I have seen the Lite

[Originally posted on 1Up.com]

...DS that is, which is more than can be said for the PSP, read on.

I've confirmed the rumors I've heard about the PSP in sunlight... it fuckin' sucks, why does Sony keep doing this to me\us? I got my previous mobile phone, the SonyEricsson T610 three years ago in the fall and I was quite happy with it, that is until the sunny days of spring, when to my disbelief I discovered that the screen was completely illegible in the sun. WHY!? This was 2003 for god sake! My then newly acquired GBA SP had no such problems, not even my original GBA from 2001 had such an issue. I was already looking forward to my next phone...

Fast forward to 2005, the phone is still functioning, if rather beat-up, that fall I purchased my Sony PSP, again quite happy with it and it's been used quite extensively (if not for gaming but for video) since.

Spring 2006, my T610 kicks the bucket and is replaced by another SonyEricsson phone, the W550i a Walkman model, that has also replaced my iPod Shuffle, but that's another story. This new model quickly proves it's worth in the sun, being as should be expected, completely legible. Huzzah!

So summer 2006 rolls around, and as has been my tradition now for the last five years (see First post! & Another summer has come and gone...), a trusty hand-held often accompanies me out on summer excursions for some gaming on the beach or what-not. And yet again, this time not quite as surprised, but still with great disbelief Sony has proven that the sun doesn't shine very often in their hardware designers neighborhoods. The PSPs screen is almost worse than my old phone's screen! Unbelievable. Needless to say my DS Lite was the handheld console-of-choice for out-side use all summer.

What makes this even more laughable is the fact that Sony actually promotes the PSP with adds about how "it's like a nut you can take outside" which may be true, but you can't actually _use_ it outside. Sony, you never cease to disappoint me!