PSP Road Kit

POWER BRICK RECALLED

While the PSP is certainly one of the slickest pieces of gaming hardware ever, it's ultra shiny and clear surfaces make it a very high maintenance little toy, indeed. The need for protective cases and travel-friendly accessories is therefore a very integral part of the PSP experience.Sony seems to be content to leave this potentially profitable market to third party manufacturers for now, hence the following review of Pelican's Road Pak 1.Consisting of a couple of different power sources, a carrying case, and UMD sleeves, Pelican has put together a compelling product, at least for the first run of "must-have" PSP accessories. At the core of this kit is arguably the rechargable battery. Also sold as an individual unit for about $20, the rechargable battery is a rather cheap-looking little black brick with a green LED indicator and pass-through that allows you to charge your PSP while simultaneously charging the battery itself.While I have not scientifically tested the battery charge times, I've found that it is good for at least a single full charge to your PSP. It is rated by the manufacturer to do two full charges, but I feel it is probably safer to say between 1 and 1 and a half "good" charges. It should effectively double your overall playtimes if you are out and about. I believe it's best use will be continuous gaming or watching a couple of movies during a 4-6 hour flight.One problem I found is that the battery gets almost alarmingly hot during charging, especially when it is being used as a pass-through to charge your PSP at the same time. I would probably avoid dual charging and just do each device separately for everyday use.The Pak also includes a 12V car adapter, which is perfect for road trips.The soft case bears mentioning as well. Made of a sturdy nylon, it has a rigid, pre-formed compartment for your PSP and charging devices. I assume it's molded plastic with a felt-like coating sprayed on. I actually like this as it prevents the PSP from floating around in the case and coming into contact with everything, although the PSP fits too snugly to allow external screen protectors that might attach to the PSP to fit in too. There are also two other separate compartments for UMDs and miscellaneous items. The section meant for UMDs is positioned directly over the PSP compartment, and although there is a lightly padded partition to separate the two, the paranoid part of me is hesitant of trying to stuff anything there. I would probably want a separate case for UMDs or see better padding in a future design.Also included as almost an afterthought are several colorful UMD sleeves and a tiny cleaning cloth. The UMD sleeves are of the "slide in" style that have univerally been criticized for lightly scratching the external housing of the UMDs. They will, however, protect the exposed optical read slot from damage, so they are still useful, if you don't mind the possible cosmetic consequences. The cleaning cloth is black in color and is quite small compared to the one included in the PSP value pack. It would be ok as a backup, or if you really want to stick something over your PSP screen while it's inside the travel case.Overall, the Road Pak is a very good value and it one of the better first generation accessory packs. I have yet to come across an accessory kit that truly delivers the "right stuff" as far as storage case, screen protection, media protection, and power sources, but the PSP is still in it's infancy. The battery pak alone is about half the value of the entire package, so it's definitely an accessory kit worthy of consideration.