A. Introduction:
I've been an Apple user since 1994. I prefer MacOS X to Windows, and Mac hardware to various other x86 vendors such as Dell, HP or Gateway. Having said this, I generally poo-pooed some of Apple's products, like the iPod, for quite some time just because I did not have any need for them, not to mention that my original MP3 player experience was that of the SD-switching train-wrecks of 1998 (remember those 32MB RIO players? *shudder* ). I did get a 4G iPod though when it came out because I was on the road a lot and my car only has a cassette player, so it was a good investment as that time.

Similarly, I have abstained from getting any sort of game console for a very long time. Old ones go away, new ones come out, the old media is no longer useful, so I poo-pooed that too. I did break down recently and bought a used PSP, now that hopefully I will have some time for R&R to play a game or two that I've been meaning to play for a long time, but just aren't available to PowerPC based macs (I own a PowerBook G4).

I've been reading about rumors of the fabled video iPod for quite sometime. The mockups are interesting, but I must say that I am fairly uninterested at the prospect of video playback on the iPod for simply one reason - I certainly don't have need for it. This is the way I felt about the 1G, 2G and 3G iPods, things change, so needless to say that nothing is absolute. Having played for a few weeks with my new PSP, I started drawing lines between the PSP and this fabled video iPod. Here are my thoughts....


B. The Comparison:
To get an idea of what would be better, the current PSP or the mythical video iPod, I've examined several areas that both current generation iPods and current generation PSPs have in common. I've also thrown in some of the wild and completely unsubstantiated specs that the fabled "6G video iPod" is supposedly going to have.

1. Both have games
All right! This should not even be a category for comparison, but I threw it in here just for kicks. My 4G (black and white screen) iPod has a few games, and with the introduction of the 5G iPod games have become more main stream for the iPod line. More developers are bringing games to the iPod, addicting games such as Bejewelled.

While this might be the case, the PSP was built from scratch to be a game machine, and to this extent the games that the PSP offers is not comparable to the games that are currently on the iPod, and it won't compare to the games on the "6G" video iPod. With the rumors of the touch-screen looming, it might be the case that the 6G iPod comes with a stylus, which will allow for more interesting games, similar to games we see on Windows Mobile and Symbian devices. Despite this, the PSP still kicks the pants off both current generation and the mythical video iPod.

Winner: PSP


2. Both have videos
OK - so this is the main battlefront, at least for this comparison. The PSP appears to have the obvious advantage compared to current generation iPods. It has a widescreen, something current iPods lack. When looking at size of current iPods, if you flip them over and make the entire surface area into a screen, then the physical size of the screen is about the same same in both PSP and the 6G iPod. So what remains? Screen resolution and codec support come to mind!

In terms of codecs supported we've got:
iPod Codecs: Quicktime MOV, H.264, MPEG4
PSP Codecs: H.264, MPEG4, WMV


in terms of resolutions we've got:
iPod max resolution:
1. 640 * 480 (307,200 pixels) - current iPod
2. 4:3 ratio for videos preferred
3. 65,000 colors

PSP max resolution:
1. 480 * 272 (130,560 pixels)
2. 16:9 ratio
3. 16.7 million colors

When comparing both devices, the PSP wins over the iPod. The screen is widescreen and has the ability to show more colors, compared to current day iPods. While current iPods have more effective pixels, most movies come in widescreen, so you end up seeing more on a PSP than an iPod. Even television shows now come in widescreen, so the PSP really, in my opinion, wins out over the iPod.

In terms of codec support, I must say that I was not really surprised that the support was split among "party lines" H.264 on both devices, and the iPod supports quicktime and the PSP Windows Media - what a surprise! I have seen many utilities for both devices that transcode video (but you need to buy the software) and you can't really use mass storage mode to transfer your videos directly to the device.

The 6G iPod looks like it will have widescreen support, so the PSP and the iPod will be equals. So the battleground will be resolution, brightness, and ease of getting your video onto it. The future is uncertain, but if we just take today's iPod, with the same amounts of color, but we just change the resolution to 16:9 - the PSP still wins, slightly edging it out.

Winner: The PSP (only by a little) - Both devices stink due to their need to "convert" video to be PSP (or iPod) safe.


3. Both have music
While both the PSP and the iPod can play music (Heck, Music is the reason the iPod was invented and marketed!), it would be odd to have someone go jogging with their PSP - it would look downright ridiculous! The PSP is also larger than the iPod making it a pain to just throw in a pocket and be on the go. Assuming that the 6G iPod will be the same size as current 5.5G iPods it is clear who the winner in terms of size is the iPod

The PSP also has a lot of moving parts, which does not make it an ideal all-situation music player and it does not have any on-board memory at all. This is a serious disadvantage to the iPod line considering that you need to shuffle (pun intended) memory sticks in and out of your PSP.

Current memory stick capacities max out at 2GB and their prices are anywhere between $100 to $150 for that capacity. Comparatively an Video iPod is cheaper when comparing price per GB of storage space.
Side note: it is worth noting that one can find 2GB memory sticks that are cheaper than a 1GB iPod shuffle, so costs are really subjective.

The winner in the music category: iPod


4. Networked Media PSP (Location free, RSS, Web)
The PSP has one more advantage over the iPod.
Since the PSP has built-in WiFi, you can browse the net, read your RSS, and view or listen to location free broadcasts! I know that there are utilities for current generation iPods to sync such services, but this is so 90's! It reminds me of AvantGo in the days before wireless PDAs. While this is useful, it is not something that is built-in to iTunes (the de-facto and probably only manager for your iPod), which means you need to spend some more money to get this software.

There are rumors that the 6G iPods will have WiFi. I choose to accept those rumors due to the existence of Apple's "iTV", and seeing how Apple has video sharing mac-to-mac, and now previewed mac-to-tv video/audio sharing, it does stand to reason that mac-to-iPod sharing is not outside of the realm of possibility! There is still something left to be seen: can you view your videos (or listen to your music) while on the road like Sling and LocationFree?

Using current technology: PSP kicks the butt of the current iPods

Using assumed 6G technology: it's a toss up. As a mac-user I do not have LocationFree, It is only available on Windows and the PSP, so a 6G iPod would be more beneficial to me. If I were a Windows user, then in terms of networking the PSP would appear to be a better deal, provided that the 6G iPod has the option to have RSS and Web on it and you would be able to update those channels when you have an available connection versus doing it AvantGo style.

C. The Shortcomings of the PSP:

1. UMD is not universal
Despite its name, the Universal Media Disc is not universal.
First of all it suffers from Region Coding which I absolutely hate. I don't care where I buy my game or UMD movie - I want to play it on my PSP because I bought it - fair and square! I think this ridiculousness of region coding must stop. I would mod my PSP, but me and soldering/taking apart/putting back together - well that is just a bad combination and I think average Joe Bloggs is in the same boat.

Secondly, just like the Minidisc format (which I firmly believe that the UMD is the evolution of the minidisc), Sony is stifling its growth! Why did the Zip disc format become so prominent in the past? Why did CD-Rs grow? You could buy a drive from several manufacturers (at least with CD-Rs - I am not completely sure about iomega) , you could get the media, you could plug it into your mac or windows machine and backup your data.

Since UMD music, and UMD videos and UMD photos are all possibilities, why not figure out a way to market UMD-RWs for the broader market? UMDs can store up to 1.8GB, if you make them UMD-R or even UMD-RW you can have a pretty good market to sustain the sale of their UMD-RW drives and UMD-R/RW media and to some extent this may invigorate sales of their PSP platform. Hopefully in the future 2x or 4x (or higher) RW UMD devices will be available making them even more appealing to the general public.


2. No built-in memory
Second to the UMD issue we have the lack of internal memory. What makes the iPod great (although some would argue weak), is the fact that it does have internal storage capacity. You do not have to rely on shuffling memory sticks! While it is nice to have some add-on expansion (you know - just in case you need it), there is something to be said about having it built in. It allows you to not only be able to save your games on board, but it also allows for sync services to be more effective. You can sync your music, photos, podcasts, vidcasts and videos (you know - all the things you now do with your iPods or other DAP).

I know that some people prefer to use mass storage mode to add and remove content from their devices, which I believe is currently the best way to do things on the PSP, but there are people who like to use management software, like iTunes, to manage their media collections. Built-in memory not only allows for storage but it also opens up the door for the possibility of hooks to the Addressbook, Calendar, iTunes, Windows Media, Real player collections on your computer (be it Mac or PC). Sadly, with memory stick shuffling the only way to work add media appears to be Mass Storage Mode.


3. No TV out
I don't know why the PSP does not have a TV out! The 5G iPod have a video connector so you can play back your media on your TV. Why would anyone want to buy a UMD movie when they already own the video on DVD and they can play it back on more devices (even the PSP!). What you should do is make the PSP connectable to a TV so that people can use the device as the media device that it is hyped to be. Sony could have used this opportunity to say "we're better than the iPod (or other PMP), we've got style but we do more", Granted you can't take your PSP out for a jog, but this strategy could have made the PSP more desirable and the UMD better marketable. By the way - weird contraptions over the PSP display made by third party manufacturers do not count as TV-out.


4. Lack of Complementary service: No online Sony Video Store!
Considering the built-in WiFi that the PSP has, it is sort of perplexing why Sony has neither created their own video store (after all the PSP was out before the 5G iPods that supported video), nor have they partnered up to either sync the PSP with content from other providers or directly download content to the device itself. It seems to me that this was an incredible opportunity that was lost.

Speaking of complementary services, Nintendo is going to be making their older catalog of games available for download. This seems like a good chance for Sony to come out with this feature first! I know that there are rumors of PS1 games being brought over to the PSP, but an OTA on your PSP (or download-to-PC and then transfer to Memory Stick) could be a profitable cash cow for Sony.


5. Lack of add-on capability to firmware.
Sony has a "Sony Knows Best" attitude when it comes to their devices. To be fair, Apple also has the same attitude regarding their devices, so it is hard to completely fault them. There are errors in this line of thinking though.

There are companies out there like Apple with iTunes and Sling with their Sling player that offer (or will offer soon enough) features that are similar to Sony's LocationFree service. Having a PSP that cannot access those services make the PSP less versatile.

Sling has a product which is getting good reviews, and they are supporting many operating systems: MacOS, Windows, Symbian, Palm and Windows Mobile. Given that the PSP has built-in wireless why shouldn't you be able to view your sling media when you are on the go? Granted it is 802.11b, but if an update comes out for the PSP, they might shoehorn in a pre-n or n spec.

Additionally, with Apple coming out with "iTV" in Q1 2007 and Sony's PSP interface looking as elegant as Apple's Front Row, it would behoove anyone to not have some sort of collaboration between Apple and Sony to get Apple's Media Streaming available on the Sony PSP. Of course companies don't always look to do what is convenient for the customer, their modus operandi is to make more profit, and in this case it means selling more devices.

It would be a great opportunity for Sony to be able to stream media from Apple computers, in addition to Sling and LocationFree Media.

These are just two examples of software that could be available on the PSP which would increase its value to the consumer. For more examples people need not look any further than the homebrew community which is quite active for the PSP.


D. Conclusion:
The whole fascination (or fetish if you will) over the video iPod has been to have portable video platform designed and executed by Apple. You do not need a 6g Video iPod to enjoy videos on the go.

Portable video has existed before Apple just like MP3 players existed before Apple came into the scene. Apple just created a renaissance for the MP3 player market with stylish players, with better UIs, with higher capacity and easier file transfer ability. This is the reason most people are looking toward Apple for this fabled device.

Apple will most likely come out with a video iPod of a sort in the future, the actual timing of this release being a mystery to all of us without non-disclosure agreements, but I really doubt that it will come out in a few months (of course Christmas season is almost here and "iTV" was pre-announced, so you never know.)

Sony had an opportunity to surpass the iPod as a PMP device. After all they are arrogant enough to ask for more money for the unit more than other portable game consoles, such as the Nintendo DS, because they claim that it is not just a game console, it is a multimedia experience. Sony has the opportunity to come out with a PSP 2.0 of a sort to become that true multimedia experience.

Currently I think that Sony really has the leg-up on Apple regarding portable video, despite the fact that you need to put your videos on a memory stick (something I hated with the original MP3 players!). In addition, Sony also has a very nice and clean User Interface which gives the PSP a great advantage over other PMPs which sport a NeXTSTEP-eque navigation mechanism (sort of like the iPod).

If however Apple does release a device like the video iPod (with WiFi + streaming media capability) they have the potential to make it big, leaving the PSP in the dust, no longer being able to claim the superiority of their multimedia experience that they have been claiming all this time. I think that if a 6G iPod gets released (in the form of the video iPod), the PSP in its current incarnation does not stand a chance in the video arena - but that is an opinion column for another day...