The object that will envoke most of this season’s tech envy is the white, Japanese PSP.

Now, most of us are familiar with Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP). We’ve seen the ads and, if you’re in a major city, you might have noticed the midnight megastores’ launch back in September. To spice things up for Christmas shoppers though, and to swipe some extra cash, Sony’s released a white version of their first portable console.

Click to enlarge.

Your run of the mill white edition, isn’t the hot rarity though. Over message boards and chatrooms, word has spread that Japanese units have a better quality widescreen TFT (made by Sharp). The white edition is also rumoured to feature a few extras not found on the black variety. This has had many scurrying off to eBay to track down white, Japanese units, to get the best of both worlds. 

I’ll lay one rumour to rest and tell you that the bonus software is included in the latest firmware update, which can be downloaded off Sony’s PSP website FOC. The white units, as they are more recent, will have the latest firmware and software already pre-installed, but black or white, the new web-browser and media codecs won’t cost you a dime.

Still, the new Japanese units have gotten really popular on European auction and sales sites fairly quickly since its recent release. Mainly due to the fact that ordinary white units aren’t in stores over here yet, and also that Japan shares the same Region 2 code as Europe for UMDs (the proprietary format that works with Sony’s device). Ironically, adding to the list, a white, plastic surface takes fingerprint marks better than a black, as many iPod users found out with the Nano and 5th gen Pods.

I’m waiting for mine (*hint hint*) and will hand off a verdict once I get to take it for a test run.

BTW: The term “White Ranger” was coined after one Christmas in the mid-90s, when parents mobbed malls and department stores for the White Power Ranger, a toy that became extremely popular after the release of the first Power Ranger movie. It happened the following year with Tickle-Me-Elmo. That shit don’t happen in Asia because parents there aren’t afraid of their eleven-year-olds. Since then, the phrase’s been used as a way to describe the Christmas gift that will cause the biggest rush in stores and the one that will sell out the quickest. Usually used in reference to gifts that might be bought for children. 

This entry was posted on Monday, November 14th, 2005 at 4:33 am and is filed under Art & the Uncultured, In Propria Persona, Wired & Tired. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.