, that could be useful on the go. Also price search engines would help you compare prices vs. what you see at retail. Or look up product info., which isn't always available at retail.

How often are you out and you see a URL on a billboard or on some magazine and you intend to check it out when you get home but you forget?

These are possible uses of browsing on the go. Maybe it won't be these handheld gaming machines which provide this functionality at an affordable price and with enough efficiency. Maybe 3G or WiMax will live up to the hype and we'll see persistent connections all the time.

There are people who would have some withdrawl problems if access to the net was cut off, even just in the home. It's not inconceivable that people get hooked on mobile surfing. I think that has way more utility than for instance mobile video.

 

[Phil]

Anyone remember trackballs and thumbpads on laptops? Those were the good times.

..... you too?!

 

[Ty]

I take it no one has used PSP's analog stick at this point though, so who knows... it may be closer to a conventional mouse-stick than one might expect.

Works fine. I'm more concerned about the latest rev of the screen actually.

 

[gleemax]

me imagines browsing the web on a 3" 256 x 192 screen.

Opera can do that (they call it small-screen rendering). It isn't like using a 21″ monitor, but it is good enough to check news and email without going blind. Sub-pixel type rendering (e.g., ClearType) would help a great deal.

A Sony (Ericsson) cellphone was one of the first to use Opera. A real web browser on the PSP would be sweet. I'll keep dreaming.