Tech Savvy Mama

Parenting in the Digital Age

Shhh…Don’t tell the kids Mommy’s watching a movie on her PSP!

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School ended last week and since the kids were immediately whisked away for few days at Camp Grandma and Grandpa, I had a little more time to relax, catch up on some unfinished projects, and get to know my Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) a little better.

As part of the #PSPFamilyFun Program, my PSP came preloaded with all kinds of great age appropriate content for my kids like games, comics, and movies. Since Little Miss Techie and Captain Computer weren’t around, I set up our hammock in the shade, grabbed a cold drink, and enjoyed watching It’s Complicated right in my backyard! Photo below was taken inside due to glare on the screen.


I love the design of the PSP because it was ergonomical and comfortable to hold while watching the movie. The picture was also crystal clear thanks to the high resolution screen. I know it will be great for movie watching on the go thanks to it being so light (approximately 10 ounces!) yet it has a large enough screen (4 ½”) so Little Miss Techie and Captain Computer will be able to view it with ease during flights later this summer.

I found that the sound quality on the PSP to be much better than expected. While it wasn’t THX theater quality or akin to home surround sound, it did not have the tinny sound that many portable devices seem to have. I also appreciate that the highest volume setting on the PSP won’t wreck my kids’ ears, even if they do plug in a set of headphones when using the PSP for movie watching on the go.

While I didn’t exactly have 2 hours to watch the movie from start to finish (wouldn’t that have been indulgent!), it was easy for me to figure out where I had left off thanks to the navigational features that allow me to view scences in 15 second, 30 second, or 1 minute intervals. Even though it may sound tedious to go through thumbnails a minute at a time, the right arrow on the joystick control takes users through scences at lightning fast speed while the counter in the bottom right corner shows play time versus total run time.


I think our new PSP will be a welcome addition in my carry on luggage this summer because of its compact size and ability to hold more movies on its 4GB memory card!

What have been some of your favorite movies this year that you think I should add to my PSP to get us ready for summer travel? Leave a comment for kids’ movies and another for movies you think I would like and each comment will be an entry to win a $50 Sony PSP gift card courtesy of the Sony #PSPFamilyFun campaign! Please include your Twitter handle or email in your entries! Thanks!

For additional entries, tweet this daily: Tell @TechSavvyMama what movies 2 add to her Sony @PlayStation Portable (PSP). Answer & enter 2 win $50 PlayStation GC: http://bit.ly/bliQvg Then come back and leave a link to your Tweet in your comments.

And thanks to everyone who commented here with suggestions about games I should add to my PSP! I love your great ideas and look forward to adding more content in time for summer travel!

I was invited to participate in the PSP Summer Family Fun blogger program by Sony Corporate Entertainment America and share my experiences using the PSP. I received these items to document my experiences and was not compensated for my participation however, I do hope that my involvement might allow me the opportunity to win a BlogHer conference sponsorship.

Thanks for reading Tech Savvy Mama through your feed!

Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
©2012

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lynette says

    Ah, what a great description of your peaceful movie date with your new PSP in your backyard! Nice way to celebrate summer vacation.
    Movies to be sure to add: Babies and Young Victoria.

  2. Maggie McGary says

    If only I could find the charger for our PSP!

    I think Avatar would be fun to watch on the PSP–for kids and adults. Or Up–another one for both kids and adults…although any adult with half a heart better have plenty of tissues handy!!

    @maggielmcg

  4. Heather says

    I looked at our rental queue on Netflix and have a list of the kids movies we have watched lately and rated four or five stars.

    The Pagemaster, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Inkheart, Old Dogs, Donkey X, Zathura, Free Willy 4: Escape from Pirate’s Cove, Toothless and Flubber

  5. Heather says

    These are the Mom/couples movies I have watched lately and enjoyed; (500) Days of Summer, Couples Retreat, My Life in Ruins, The Proposal, Penelop and The Ugly Truth.

  7. Some Lucky Dog says

    Hmmm, I wonder if hubby knows his PSP will play movies??? He’s never mentioned it!

    Kids movies: Where The Wild Things Are and Alvin and the Chipmunks

  8. Some Lucky Dog says

    Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (an older movie, butone of my favorites!)

    Dear John

    someluckydog at gmail dot com
    (sorry, forgot my e-mail on the last one)

  14. Neo_Metatron says

    Hi there Tech Savvy Mama,

    Fantastic Mr.Fox, based on Roald Dahl’s 1970 novel Fantastic Mr Fox, is a heartwarming tale for kids and adults alike. The movie was painstakingly animated by hand, looks fantastic and was nominated for 2 oscars.

    http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/movies/fantastic-mr-fox.html

    For you I’d suggest “The Hangover” it’s the funniest movie I’ve seen last year and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it too. It’s a bit raunchy at times, so this one should be for the parents only ;P !

    http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/movies/the-hangover-unrated.html

    Twitter:Neo_Metatron

    You can send me a direct message via twitter should I be so lucky and win!

    Cheers,

    Neo