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May 2nd, 2006, 07:03 Posted By: bandit
Neo-PSP Pad 8in1
Manufacturer: Neo Flash Team 2006
Site: Buy from NeoFlash
Price: $150.00 (8in1 only) / $175.00-$199.00 (includes 4GB Microdrive) - Neo's Online Shop List
Overview : Use multiple types of format storage to use with your PSP (CF, Microdrive, SD, MMC and MS). Max storage is 4GB! The Neo-PSP Pad gives your PSP some DualShock® like handles, a movie stand, additional PSP backup power in the form of a battery compartment (4x AA batteries) and a whole host of battery charging functions.
1) Memory functions :- Uses any SONY MS to boot
- SD/MMC/CF/MicroDrive converter ALL-IN-ONE: Use any type of card/drive just like a standard SONY memory stick.
- SD/MMC/CF/MicroDrive/MS auto detect and auto run: Plug and play!
- Supports up to 4GB memory size on PSP, and up to 32GB on PC.
- Built-in PSP Ready/Busy/NULL, 3 states status indication.
- The 4in1 Pad an exchange data between PC and PSP through any standard PSP USB cable. It supports direct SD/MMC/CF/MicroDrive/MS formatting on PSP.
2) Battery functions :- Use 4 pcs AA Ni-MH rechargable batteries or 4 pcs AA normal batteries as an additional PSP backup power! (batteries not included)
- Built-in A.I. Ni-MH battery recharge system, with full battery protection and fast full charge within 12 hours.
- Built-in battery charging with forced full charge indication on LED display
- Built-in battery mode switch: You can select Ni-MH batteries or regular battery.
- Supports infinite Ni-MH battery capability (nowadays up to 3800MA/h X4)
- Multi DC power input: You can use your PSP DC adaptor or car DC adaptor or PC USB cable to charge the batteries!
- Compatible with forced full charge mode: You can force full charge no matter how much battery power is available.
3) Ergonomics functions :- Anti-Shock protection
- Ergonomic design: It gives you the feel of a Playstation 2™ Dual Shock controller for a more familiar and comfortable gaming experience.
- Built-in car mounting bracket: Us your PSP in a car with a stable display
- Comes with one extra fixup kit
Quality/Usability : Installing the pad to your PSP is fairly simple. It doesn't take a genius. The attached soft cable which has a dummy Memory Stick Pro Duo goes into the memory stick slot of the PSP. This acts as a pass-thru between your CF, SD, MMC or MicroDrive. The cable itself feels a little flimsy but in the case that it does break, don't worry, NeoFlash offers replacements. Next, plug the power adapter into the DC port on the PSP. The PSP is held in place by two clips both at the top and bottom.
Before turning on the PSP, insert your choice of media storage into the pad whether its MS, MMC, SD, CF or MicroDrive. But to be clear, you can not use two different sticks at the same time. If you have multiple media storage in the pad, you'll have to remove them or it will choose the default media storage for you.
When you have turned on the Neo-PSP Pad and you have a 4GB Microdrive, you'll notice that there is 3921MB of free storage. Thats right, you officially now have more storage for your movies, music and games (homebrew).
Transfer Times :
Transferring files to PSP and from the PSP to your PC, doesnt take long. It does take longer than the Memory Stick Pro Duo but it is tolerable. When you transfer files, you do the same as if you would if you didnt have the pad (insert cable to the USB port on the PSP).
Movie Playback :
A good reason to have a large storage is to store more files or even big files. Transferring large files can take awhile. Once the transferring is done, its time to play the movie. Everybody's favorite PSPVideo9 was used during this test. A Hitachi 4GB Microdrive was used during testing, not the 4GB Magicstor that is included with the purchase above. I tried two different qualities for the movie. Playing higher quality images looked great. There wasnt any big noticeable skipping. This could be due to the encoding of the movie.
So reencoded the same movie but in a lower quality. There wasnt any skipping at all.
So I guess the higher the quality of the movie, the harder the storage will have to read. This may not be the same for SD or MMC. Its suggested to purchase a Hitachi 4GB as it is faster.
Picture Viewing/MP3 Playback :
Loading movies and pictures were easy and simple. Didnt take long for them to transfer and didnt take long for them to load. There were no lags or any slowdowns when listening to MP3s.
Homebrew :
Playing homebrew was simple. Same procedure when installing files onto your choice of storage. There was no lags or skips. Some games took longer to load than usual. But nothing to be annoyed about.
Controller Feel :
As you can see, the Neo-PSP Pad has the Dualshock-like controller look. It also has the feel as well minus the rumble feature. This is great for those who look to have a better grip whether you have small or big hands.
The back of the grip houses stand. Although its nothing fancy, it does its job and thats all it matters. On the backside of the grips themselves are two battery door covers. These hold two (2) AA batteries in each. You can use regular alkaline or rechargeable batteries. The batteries actually charge the PSP battery for when you're in need of extra juice. You can use your USB cable to charge the PSP through the USB ports on the pad.
Conclusion : Overall, this is a very nice alternative to the Datel 4GB Harddrive. Not only can you use multiple media storages, but you can also charge the PSP either through USB cable or AA batteries. Its lightweight and comfortable to hold. Only a few draw back such as the few hiccups of lag/skipping on higher quality encoded movies and long load times on a few games and transferring files. The cable as mentioned in the beginning feels a little flimsy. But with some care, it would be a problem. Again, they do sell replacement cables. Removing the storage cards are kind of hard to take out..especially if you have big or fat fingers. If they implemented a eject button or something, it would make things alot easier.
*UPDATE*
Now you can upgrade your 8-in-1 to support up to 32GB by doing it yourself! This also works on 2-in-1/4-in-1 PSP Converters. Images attached.
Source: NeoFlash
Images via comments
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