Future Prediction - Handhelds Part 1

Want to know what the next handhelds from Sony and Nintendo will be like specification wise? In each part of this two post article, I will examine current technological trends, using some basic research and assumption skills to predict the next handheld offering from each respective company.

Will I be on the ball, or fail miserably, you be the judge! Either way, I hope you enjoy these future predictions and when the time comes, be sure to remember how close or far off these posts were! Read on as I analyse and predict each feature of a certain handheld, which will be known as the PlayStation Portable 2 or PSP2 for short.

The name is the easiest part. Just look at the names of Sony's consoles to get the idea. PlayStation Portable is a brand name Sony has invested in and they'll be sure to slap on a two at the end of the name for the next handheld offering.

Size and Shape

The PSP2 will have a similar overall shape to the current PSP Slim & Lite, but will have a bit more depth below the screen and be a bit thicker to fit in all the new technology. Two analog sticks will now be present. It will also be a bit heavier and have different styling, making it look a lot like the PSP1.

Screen

A 4.3inch OLED (organic LED) touch screen will take up most of the front of the handheld. This is the same size as the PSP1 screen. The OLED technology will provide the best possible screen which will put the PSP1's LCD screen to shame. Ability to play in daylight, low power consumption, super thin and superior picture quality will round off the package. Why a touch screen? After the success of the DS, Sony is sure to have learned its lesson and the PSP2 will also function as a PDA by using this feature.

Processor

After investing heavily in the Cell processor for the PS3, Sony will be using a mobile version of the chip for it's PSP2 system. The chip will use 45nm technology to save on battery life and will be clocked at 2.6Ghz.

Graphics

The relationship with Nvidia will continue and Sony will use a custom mobile version of Nvidia's graphics processors to provide the grunt work. It will run at 300mhz.

Graphics capability of games will be comparable to launch PS3 titles, but will be a bit inferior in detail and physics.

Sound

The PSP2 will have standard high quality stereo sound. Music will sound great and games will have even higher quality audio then on the PSP1.

Memory

128mb of main memory. 128mb video memory.

Storage

The PSP2 will come with 8GB space inbuilt via flash memory, but will also support the latest Memory Stick Pro Duo's for extra storage. Games will have the option of being installed on to the drive space or memory stick for faster loading time.

Media

An improved UMD drive with faster reading and seek times using a blue laser to bring storage capacity of one disc up to 6.5gb. Expect perfect quality video and no more limitations on voice acting in games.

This new UMD drive will also be compatible with PSP1 UMD games and movies, but PSP game backward compatibility will be handled via emulation.

Other Hardware Features

The PSP2 will also feature a motion sensor (similar to sixaxis), wireless and bluetooth (with the ability to use it as a controller for PS3) and a USB 3.0 port. It will also have a 3MP camera (no flash).

Operation System Features

The XMB interface will return and access to the PlayStation Network, trophies and online gaming will be available from day one. An Internet Browser just like the PS3 one will be included.

Battery Life

Expect battery life while using games to be around 4-5 hours.

Release Date

The PSP2 will be announced in late 2011 and will be unveiled in 2012 with a December 2012 release date in Japan.

GP2X Wiz Almost Here

The Korean handheld is scheduled to be released in April. Despite the silly name, the Wiz packs a punch in the power department. A 533Mhz 3D flash engine powers the Linux based handheld and should provide homebrew developers with plenty to work with. You can develop your own software for the Wiz and there's an active community supporting the various incarnations of the handheld at GP32x forums.

It also comes with games already preloaded on the system and has various improvements over the first GP2X model, such as an OLED touch screen, 1gb of flash memory storage and Lithium rechargeable battery (no more AA batteries!). While the picture shows two d-pads, the community suggested the company change the right d-pad back to regular buttons and that's how it will contain when it's released.

Don't expect it to compete with the PSP or DS, but as a hobby machine for watching videos and playing retro games with the inevitable emulators and free software, there's plenty of fun to be had! 
More information once it's released.

What I'd like to see in the PSP 4000 model

The PSP 3000 model introduced some new improvements to the existing Slim & Lite (PSP 2000) model, but it took a major step back in the LCD screen department. Reports of ghosting, interlacing and unnatural color reproduction have made the new PSP an unworthy upgrade of the previous Slim & Lite. The screen is very important, since we do spent many hours staring at it. So, here's a wish list for the inevitable future PSP 4000.

Include OLED (Organic LED) screen technology. It puts LCD and Plasma to shame with superior color reproduction, amazing contrast ratios, no dead pixels, no response rate issues and no backlight needed. The OLED screen creates its own light and is reported to be visible even in sunlight. It also uses a lot less power which is a must for handhelds. It's time the PSP makes use of this excellent new technology.

Bluetooth would also be useful for various reasons such as sharing content with a cell phone or connecting to the internet if not within wireless reach.

And of course trophies. Why are there no trophies in PSP games now that the PSP is able to access the PlayStation Network? This should have been included in an update a long time ago.

The final missing piece to the puzzle is AAA games. There's just not enough AAA titles on the PSP, with lackluster support from Sony having put the PSP in its current predicament. Gran Turismo Mobile that was shown before the PSP even launched and still hasn't been released. It's no surprise PSP owners are dissapointed.