This PSP is nice for newcomers, but not necessary for PSP veterans.

Author's Rating:

Pros: Good build. Good design. Great tactile buttons. Smaller size makes portable media more feasible.

Cons: Weak game library. Can't borrow or buy used games. No UMD compensation offered. Average battery.

The Bottom Line: 
Worth a look if you're a newcomer looking for a better portable media experience and some gaming. For prior owners, this potential upgrade is probably left avoided.

Author's Review
After thoroughly playing around with the PSP go, many of you might be wondering whether or not this system is worth its $250 pricetag.

In some regards, it is. Most notably if you own no prior PSP system, or lack any mobile media playing device, the the PSP Go could intrigue you. However, if you already own a PSP-1000, PSP-2000, and most especially a PSP-3000, the Go is most likely worth passing on until a true PSP2 is released.

I'm going to try to approach this review to help you if you're a newcomer or a prior owner looking for an upgrade, so I'll list my observations about the unit, as well as comparative details to previous models.

Obviously I don't need to state some of the most obvious features of the Go, [16-GB memory, no UMD, sliding screen, etc.] So to state some of the less obvious things you can't tell from pictures...

CONSTRUCTION:
Compared to the PSP-2000 and 3000, the PSP Go is certainly better constructed. It feels rather solid, yet lightweight for its size. Compared to the PSP-2000, which feels flimsy and hollow in areas. The rear of the Go is glossy plastic like the 2000 and 3000, which isn't as much to my personal liking [I preferred the fingerprint-proof matte PSP-1000 backing,] but they were nice enough to include two curved grips on the back which do help keep it from flying out of your hands. It's nice to see Sony using metal for some of the case components for extra rigidity [such as the backing of the screen when it's slid open. It also gave them a good place to hide the product model sticker, keeping the overall aesthetic of the device very clean looking when closed.] The screen itself feels like it has a bit of a stronger covering on it than previous models, but don't expect it to be as invincible as an iPhone or iPod Touch screen. The plastic on the front face itself seems about the same as used on 2000 and 3000 models.

As a whole, though, I would rate the overall construction as a step up. If you're a newcomer, you will like what you feel.

USING THE GO:
The overall feel of using the PSP go is very similar to using the GameBoy Advance SP. The buttons on the Go have that incredibly responsive "clicky" feel that the GameBoy SP and original DS Fat had. I personally see this as a major plus. It makes the buttons much more tactile, especially for their small size. Doing actions that require rapidly pressing a button are MUCH easier now since the button has to travel a far less distance to activate. The shoulder buttons are raised now, compared to the previous PSP's shoulder buttons which followed the contour of the device's edge. These too, are more clicky than before, which may make hitting both at the same time an easier task. The new positions for the volume, brightness/EQ buttons I think is better as well. If I need to change the volume, I don't have to take my thumb off the face buttons -- I can just slide my finger over from the shoulder buttons to press + or -. On the previous PSP's, I would have had to use my thumb for that.

The new Start/Select buttons are a bit terribly designed, however. If you need to quickly hit start, it's all too easy to accidentally hit select, and vice-versa. I think I speak for the great majority of PSP users when I say that we would have loved to have seen a second analog stick in that spot, rather than a start and select button. The start and select buttons could have been relocated to another spot, and be easier to press to boot. It seems Sony went for hardware continuity, though.

In terms of its size, its just actually just a bit larger than an iPhone, or about two iPod-Touches stacked on top of each other. The overall size reduction could be one of the more attractive features of the GO, since it makes using this as a portable media player much easier. The prior PSP design didn't fit very well into a persons pocket. It was thin enough, yeah, but its length and height meant it would be the ONLY thing in that pocket. Now at least, if you're listening to music, [which is much more feasible with 16GB internal storage,] you can close the screen and tuck it away more smoothly. Even though using it as a music player is still not as easy and compact as say, any iPod, the PSP still holds out as being a better gaming system, and a better video player than an iPod at least. [Speaking of music, just a little word on the speakers. I can't say they're worlds different than the prior PSP's speakers. The speakers were never a strong area of the PSP since the first model, and while they may be a smidge louder on the Go, the overall depth of the sound is still shallow. It's pretty much expected.]

Like the PSP-3000, the PSP Go features a new screen with a faster latency. This means that the screen won't leave ghosting trails from moving objects and the like. This makes games with high action and dark scenes MUCH more tolerable. While my old PSP screen did fine for most situations in games, there are sometimes when the new screen makes me think "so THAT's what it REALLY looks like." Again, though, this is not a feature exclusive to the Go.

The PSP Go does have one interesting feature that the older PSP's cannot do. Save States. The PSP Go can pause a game, quit the game entirely to go to the XMB or wherever, and later resume the game by loading it back up and jumping right in where you left off. This feature feels indispensable once you have it. You no longer have to quit the game entirely and lose progress just to change a setting in the XMB. Just suspend it, go back to it later! Depending on the game, it can take 10 or more seconds for a save state to reload, but it works, and works very well.

Thankfully the PSP Go has the option to make it go to sleep when the screen is closed. Normally, it would turn into an analog clock and calendar when you close it, but I don't fully understand the reason other than it looks cool. For me, it makes much more sense to make the system go to sleep when the screen is closed, that way I can quickly flip it on or off when commuting [kind of like a DS.]

Battery life is on par with previous models, 5 hours of game play most typically. It's unfortunate that the Go does not have a removable battery, though. This was done most likely to save internal space as well as prevent hackers from potentially hacking it with a Pandora Battery. [If I were a developer for the PSP platform, I would have to say though that the PSP Go does seem like a safer platform to develop for. Piracy of PSP games in the past has caused studios to close, or cancel future projects from a lack of income. If the PSP Go can stay unhacked with legitimate digital downloads, I think some excellent downloadable games can come to it -- much like the ones we see available for the PS3 on the playstation network.]

The new charger and data transfer cable are both a pro and a con. It seems Sony took a bit of an iPod approach to connections, and stuck an all-in-one "Dock Connector" to the bottom. This port charges the PSP and transfers data, as well as video and audio out. [Much like an iPod dock connector!] The nice part about this, is that the new wall charger uses the same USB cable you would use to transfer data to charge it. This also means that like the PSP 2000 and 3000's, the Go recharges when connected to a computer as well. The downside to this new connector means that you MUST use this cable to transfer data. If you lose it, you'll have to get a new one since any old USB cable won't do. [Also for those wondering, this connector IS different than an iPod connector. So those won't work either.]

If you do lose the cable, you could still transfer data through the memory stick slot. If you're a prior PSP owner, you will be out of luck here. The MS Duo has been replaced by the newer, smaller M2 memory cards. For new owners and upgraders, the upside is that at least a memory card for the Go is entirely optional. You only have to worry about using memory cards for expansion after you've filled that 16GB with everything you want to keep with you. And even then, at least M2 cards aren't any more expensive than their MS Duo counterparts.

Lastly, the PSP Go does now have bluetooth. There's not much so say about this, other than it works, and the prior models didn't have it. I managed to successfully pair my PlayStation 3 Bluetooth Headset to the PSP Go, and it worked just fine. Just as fine as it did on the PS3, actually.



CONCLUSIONS:
So what is there left to say? There's a lot to like about the new form factor of the PSP, but that alone doesn't mean its a winner as a device. Consider some of the following points to help you decide:

FOR A PRIOR OWNER: 
- Any UMD's you own are now useless. Sony has an "Offer for UMD owners" in the works, but it it seems that it will be minimally beneficial. No way to convert UMDs to become Go compatible, and Sony seems unwilling to make that happen in the future.
- A vast majority of purchases you made before are not, or may not be available for the Go. [UMD's, accessories like the video cables, charger, batteries, memory stick, all incompatible.] 
- Game suspension feature allows you to pause your game, quit the game, and continue it later. A truly useful feature.
- Smaller size and lighter weight makes it a more ideal media player than before.
- Bluetooth does work just as you'd expect it.
- New M2 card slot means a new memory stick would need to be purchased, but it is entirely optional this time since there is 16GB of internal memory, placing the price and capacity on-par with most flash-based media players today. 
- In the end, you are paying $250 for what is essentially the same system you have now with a different presentation and one or two features altered. Make of that what you will.
- Consider that you could keep your old PSP, and save whatever money you would spend on the Go for any "PSP2" that Sony releases in the future. The Go has come late in the PSP's life. Who knows how long it will be before a completely new platform arrives?

FOR NEWCOMERS:
- Starting from a fresh slate, the Go is possibly the best iteration of the PSP hardware to date. It's not the best for gaming YET, but its overall build and design are a big step up and feel worth your money.
- While the Go has greater features than prior systems, it suffers from being less flexible in other areas, such as a severely lacking game library right now.
- An overall decent multi-function portable media player. Plays your own videos more easily than an iPod would.
- No ability to buy used games or easily borrow a game from a friend after they're done with it.
- 16GB of internal memory means buying a memory card at first is not a necessary purchase, making the $250 stay $250.

PSP GO OR PSP-3000? 
- Depending on your interests and needs, the largest thing to consider are the games. There are simply more games on UMD, and they are easier to get on UMD. You can borrow friends games with UMD's, buy them used, even sell them back. You can't buy used digital downloads, and I'm currently unsure of their share-ability with other PSP units. Of course UMD's mean you have to carry them with you, but they're not so big that it's a terrible nuisance to just drop a few in your bag for the road. If you're a person who wants a richer media experience, and won't worry too much about the number of games available, or being able to swap / buy used titles, you may want to consider the Go over the PSP-3000. But if you're really in it for JUST the games, I wholly recommend either sticking with your older PSP or getting a PSP-3000.
Also, a few extra things to consider, the PSP-3000 is cheaper, has a slightly larger screen, has game bundles available, and has interchangeable batteries. However, it does not have any internal memory and has no bluetooth capability.

OVERALL:
I'd like to see what Sony does with the Go in the future. Right now, with little options in games and little compensation to previous owners, it's not the best value on the market. If you plan on buying it, or have great interest in buying it, my overall recommendation is to wait. Be patient and see how developed the Go platform gets. You could avoid a painful mistake depending on what happens.