A Much Closer Look at the PSP GPS

Posted Aug 28, 2006 at 5:24PM by QJ Staff Listed in: Accessories Tags: GPS

Way back, Sony announced that they would come up with a GPS accessory for the PSP. And just a few days ago, we've shown you some pictures of it, too. Well, the official GPS unit (with an emphasis on "official") for the PSP has been revealed, and we've got more pictures to show you!

The GPS receiver is attached on top of your PSP unit via the USB port, and if you notice in the middle picture below, it can actually be folded. You can either keep your GPS unit up as an "antenna" or, if want to keep your PSP less bulky, you can fold the GPS unit over the UMD slot at the back. As to whether the GPS will still be active while it's folded over, we don't know.

However, this is definitely something to look forward to. Word is, while you can use the GPS as a "where am I?" map viewer or for other navigational purposes, the GPS unit will also be used in several games. One of which is the much awaited Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. O! M! G!

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Comments

# 1 — Guest 2006-08-28 13:00

nice, but deniska beat sony to this...

# looks great! — RaiderX 2006-08-28 13:01

stylish, will require upgrade sadly.. :*( hopefully that new explooit gets somewhere. and i liek how it flips down, i kept saying it looked stupid and unpractical sticking up like that

# Guest 2006-08-28 13:04

do we need to pay monthly for this?

# Yea i wonder if there will some fee — Guest 2006-08-28 13:05

I know sony doesn't have gps, so who's will it run off of?

# .. — Guest 2006-08-28 13:07

cumbersome

# .. — Guest 2006-08-28 13:09

who honestly needs a gps?

# O! M! G! — CarXCrashXHearts 2006-08-28 13:09

O! M! G!

# Meh — Guest 2006-08-28 13:29

This'll probably cost more money than it's worth.

# Guest 2006-08-28 13:30

i need a gps >

# sony wants your soul — Guest 2006-08-28 13:30

"we've determined the pirated iso is at this location."

# im sorry... — Guest 2006-08-28 13:30

but the OMG part sounded like a girl finding her favoite boots on sale...

pathetic...

# Guest 2006-08-28 13:32

You're going to have to screw this on top of the psp as well...

# Kassem 2006-08-28 13:36

Hell Yerah even though sony is probaley going to track down people with iso but so what who cares

# Big Brother — avatar_pt 2006-08-28 13:42

For those saying that sony can track you and your isos, you should think a little. This is a receiver, it can only receive signals from the GPS satellites...

# Can we get Satellite Radio with this? — Guest 2006-08-28 13:48

Satellite Radio would be a cool add on for this!

# ok... — Guest 2006-08-28 13:55

how could they track down isos? you can run isos on firmware higher than 1.5? exactly...u wouldnt be running isos with the firmware required to use the gps

# gps — Guest 2006-08-28 14:00

really now wat is the point of a gps? it is a real waste of money. i'd rather buy a map and use that than waste money on a gps

# If it's like other GPS... — Guest 2006-08-28 14:01

Then more than likely it won't cost anymore than the price for the unit. It shouldn't cost you anything to use it, at least that's what someone who uses them told me :P. Some may not want this, but I know I'd rather have this than look at some world atlas while trying to drive ( It's not fun, I've had to do it several time ). But yah *sighs heavily* , it will inevitably have to require some friggin firmware upgrade ( which I stilll think are getting a little too old ). If SONY wanted the world to REEALLY wet themselves with joy ,they could promise not to keep going with the constant firmware updates...LOL.

At any rate, I hope it's not to high priced, because I could really see myself using this for more than just gaming.

# looks... expensive — Jumpin Jehosaphat 2006-08-28 14:05

i think i would pay $50 for this... any more than that and forget it...

# MGS ? — Sephiroth1089 2006-08-28 14:35

i wonder what its gonna have to do with MGS. i hope its not a needed accessory for MGS.

# Guest 2006-08-28 14:35

.. i need a gps T_T and about sony tracking down people with illegal iso's, its like trying to stop people from growing and selling weed HAHAHAHAHA so funny

# Guest 2006-08-28 14:40

blunts for everybody

# MPO — Guest 2006-08-28 14:57

WHAT WILL THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MPO? I hope we dont need it to play, also I hope this will just be an add on, and I hope you dont need this to acquire different characters randomly.

# omg — Guest 2006-08-28 15:03

i really cant wait untill this comes out

is there a price

# Yuk... — Guest 2006-08-28 15:09

nocomment

# .. — Guest 2006-08-28 15:13

does anyone have any real info on how much this is gonna cost?

# Sorry.. — Guest 2006-08-28 15:20

I did not mean to press enter.

This is not really a smooth, curvy and sleek piece of hardware. It just plain ugly and it looks out of place.

As for who needs a GPS? Well maybe not a 9 years old gamer but the PSP is so more then just that. This is just one more feature to complement this awesome piece of hardware. I need a GPS for my work and so does a lot of people.

Use a map? Sure... and while I'm at it, I'll walk instead of driving and use candles as oppose to electrical light.

Live with your time!

# Well — Guest 2006-08-28 16:00

I think the price would be btw $50-$80 reason is the usb GPS attachments for laptop is around $80-$130 so it sounds about right, tho i might be wrong, and the idea of having satillite radio is cool. but do you guys know if it will be a fully functional GPS(so I can use it in my car)? I hope it's not a limited "functionality" (is that a word?) will just have to wait till TGS on Sep 22.

# F@CKING POS!!!!!!!!!!!! ! — Guest 2006-08-28 16:11

Sony made it flip down, no, not for looks or practicality...............so it can keep their POS UMD tray shut.

# interesting but... — Guest 2006-08-28 16:14

it's require a fw update for verion 99999999? If it is cheap enough and if I can use it in mine without firmware upgrade that devhook can't handle then I might consider getting it....

# GPS — Vietone 2006-08-28 16:15

If anything they will have for sale or download a GPS Navigation software.

I know that there are free navigation software for laptops if you have a GPS reciever so maybe they will charge a small fee for the download or a UMD?

I for one would consider buying this because it would turn the PSP into the worlds cheapest portable GPS navigation unit. With other standalone units costing 400+ this would make my day to day traveling worth it.

# Guest 2006-08-28 16:39

i cant wait!!!i love sony, now all they have to do is make a downgrader!!

# hah — lansingone 2006-08-28 17:11

i was so right, it does fold like the camera. and im sure thare won't be a fee, just the cost of the unit and software and il say the price is some place from 110 to 50 USD

# re — Guest 2006-08-28 17:18

well theya lready turned the ps3 into the worlds cheapest blue rya player so who is to say...

# Woop! — Guest 2006-08-28 19:12

I think it's a brilliant idea. Im sure i won't have any immediate use for it but in few years when i turn 17 and learn to drive ill prob get it. The PSP is a pretty decent piece of kit, and sony just keeps bringing out little extras for as little FU! to nintendo.

# sweet — Guest 2006-08-28 20:05

i cant wait for this. I attach my psp to my cars dash board all the time, its my portable theater and music player in my car. that may be a problem, how to use it for my music and as a gps at the same time. NOTE! before production make sure you can listen to music and use gps at same time!!!

# piece of poo — gambiting 2006-08-28 20:18

Deniska's map viewer is a lot better than this thing.Gps is ~50$ and maps of the whole world are for free.And highly dubt if sony will gave any maps for free.And I live in poland,so chances that sony will release poland map are very low,and that's where deniska wins - google has very good map of poland,for free!!!

# I want this — moneyman1978 2006-08-28 20:24

I want this GPS or we can wait for the homebrew and make our own but i would rather have something nice and sleek looking rather than lugging wires around.

# LOL @ Poland — Guest 2006-08-28 22:49

lol, too bad. GPS should be supported by your government...but if not, sucks to be you.

# @33 Andy — Guest 2006-08-28 23:48

you really think sony are just going to make a downgrader for you lol if you upgraded then quite frankly you dont deserve a downgrader except for those on ta-082 they have a excuse

# Food for thought - Eat up — Guest 2006-08-29 00:44

First off, for all you FPS and GTA fanboys, now you will be able to literally hunt down a REAL person to kill them - or they can find you! Whee.

Second off, for all you "who needs a GPS" losers: Ever see how many people are driving around with Garmins and Tom Toms? Hello? Can you say marketable item? Oh, sorry. You're all too young to drive. Well, just have mom prop your car seat up a little higher so you can see out the window. Portable GPS is big right now.

And finally: Since everyone has their guess on the price, I'll make mine. Free to $300. And I bet I nail that one.

# I need a GPS — Guest 2006-08-29 01:12

I live in Michigan, and Im about to go to Connecticut this february....by having this I can drive easy to CT without looking at a map and I would know that the GPS is telling me where Exactly I need to go.Maybe a 14 year old may not need this,but there is older players like me(28)that can you this for travels.

but then again...I dont want to upgrade.

# it's a comment isn't it? — Guest 2006-08-29 03:55

#1 - no he didn't..

#7 - you obviously don't travel much...

# @17 — Guest 2006-08-29 03:56

Ever heard of Epsilon BIOS?

# wow — Guest 2006-08-29 04:05

This is so frucking stupid why is sony wasting their time with a GPS. Go make some more games insted.

# @#46 — Guest 2006-08-29 04:10

sony don't make the games u nob, ea, naughty dog etc make games.

why does it look like it plugs into the miniusb port at the top?

# sweeet — Guest 2006-08-29 04:32

cool it flips down. Hope its cheap and maps are free! i wonder if the program will be able to talk and not just show the map?

# voice — Guest 2006-08-29 04:51

any word on voice recognition?? a mic in the the thing would make it pretty handy for driving..

# Ya Hoo, Can't Wait — Guest 2006-08-29 05:00

Gps is not just for driving directions. Quote from website, " Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for gps users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a gps unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache." http://www.geocaching.com They are hidden all over the world. Type in your zip code or country, chances are there is one a few miles from you waiting to be found.

# Geocaching — Guest 2006-08-29 05:31

...is indeed fun. Sort of a modern day pirate treasure hunt.

Problem is, it requires people to get off their butt and out into the sunlight. That eliminates 98.63% of the GTA crowd right there.

Don't tell anyone about geocaching. Leave it to those who still walk upright.

Thanks.

# Brilliant! — Guest 2006-08-29 05:41

I'm buying one for SURE. I wanted a GPS for my car a while ago, but now that it's coming on PSP, I'm all over this.

For those who don't know, most GPS services are NOT subscription based. But if you want updated street maps for a particular country then you'll have to pay for them. -- Most likely, Sony will include US street level maps with the GPS module (possibly Canada streets too). But if you want maps for Europe, or world, you'll have to buy a Europe, or world streets map pack.

# Guest 2006-08-29 05:47

at last sony have decided to show us pictures it may look bulky but if ure stuck somwhere this would be a lifesaver

WELL DONE SONY !!!!!!!

:)

# Guest 2006-08-29 06:25

and what about the software what is that gonne cost?

# Are you lot on drugs???? — Guest 2006-08-29 07:07

Firsty before making stupid reviews do some research into what GPS actually is.

1) it is a signal beam from satilites that when claibrated together gives your position (co-ordinates) on earth.

2) Software such as TomTom (www.tomtom.com) uses such co-ordinates to map where you are, hence when you are moving the co-ordinates change and then TomTom can show you moving along a road.

In short you need the two to run together to make it useful.

I am interested however how $ony are going to use it on Metal Gear Solid as GPS requires a view of the sky to see the satelites (although some newer GPS devices have better ariels) so this would cause issues with the game or alot of people getting cold.

For me personally I would like the device to run on the PSP and interface with TomTom so that I can use the PSP for in-car sat nav, now that would be cool.

NOTE: just to kill some stupid coments:

The signal to a GPS device is one way hence no tracking (so $ony are not going to come knocking on your door). This device has nothing to do with any type of music radio signal

# Not Sony? — Guest 2006-08-29 07:40

Is it just me, or do these photos look suspiciously like Sony did NOT produce them (they are not production quality), but instead were taken by someone who got hold of SOME product at a show (hence the bag) and did a quick capture. I mean the lighting and quality sucks.

Also, the product does NOT look like a Sony product. The GP3 designation? The chrome color? The oversized thumb screw? This seems a little hokey all around.

# Not Sony? — Guest 2006-08-29 07:41

Or GPS. Whatever. It's really hokey.

# Talk THROUGH your PSP — Guest 2006-08-29 07:44

"A final software update, due in the "winter," will add the ability to boot games from Memory Stick media and Vo IP (voice over Internet Protocol) telephony.

The former will enable software companies to offer games that can be downloaded across the network and then run from the Memory Stick, Kutaragi said. The latter will work with the camera module and enable the PSP to be used as a VoIP handset or a video conferencing tool. The PSP includes a Wi-Fi adapter for network access."

# Love it — Guest 2006-08-29 08:07

I cant wait to get 1. Im going to the neatherlands in 2008 for the rijks museum new expansion opening. The GPS will be sweet AAAAND considering all of the "coffee" shops in amsterdam have free wifi (100s of coffe shops) I was planning on bringing my PSP anyway.

Kudos to Sony for thinking out of the stuffy old handheld box and bringing something innovative to the table.

# Jesus... — Guest 2006-08-29 09:41

I believe the 'OMG' comment was meant to be ironic, although this appears to be lost on some of you.

And to those of you (3, 4, etc) asking about monthly fees... get a grip. Since when has anyone ever charged for monthly access to the GPS system? Unless you are foolish enough to be confusing GPS for GPRS which does tend to have a monthly charge...

# hmmm — pspizzle 2006-08-29 10:13

the update that adds voip calling functionality sounds alright

# wow — miniharvs1900 2006-08-29 13:53

Wow is a gps really neccesary? It also looks like crap on your psp.

# I love the design — Guest 2006-08-29 14:12

Wow, the design looks amazing, I love that you can fold it. If it's anything like $50, I'll buy it, I'd rather wait for the camera though.

# Guest 2006-08-29 14:39

SEX

# @60 — Guest 2006-08-29 14:45

I think you meant sarcastic not ironic,

# Guest 2006-08-29 15:36

This crap is old news...

# Dash Board Boogie — Guest 2006-08-30 06:26

I also use my PSP in my Jeep. I have a nice little cradle I made out of Mecanno (who knew that stuff could be so useful) and mounted it on my Dash. On long trips I watch movies and listen to podcasts and MP3's. A GPS would be great as long as it can run in the background. I hope that by the time it comes out Devhook will bend that firmware over and pound it hard so we can all use it! What the hell ever happened to the PSP keyboard rumor? Anyone heard??

# Not a child. — Guest 2006-09-08 20:15

Can't wait!!! PSP Geocaching at long last!!!

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