LCD Monitor for PSOne

 

When Sony revamped and re-released the original PlayStation game console as the delightfully diminutive "PSOne," intimating also sorts of portable fun and gladness, they didn't seem too keen on accommodating the actual players of portable game systems.

Perhaps they were waiting to see if anyone would pick up on the idea of an old-is-new device, a videogame "Discman." And seeing as Sony just released a proprietary PSOne LCD monitor -- conveniently, just in time for the holiday shopping season -- that might very well be the case.

However, it's a year late and a dollar short as InterAct Accessories' Mobile Monitor One offers exactly the type of simpatico, backlit LCD display and stereo audio system one would expect for a transportable console -- and they had to wit to offer it immediately after the PSOne first came out.

InterAct's monitor unit jacks in to the appropriate AV and power ports of the PSOne, bolting firmly to the backside. The Mobile Monitor One comes with stereo speakers, accommodates headphones and folds down when not in use. And, as it happens, the Mobile Monitor One also acts as a regular audio/video monitor for your VCR, DVD player, camcorder, etc.

InterAct is also the sole purveyor of a portable, rechargeable power source for PSOne, the Mobile Power One, which will power both the console and monitor for 2.5 hours at a time. The Mobile Power One's AC charger also acts as an AC power source for the other two components. Connected together like a little PlayStation Sandwich, InterAct allows for true portable gaming in the home, the summer cottage, and the dorm - or even in the car, thanks to a bundled cigarette lighter adapter.

Sony's PSOne LCD screen is a few bucks less than InterAct's Mobile Monitor, but it does not have a car adapter (that's coming next year, sold separately, two days late and three dollars short) nor does it accommodate other Audio/Video devices. It's just a single-minded little Sony Peripheral for a little Sony Product of re-vamped obsolescence that happens to say "Sony" on it -- like we're all suppose to bow down before the God of Consumer Electronics and forgo any other product that doesn't brandish the SONY logo, even though the Sony product in hand, in this case, is clearly inferior and less functional than InterAct's unit.

Furthermore, it is only marketing moxy that places the Sony LCD monitor on the "new products" shelf just in time for the holidays. That stinks. Where was this lovely little Sony screen when you needed it? It was waiting to become viable. Sony had to make sure enough people bought into the idea of a mini-PSX, so uncertain were they of their own idea. InterAct took the risk and supported someone else's product from day one. Sony should be embarrassed.

Incidentally, InterAct also has a Mobile Monitor for Nintendo GameCube. And they'll have a battery pack for GameCube shortly.

Details
Reviewed: Nov. 28, 2001
Type: GameTech, Gear
From: Sony


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