Tokyo and tech through the eyes of a split pea

PSP : video iPod :: Betamax : VHS … ?

Had my ear talked off during a conversation at a networking event the other night, where the other party waxed philosophical over what Sony isn’t doing, should be doing, doing wrong, and doing right. Over the course of the evening when we started comparing the PSP to the video iPod (hereafter, viPod), we both agreed that while the PSP was superior in numerous ways – not least of all screen quality, functionality, and features – Apple has also built a competitive value-add with its iTunes platform, allowing customers to effortlessly download TV shows onto their viPod. What’s more, migrating hours of video content obtained elsewhere is a breeze – with ample harddrive space, you can store many more 30 minute TV shows than for your PSP.

This got me thinking about a time when Sony had a superior hardware format succumb to the “ease-of-use” aspect of an inferior format: the classic Betamax vs. VHS. While Betamax produced higher visual quality recorded images – and is still used by many production studios – VHS won out in the consumer space in large part because of its longer recording times. Nobody wanted to fuss with replacing a tape 1/2 way into a football game; push the record button and return from dinner two hours later to have an entire show – or two – in its entirety on a single tape, no interruptions. Add the budget-conscious porno industry selecting VHS for low overhead costs and the rest, as they say, is history.

SCE fanatics will argue of course that comparing the PSP to the viPod is like comparing oranges to apples (…). The PSP has numerous features over the viPod – screen quality, wifi capability, game selection, and a standardized “USB peripherals” interface to name a few. There’s no way I would trade my PSP for a viPod. But the tedious process to get only a handful of shows onto a dinky memorystick of only 1GB max is not something I cheer about. And I don’t expect any division within Sony to be selling a reasonably priced UMD writer any time soon either. If a porn studio wanted to sell content for mobile devices do you think they will pay the extra licensing costs for UMD production for a market they’re not entirely sure of yet? Probably not, especially now that there’s a cheaper online-distribution option.

While many anticipate a PSP with a harddrive (already 3rd party produced) which would resolve one of the drawbacks the PSP has to the viPod, at the moment the competition – if you’re willing to call it that – between the two seems eerily similar to the hardware-quality vs. “ease-of-use” comparison that presented itself in Betamax vs. VHS.

Funny thing is, another space this product war will likely play itself out is the PS3 vs. XBox360 (or Nintendo Revolution, for that matter). From where I’m standing, Microsoft has a compelling online/internet strategy for their console – something seriously lacking in anything I’ve seen from SCE to date.