Gamertell

In my most recent Player 1 column in CiN Weekly magazine I offer a rundown of Skype for PSP.

In a nutshell, you’ll first need the right hardware: a PSP-2000 ($170, the thinner, more recent model), the PSP-2000 Remote Control ($30, which does not come with the system and the original model PSP remote won’t even fit into the port) and the PSP-2000 Headphones ($20). If you don’t use the PSP-2000 compatible remote and headset, PSP Skype won’t even let you finish signing in. So, just to get started and assuming you don’t have the newer model PSP, you’ll have to drop about $220.

Then update the PSP to firmware/operating system ver. 3.90. After restarting an installing, scroll over to Network and then down to Skype. From there it’s a scroll-down menu version of good ol’ Skype. After you sign in (assuming you already have a Skype account) it should import your Skype contacts, so give it a few minutes to sync or sign in a couple times to make certain it grabs the list.

Below are are few extra screenshots of Skype menus on the PSP showing the icon in the system menu as well as the Skype login screen, main menu and dialing menu.

The audio quality is pretty good and, if it starts to sound bad - as Skype can sometimes do - disconnect and call again. Otherwise, it sounds like a decent cell phone call on both ends.

The biggest annoyance is when you have to initially dial a number. Since Skype is an international service, the United States code is listed alphabetically, meaning you need to scroll trough the entire list to get to it (and you must use it for SkypeOut calls to real phone numbers). After that, put it in your address book and then it’ll be easy once again.

In the end, it’s still easiest to use Skype on a PC and probably less expensive since you won’t need to buy much more than a USB headest with a built-in microphone. Unfortunately, standard headsets won’t fit into the required PSP-2000 remote (dern Sony), meaning you’ll need to head to the store. Gadget fiends, however, will dig the portability and likely use it to save some laptop resources while writing that novel at the local Starbucks or Panera.

Read [CiN Weekly] Also Read [Gamertell] Also Read [Fosfor Gadgets] Also Read [Gadgetell]