New PSP is slimmer, ready at hand, new best friend!

Sony is giving its handheld console a serious refresh in the form of a slimmer, lighter and faster “updated” PSP. The new unit still includes the 4.3-inch LCD and UMD drive, but is 33% lighter, 19% slimmer, has sped up game load times and improved battery life, which is, You’ll agree, one hell of important improvement. This new model “is equipped with enhanced feature to temporarily store game data from UMD, reducing load time during game play”. As we understand it should mean that PSP got more RAM for buffering. Thanks for that!

The only real “new” feature is a video output capability to allow you to play your PSP games on a big screen TV. You can score one in September in the original Piano Black, a new Ice Silver color, and a Star Wars Battlefront special edition. The latter two PSPs come in $199 bundles with related games and a 1GB Memory Stick in the case of Ice Silver. The price of Piano Black model will presumably be around 160$.

“We are delighted to announce the arrival of the newly designed PSP to the SCEE region, whilst also providing something unique and special for our consumers.” David Reeves explained. “With the addition of two limited edition color bundles, inspired by the blockbuster Spider-Man and Simpsons Hollywood movies, together with the new video-out port, which gives consumers the option to enjoy PSP content on the big screen, we are confident that this now brings a whole new dimension to the PSP entertainment experience.”

C|Net has and excellent video review of new PSP Slim at Crave, to see the review click here.