Which would be a better hand-held for playing music/movies? Here’s a head-to-head feature comparison. Tell me what you think.

Display size

  • iPod : 2.5 inches
  • PSP : 4.3 inches
  • Winner: PSP

Display resolution and color-depth

  • iPod : 320 x 240 x 16
  • PSP : 480 x 272 x 24
  • Winner: PSP

Audio Formats supported

  • iPod : AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Music Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), Apple Lossless, WAV, AIFF
  • PSP : MP3 and Sony’s ATRAC3 plus
  • Winner: iPod

Video Formats supported

  • iPod : H.264 video: up to 768 Kbps, 320 x 240, 30 frames per sec., Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 with AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 Khz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats
    MPEG-4 video: up to 2.5 mbps, 480 x 480, 30 frames per sec., Simple Profile with AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 Khz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats
  • PSP : H.264, MPEG-4 Part 2/3 in .mp4 containers with AAC audio
  • Winner: iPod

Image Formats supported

  • iPod : JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PSD (Mac only) and PNG formats
  • PSP : JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF
  • Winner: iPod

Physical size

  • iPod : 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.43 (inches)
  • PSP : 6.7 x 2.9 x 0.90 (inches)
  • Winner: iPod

Weight

  • iPod : 136 (gms)
  • PSP : 280 (gms)
  • Winner: iPod

Connectivity

  • iPod : USB 1.1/2.0, composite video (with AV cable, sold separately) and audio through headphone jack or line out on the iPod Universal Dock (sold separately)
  • PSP : Wi-Fi(IEEE 802.11b), USB 1.1/2.0
  • Winner: possibly PSP due to Wi-Fi

Storage

  • iPod : 30 GB
  • PSP : NA
  • Winner: iPod

Storage expandability

  • iPod : NA
  • PSP : Memory Stick PRO Duo, 4GB Hard Disk (not yet out), Read-only UMD
  • Winner: PSP

Non-media uses

  • iPod : NA
  • PSP : Is primarily a gaming console. Also, tonnes of home-brew applications provide a wide spectrum of applications. Can even be made to boot up Linux/Windows.
  • Winner: PSP

Cost of content

  • iPod : Music - $0.99 / Videos - $1.99
  • PSP : Movies - $10-$25 / Games - $20-$50
  • Winner: Not sure - Not comparable

Price

  • iPod : $299
  • PSP : $280-300
  • Winner: Both!

Interface

  • iPod : Clickwheel - Very intuitive and easy to use
  • PSP : Standard handheld direction pad and action keys - Semi-intuitive
  • Winner: iPod

Looks

  • iPod : iPod Video
  • PSP : PSP
  • Winner: PSP

4 Comments

  1. vanchi says:

    Good work, but..

    . Ease of usage? (clickwheel deserves to be mentioned as a plus)
    . Price?
    . Availability of games and stuff here, and their affordability? (if you are also comparing non-media uses)
    . Battery life?

    Could you add these too?

  2. sanjiv says:

    Hey max, the feel of pure gaming does not come in a screen as small as the PSP. U’ve got to have atleast 17 inches of screen in ur face. Sony has done a good job in it’s advertising campaign, but a majority of PSP users have been let down by the small screen. If it’s gaming consoles , PSP-2 still scores over XBox. But Xbox-2 is tipped to be better than PSP3 and revolution (affordability also matters).

    Handhelds are not for games with hours of gameplay..That’s been the success factor of Gameboy.

    Gaming on the go won’t catch on as much as music on the go. (Whats the fun in watching a blockbuster movie on a tiny screen also?)

    BTW , nice post… If u can do a shootout on XBox-2 , PSP-3 and Nintendo Revolution I’ll be happy

  3. luke says:

    Whoever Sanjiv is, you are not very clever. PSP-2? PSP3??? Its PS2 and PS3 dear. PSP2 probably won’t come out for a good few years.

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