770 vs PSP
 

I am new to both devices.....I just found out PSP was wi-fi enabled and figured it was only for games. Comparing the two, what are the pros and cons, i am looking into this more for the web browser and less for video games....head to head how do they compare? thanks!

The most obvious difficulty we face comparing the two is the fact that there is so much we just don't know about the Nokia. Taking everything on face value from specs, the number one issue from my perspective is the lack of a touchscreen on the Sony PSP. As the somewhat happy owner of the PSP, I am quite pleased with the games, the gameplay and the screen. But I tried browsing the web with it and I was ready to go hockey dad in about three minutes. The PSP is really only good for games, watching movies on the go and listening to tunes. The photo viewer is fair, but not great. Yes, there are other things it does, but they require a large investment in time (not to mention a LARGE investment in capital... priced a duo sized memory stick lately?).

One pleasant surprise has been the fast movement in the homebrew community for the PSP. I can't say that I expect the Nokia to sell the same number of units as the PSP, but I do think that the homebrew community is just as dedicated, so I think we'll see lots of good software in a relatively short period of time. Combine that with the fact that the entire device has, in essence, been opened up by Nokia for software modification and third-party apps and we should be up to our armpits in hacks and apps before long.

Right out of the box, the Nokia seems more geared toward your needs since it is being marketed (what little marketing I've seen) as an Internet Appliance. If you want to surf the web, send an email and maybe listen to some streaming content, this sounds like your device. Of course my Pocket PC does this, as well as Palm devices, but I don't think they will do it for the same price. And, I keep coming back to this, the open-source nature of the OS is cause for some excitement. We don't know how it will work out, but the potential is there. Everything from word processors to databases should be available for the Nokia in a short time. The Sony can't say that.

If someone wants a gaming device, they should get a PSP or a Nintendo device. They shine there because that is their raison d'etre. It sounds like you want a multipurpose device... so keep an eye on the Nokia. I hope it lives up to its potential. It will cost you a bit more, or close to the same once you factor in a large memory stick duo, but it sounds like it will fit the bill for you.

So I can pretty much expect apps like calendar and word processing not to come with the device but easily downloaded after the release of the device? and are you familiar with the Sony CLIÉ PEG-UX50, i have been looking at this for a wi-fi interenet device and it has tons of features plus a keyboard, but i dont think its being produced anymore and is really expensive, do you think the 770 lack of a keyboard is a good or bad thing i have never used any mini pc or palm based unit so i have never used no keyboard or a mini keyboard....thoughts?

I'll second Akira's take on the PSP. I've had one since the Japanese laucnh and while it's an awesome unit for gaming, browsing without a touchscreen on a handheld device sucks. Obviously, an on-screen keyboard is nothing compared to a physical keyboard, but it's much better than the current text input solution on the PSP.

Beyond that, I like the resolution better on the 770 for browsing. 480 on the PSP is cetainly better than many PDAs at 320, but 800 on the 770 is even better than VGA PDAs at 640. This really should limit the amount of horizontal scrolling on most web pages which should translate into a more natural desktop/laptop browsing feel.

As Akira pointed out, there are lots of unknowns. We need to see final production models operating to make true judgement calls on the 770. It has promise, but questions like real-world battery life, page loading times, WiFi range, MSRP, etc will ultimately decide its fate. However, I can say from current experience with the PSP that it's not an adequate browsing solution.

Jeff

Nokia is positioning it as an interent appliance, not a PDA. Therefore, PDA functionality may not be great as compared to PDAs even with 3rd party tools on the 770. A device specifically geared to offer PDA functionality is likely to be better configured to maximize such use.

As for browsing on something like the PEG-UX50, see my resolution comments above as it is only 480 across. The keyboard issue is one that will be different for everyone. I've used PDAs with on-screen keyboards for text entry and it's just fine for limited things like web browsing, web searches, quick e-mail replies, SMS, etc. On the upside, developers have already demonstrated bluetooth keybard support with the 770. Such keyboards are usually much better for text entry than compact ones on smartphones, Blackberrys, etc.

Jeff

We really don't know what will ship with the Nokia until it comes out (hopefully while the Halloween candy is still in the house), but according to the specs released from Nokia it will come with:

Web Browser, Flash Player version 6, Email Client, Internet Radio, News Reader, Media players, Image viewer, PDF viewer, File Manager, Search, Calculator, World Clock, Notes, Sketch, Games. A Maemo-based word processor is alread available for download and there are lots of nice screenshots here for software that should be available for the Nokia in the near future.

The UX50 was light-years ahead of its time and it is still a nice device. You'll have a hard time finding one and, if you do, it will be expensive. Add to that the fact that support will be spotty at best and you are better off getting a different device.

You will be able to use a keyboard with the 770. It has already been done and the odds are good that Nokia will market one with the device when it launches or soon afterward. A few searches on Google will reap a lot of information on that. I loved my Stowaway keyboard for my Palm... great for typing and small enough to put in a suit jacket pocket.

one thing i noticed, nokia's screen has a max color of 65k 16 bit while psp is 16.7 mil 24 bit. Although it looks like nokia has more pixels but I wonder if the nokia is as good as playing videos as the psp... since the psp is such a good companion on those rush hour traffic days...

The differences are huge. The 770, well, you can write apps for it, for starters. And it can be a remote display to any X app running anywhere. Oh, it has a touchscreen, and hell, it can display a GUI for a program that runs on a supercomputer, with virtually unlimited storage. Use it to order your lunch from a restaurant, either while you're at the restaurant or while you're at home. You can't do that with a PSP.

There's another difference -- the maker. Nokia embraces the open-source community. And Sony puts malware on its CD's and reprograms the PSP's OS to prevent people from writing programs for it. (Russell Beattie says he has two PSP's -- one with the new OS so he can browse the web and one with the old so he can run apps people have come up with. See any problems with that?)

PSP doesn't have a touch screen, which means it sort of blows as an Internet device.

But then I'm probably not the first person to make that comparison.

psp is ok for web browsing, i DOUBT itll beat the nokia in terms of net, but in video we'll have to wait and see what kind of conversion tools come up when the device ships

No need to wait for the device to ship, people have been ripping DVDs for watching on PocketPCs and Palms for some time now. I use one from www.pocketdvd.ca called DVD Catalyst and it's excellent.

There are three or four others you can chose from or go completely hair-shirt and use command-line tools.

^ oh snap, well i guess your right. you could just use any converter like vituraldub and just set the approiate codec and resolution so that the nokia is capabile of running at 30 fps. So far the results for video are choppy but i'm hoping that will change as the device gets more support.

Check out the wiki page for video encoding:

http://maemo.org/maemowiki/VideoEncoding

damnnnnn well 25 fps isn't bad, it ain't no psp but at least the rest of the device makes up for it .... or NOT

Spinoza had it right
 

My son has a PSP and we messed with it quite a bit in terms of exploring it's capabilities. I was looking for a replacement for my Palm Tungsten C and the PSP was looking promising. The problems (and major distinction from a PDA or 770) with it are threefold:

1) No Bluetooth. This severely limits you in terms of peripherals.
2) No touchscreen (see other posts for why this is debilitating).
3) Closely controlled and sealed software architecture. Sony methodically closes off the hacker entry ports as the hackers find them.

Many PSP owners lament #3 incessantly, just like some 770 owners do about how UMPC's and PDA's are superior to it. One has to consider function: the PSP was designed (and marketed, mind you) as a game and multimedia device. Just because it shows elements of being "like a PDA" does not mean it is one and does not mean that Sony has any obligation whatsoever to provide you with the options to make it one. Likewise the UMPC, which is a PC.

Not to belabor this, but the 770 is sort of "none of the above". It is an Internet Tablet and an excellent one at that. it is also a next generation phone. As such, it's phone roots mean that it has PDA features (contacts, calendar, memos, etc.). Since it is a next generation phone, it also has PC features (simply by necessity).

Many errors, of a truth, consist merely in the application of the wrong names of things--Spinoza

I'm not sure why anybody would think any PDA compares to the 770 as an internet device. I have yet to see any PDA for ANY price that matches the 770's screen and browser display. Everytime I use one to surf, I can't wait to get back to the 770.

This thread's always confused me... what's next, comparing the 770 to an inanimate carbon rod?

I find that the carbon rod's features with respect to eye-poking and knee-bashing are far superior to that of the 770. Shame on Nokia for making it all smooth and providing no sharp corners with which to maim!

Who the hell compares a PSP to a handheld computer?