« In Charlotte | Main | Trying out a PC Blog Editing application »
March 26, 2005
PSP
I am a sucker for cool things, and the PSP (PlayStation Portable) is pretty damn cool. So, when I found myself in Best Buy last night, and they has PSP's in stock, well...you know what happened. Three hundred and fifty dollars later I had a PSP, a new game, and a cable I was told I would need.
This afternoon, I set the whole thing up, and was blown away by the look and feel. I realized the cable I was told I would need, would only be needed if I was going to transfer music and videos from a pc to the unit. Since I don't have a pc, and I do have an Ipod, the cable would have to go back. I went through the setup screens, and started to watch one of the music videos on the included disc. That's when I noticed something strange on the screen. It appeared to be a set of dead pixels. I turned the unit off and as the screen went to black my fears where confirmed. There where several dead pixels in the lower left hand side of the screen. So, I packed everything up, went back to Best Buy, and half expected an argument. Well, the girl behind the customer service counter could not have been nicer. She took the cable back, and exchanged the unit. She also told me that she had heard that up to 30% of the units have problems with dead pixels. Now, I have no idea if that number is correct, but several people have posted reviews on Amazons website complaining of issues with dead pixels.
So, I took the new unit home, plugged it in, and, dead pixels. This time the dead pixels where in the upper left hand side of the screen. Back to Best Buy. The girl was actually surprised to see me. I told her that I wanted to return the whole thing, since I didn't want to keep making trips back and forth. She refunded my problem, with no problem. I asked her if I was the only person returning PSP's. She again related the 30% figure, and informed me that they had gotten 300 units to sell, and had already gotten a large number of returns. She told me that some of the employees had gone through several units before getting one with no dead pixels.
Since, Best Buy offers a $39.99 2 year protection plan, that includes dead pixels, I would assume that anyone returning a PSP should have no issues with Best Buy. Costco was selling a bundle for $319 that included 2 games, so that was a good price, but I cannot vouch for there return policy. At this point, if you are going to buy one, I recommend that you plug it in, at the store, and power the unit on and off several times. The dead pixels will be very evident as the unit turns off. You will see what looks like dust on the screen, but it will be under the glass cover.
Good Luck.
UPDATE: 3/28/2005 Apparently the dead pixel issue is pretty big. 1up.com story
Posted by pmadsen at March 26, 2005 08:30 PM
