PSP 3000 - worth upgrading to?

To get the overriding question out of the way, of course PSP 3000 (an unofficial name – its packaging simply refers to it as the Slim & Lite PSP with enhanced screen and built-in microphone, but we don't want to get everyone confused) isn't worth upgrading to if you already own the PSP Slim & Lite (2000) model.

But then you probably already knew that. Sony's latest incarnation of the PSP is nowhere near as big a deal as the upcoming Nintendo DSi – and, in fairness, Sony isn't claiming it to be. It's instead a minor revision to the PSP 2000 hardware, which includes a few things that perhaps the Slim & Lite should have had in the first place: a built-in microphone and the ability to hook it up to and play games on any TV through a special cable via composite connections (as opposed to component-only, as with PSP 2000), for instance.

Sony has however thrown a little Brucey Bonus at the PSP 3000 –something which will make owners of the 2000 model a little bit envious –and that's a new and improved screen.

Screen siren
You know how the PSP's screen is already quite sexy? (Even on the original PSP it was great – wide and bright and the main reason everyone speculated Nintendo's plastic-looking, dual screen curiosity was dead in the water. Oh, how thick we were.) Well, that screen's just got even better.

Admittedly when we first turned our PSP 3000 on, we weren't left blown away and reaching for our shades to shield its brightness. (But then we did quite stupidly decide to make the monochrome echochrome the first game we put in it.) But with the right game – Secret Agent Clank – and a side-by-side comparison against the PSP 2000, you can appreciate the difference.

PSP 3000, like its predecessor, comes with four brightness options that are scrolled through using the PSP's display button (the fourth super-bright, super-battery-sucking level – level 4 – is only selectable when the PSP is plugged into the mains). The dimmest – level 1 – is still probably a bit too dim to play games in anything other than a cave, but the remaining three are beautifully bright and clear.

The PSP 3000's improved contrast ratio (five times sharper than 2000's), broader colour palette and halved pixel response time all amount to a picture which is both deeper and more vibrant than before. Roughly speaking, the 3000's 'level 2' is about comparable to 2000's brightest mains option – the new console's display is brighter running from the battery than its predecessor is from the mains.

Increased brightness and contrast levels are great, but they're not all you get from the PSP 3000's improved screen. It's also more 'anti-glare' than before, which Sony claims makes gaming outside or in bright lighting conditions more bearable.

There's definitely an improvement here – but we'd never had too many problems with glare on the old screen so it's also difficult to say how much of one. Certainly the improved anti-glare combined with the brighter display makes gaming outside easier, but if you have a light source directly above you you're still going to have to angle the screen away from it, obviously.

Battery guzzler?
Of course, the big question now we've revealed the PSP's big old screen is now uber bright is, 'Does that mean the battery life is going to be consumed quicker than Red Bull at a narcoleptic convention?'

If you've been paying attention, you'll know Sony has already assured us the PSP 3000's battery consumption is comparable in performance to the 2000's. So that's four to six hours of gaming on a fully charged battery, depending on your chosen game and how often it requires loading from the UMD drive, as well as the brightness level you're playing at.

This was completely accurate in our test, with the PSP 3000 managing over four hours of Secret Agent Clank on 'level 3' brightness before flashing us the battery symbol.

On the topic of batteries, the new model PSP comes with a new model battery charger. It might not sound like much, but when you're carrying around something that's meant to be portable and need to take the charger too, which comes with an AC adaptor box that's about a third of the size of the console itself and almost as heavy, it is quite a big deal.

The 3000's new charger is more akin to a mobile phone one. But the cable's also a fraction of the length, to the extent that if you're sat in a chair and your plug socket is near the skirting board, you might need to assume a slightly hunched sitting position so it'll stretch. So which one you prefer comes down to a choice between length and bulk.

PSP phone
A PSP phone has been rumoured in the past, but ironically the PSP has sort of evolved into a phone without anyone really noticing. Sort of. Because its new built-in Skype functionality combined with PSP's in-built wi-fi and – now – a microphone, means you've got everything you need to make phone calls with it. From wi-fi hotspots, at least.

PSP 3000's microphone sits on the front of the PSP, beneath the screen (while its speakers are still positioned to the upper left and right of the screen). In our test phone calls (to the Skype test caller because no one wanted to talk to us) the quality of the output through it was perfectly good. The addition of an integrated mic to the PSP is a welcome one since carrying around an external mic or headset was never ideal.

Of course, if a publisher (other than Sony with its SOCOM games) ever actually decides to integrate voice chat or microphone commands into a game, the 3000's microphone will become even more useful.

Other cosmetic differences to the PSP 3000 are all very minor – including the Home button being replaced by one bearing the PlayStation logo (but doing exactly the same job) and a thinner brushed chrome ring around the outside. The edges are meant to have been reshaped a little to make the console more comfortable to hold, but these changes are so subtle they're nothing to write home about. (Even if they weren't subtle, we'd suggest that a letter composed about them and posted to your parents or partner wouldn't be that gratefully received anyway.)

The only other cosmetic difference is that the silver PSP 3000 comes in a matte finish that won't show up fingerprints like the Piano Black gloss finish models. Unfortunately we were only sent a black version (and we're relatively certain of how Sony would have reacted to us asking for a second PSP in silver so we could 'write about the colour') so we can't tell you how much difference between the black matte effect and the other PSP 3000 colours.

TV-tastic
We honestly have no idea how many people actually use the PSP function that allows you to play games through your TV. Personally, we're never had any desire to – since trying out the Slim & Lite component cable, it's sat in a drawer making friends with discarded SCART and composite cables. But for anyone that does, or wants to, PSP 3000 offers that function more completely than before.

Before, the PSP was a bit snooty about what it'd run on, with games only playable through an NTSC component connection, which pretty much ruled out use on a TV that wasn't high-definition.

Now the function works through a cable (bought separately) so you can output audio and visual to pretty much any TV you like. But as Sony did not provide said cable, we'll have to update you on how that function works at a later date.

What's in the box?
On the subject of what the PSP 3000 does and doesn't come with out of the box, the basic package is: PSP 3000 console, charger and battery pack. There's no Memory Stick Duo (needed to save games and downloaded content onto) so if you don't already have one from an old model PSP (or other Sony product such as camera), you might want to look out for a pack which includes one, or just remember to pick up one separately. It doesn't include the mini-USB connector either, which you'll need if you want to transfer content from a PC to your PSP.

What it does come with is firmware v4.20 pre-installed (poor PSP 2000 owners are still only on v4.05). However that's not as exciting as it sounds and merely means you'll automatically have access to features such as Skype, as well as a few extras such as a 'USB Auto-Connect' option, which automatically switches the console into USB mode when connected and a 'Flicker Reduction' option which promises reduce the flicker on screens displaying in an interlace format.

To upgrade or not to upgrade?
Clearly if you're still gaming on the original in-need-of-Weight-Watchers PSP, the PSP 3000 hardware is a worthy upgrade and another polished box of multimedia tricks from Sony. It doesn't offer much to owners of the 2000 model, though. We wish Sony had taken a leaf out of Apple's book of making copious amounts of money, too, and made the 3000 available in a nano-chromatic style rainbow of colours, seeing as it hasn't done much to improve the basic hardware – good distraction tactics.

If you do decide your life isn't complete without one, Play.com lists the PSP 3000 basic pack at £129.99, the same price as the 2000. But there are various other bundles planned, which will possibly incorporate a Memory Stick Duo, Secret Agent Clank and more.

It might not be a reinvention of the hardware – no doubt we'll be waiting for the PSP 2 for that – and as such it's difficult to get too enthusiastic about the PSP 3000. But what is apparent is that with its more vibrant and bright screen, playing games (and, whisper it, watching films) has never looked better on a portable console. We'll just have to get over the fact we would have liked it encased in a neon purple shell.