Sony's 3rd version of their PSP is on its way and promises to be even better than the two before it and will release on October the 14th, 15th and 16th in the US, Europe and Australia respectively. We are unsure of the exact date that we will be seeing the PSP 3000 here in South Africa but we will reports it as soon as we get the info. So then, let's take a look at makes the new PSP so different: Here are the technical specs which were revealed courtesy of marketwatch : *1 Microphone function can be used on games that are compatible with headsets. *2 To enjoy Skype on PSP, users will require a Skype account, Memory Stick Duo(TM), a wireless Internet connection and a Headphone with Remote Control (PSP-S140) or Skype-compatible headphones. Users are recommended to speak closely to the microphone (approx. 10cm from the microphone). *3 Video output cables (AV cable/ S VIDEO cable/ D Terminal AV cable/ Component AV cable) are sold separately. Product lineup may differ by country/ region. *4 Color variations may differ by country/ region. PSP(R)(PlayStation(R)Portable) (PSP-3000) Product Overview Product name PSP(R)(PlayStation(R)Portable) External dimensions Approx. 169.4 x 18.6 x 71.4 mm / 6 3/4 x 3/4 x 2 3/4 in (width A- height A- depth) (excludes largest projection) Weight Approx. 189g / 6.7 oz (including battery pack) CPU PSP CPU (System clock frequency 1-333MHz) Main memory 64MB Display 4.3 inches (16:9) full-transparent type, TFT drive, 480 x 272 pixel, Approximately 16,770,000 colors displayed Sound Built-in stereo speakers Main input/ output Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11b)(Wi-Fi) High Speed USB (USB2.0) (mini-B) Memory Stick PRO Duo(TM) Analog Video Out Microphone Main connectors DC IN 5V connector DC OUT connector video out/headset connector USB connector Memory Stick Duo(TM) slot Key/ Switches Directional buttons (up/down/right/left), analog stick, Action buttons (triangle, circle, cross, square), L/R buttons START button, SELECT button, PS button POWER/HOLD switch, WLAN switch display button, sound button, volume (+/-) buttons Power sources Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery pack AC adaptor USB power supply Internal disc drive Read-only UMD(TM) drive Supported profile PSP(R) (PlayStation(R) Portable) Game UMD(TM) Video Access control Region code, parental control Wireless communications Infrastructure mode Ad hoc mode (connects up to 16 consoles) Supplied accessories AC adaptor Battery pack (1200mAh) Supported codec (in Memory Stick) Video — Memory Stick Video Format - MPEG-4 Simple Profile (AAC LC) - H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Main Profile (AAC LC) – MP4 File Format - MPEG-4 Simple Profile (AAC LC) - H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Main Profile- CABAC only - (AAC LC) / Baseline Profile (AAC LC) – AVI - Motion JPEG (Linear PCM or u-Lau) Music — Memory Stick Audio Format - ATRAC3(TM) - ATRAC3plus(TM) - MP3 – MP3(MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer3) – MP4(MPEG-4 AAC) – WAVE(Linear PCM) – WMA(Windows Media(R) Audio 9 Standard only) (*5) Photo — JPEG (DCF2.0/Exif2.21compliant) – TIFF – BMP – GIF – PNG *5 WMA Playback feature needs to be enabled.