There was quite a bit of hype surrounding the new iteration of Sony's PSP handheld. With a built in microphone it was a small step to enable Skype and use the system as a cheap phone in wifi hot spots. Its screen was a great deal brighter and showed more detail.

Unfortunately that came at the price of displaying scanlines among other things. While the visual blow has been voiced to death by the media another issue is less well known.

The silver Ratchet and Clank PSP-3000 units have an awful texture. In photographs they seem as sleek and glossy as the Daxter silver PSP-2000 units. This is not the case. The clear lacquer that protected the paint application is no longer used. What's left is a gritty spray-painted feel that doesn't even compare. I'm very curious as to whether the black units will still have their glossy feel.

The packaging is a terrible step downward. The unit I purchased had half-escaped its little coffin-hole inside of the box. The unit also lacked any sort of screen protection to keep it safe during transit. This unit had not suffered scratches but could have if it had succeeded in escaping its home. It did, however, manage to accumulate a fair amount of dust within its packaging.

Even without the later publicized screen issues I was unhappy enough that I exchanged the spray-painted wonder for a nice glossy God of War edition. I'm happy now.