The ultimate handheld multimedia machine is what I call Sony's latest gaming console. It is the best thing Sony has ever come up with so far. You can do almost anything with it!

Officially marketed as a gaming console, there is much more to it than that. For one thing, you can download your favorite music files onto the memory stick and voila, you have a portable music player! It also makes use of a new storage device called the UMD. It looks like a CD but is much smaller. Aside from games, you can get music videos and movies. With its wide high resolution screen, you can now watch your favorite movies anywhere, anytime you want to. If you are a high tech bookworm like me, then you will love the PSP even more. You can download e-books from the internet and put them on the PSP as JPEG files and read the latest novels on the go! Do you want to carry precious memories around anywhere you go? Convert your pictures into digital format and transfer them onto the memory stick. Now you can have hundreds of pictures at your fingertips!

The relatively large screen size makes for easy viewing of almost any format you use. During game play, the details will just astound you. Watching a movie is like watching it on DVD. You can adjust the contrast so as to suit your viewing preferences.

The memory stick's storage capacity might give you a bit of a headache, though. There are large capacity memory sticks available but many of them are a bit pricey. However, I would say that it's worth it.

It would be a good idea to purchase the headphones that come as an accessory. The built-in speakers of the PSP can be a bit disappointing. They just don't give you the best experience when playing a game, watching a movie, or listening to music. The headphones give a much better sound quality.

Another drawback is that there doesn't seem to be enough good games for the console yet. Compared to other handheld gaming consoles, the Sony PSP lags behind when it comes to the release of new games. The UMD disks are quite expensive as well.

Then again, I am sure you will be able to find something to do with your PSP while waiting for the next game or movie to come out.