;)
For all the PlayStation Portable's stylin' sleekness, its slim-line widescreen design, premium horsepower and multimedia mojo--not the least of which is console-caliber gaming to go--the thing just isn't that comfortable to hold. After all, its widescreen sleekness forces the actual game controls into awkward positions actuated by bent thumbs and uncomfortably crooked fingers, making it not so much a handheld system as a club-footed one that you hold mulishly in both hands. When gaming, at any rate.
So, straight from the "what took them so long" factory, Nyko's new PSP Charger Grips removes most of the PSP's clubbiness by snapping on some very familiar handles that make the PSP look and feel more like a conventional game pad, almost Dual Shock-ish, albeit enlarged and elongated to fit a huge widescreen in the middle.
What's more, the "charger" bit of the Charger Grips is a secondary lithium ion battery that will prolong PSP power expectations by an extra five or so hours of game or movie play, more if you're just using it for music. It takes a charge from the stock PSP AC adapter then sends the surplus power along to the PSP when needed through a little pass through cable. Pretty cool.
Sadly, you have to un-snap the Grips each time you want to insert a new game or movie UMD, which is a bit of a peripheral lap-dancing nightmare (grips dangling, PSP in one hand, new UMD in the other, old UMD in the other, UMD carrying case in the other... wait a minute, how many hands is that? Right. Good thing your lap doubles as a tool bench), though that's not a design fault in the Grips so much as a design limitation of the PSP itself. Still, it draws attention to the fact that the Charger Grips cling on to the PSP with four little rigid hook grabber thingies, and though they do flex a bit to allow for snap-on/snap-off convenience, they're just plastic and look prone to breaking after a while. Not that they will for sure, mind you, but it'll make you nervous. Otherwise, great idea and as solid an implementation of that idea as you could feasibly expect, all things considered.
Reviewed: Jun. 08, 2006
Type: Game Enhancer, Peripheral
From: Nyko
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