Hands-On: Datel 4GB Hard Drive for Sony PSP - Details, Benchmarks, Compatibility Test

[wraggster]

Great News for Homebrew Fans from Lik Sang (http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3707&&lsaid=219793), now we can store much more on our PSPs and for the better price of $199, heres some of the news from Lik Sang (http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3707&&lsaid=219793):

With the very first sample of Datel's 4GB Hard Drive for Sony PSP, we received the final and confirmed price, as well as availability and shipping information. Lik Sang expects to have the product in stock by Monday, and the final and confirmed price of the unit is US$ 199. All customers who pre-ordered for the unconfirmed price of US$ 249.90 will of course get the new price applied automatically (we'll send you an email within 48h).

There is currently a huge rush on the unit and stock will definitely be limited over the next couple of weeks. Secure your unit by placing a pre-order today, compared to available Memory Sticks and expansion batteries it's a steal.
http://image.lik-sang.com/content/psp-4gb-hdd/250x188/DSC00863.jpg
The 4GB Hard Drive is connected with the PSP by means of what Datel calls a flexible Memory Stick™ adapter that is plugged into the Memory Stick™ slot on the PSP. Once connected, the body of the HD attaches to the back of the PSP using two location posts which slot into corresponding holes on the back of the PSP. When used in conjunction with the X2 double capacity battery the 4GB HD forms an ergonomic extension to the PSP which follows the neat lines of the handheld.

The PC software is completely optional and advanced users already setup with Memory Stick, video converting software and game saves manager may keep their old setup. If you are completely new to "media management" for your PSP, Datel's software will be good quickstart: it allows you to manage your save files, download more of them from Codejunkies, convert movies, transfer files back and forth and more. The software comes in form of an 8cm CD-ROM. When we installed it, we were asked if we would like to automatically download an update from Codejunkies.com.

You'll also find an installation guide in the box and Datel provides support virtually everywhere in the world through codejunkies.com and their European and American hotlines.

Free Space 3803 MB - Size and Performance

Once in place and the PSP switched on, the hard drive is recognized by the firmware with 3803 MB free space. Because the 4GB Hard Drive is based on Microdrive technology (see here for an illustration), it is tiny and small and therefore doesn't make any noise when it is spinning.



If you are worried about the total weight of your PSP with 4GB Hard Drive and X2 Battery Pack, we've got good news. The hard drive's weight is is about 35 grams, and the X2 only additional 80 grams. The total weight of both units connected to your PSP is not more than about 125 gram. A PSP with standard battery and a UMD in the drive weights about 320 grams in comparison.

Transferring Movies to the PSP

In this test we have transferred a movie file with about 150 MB from the PC to the PSP's Memory Stick slot.

• Transferring to Memory Stick using Media Manager: 44 Seconds.
• Transferring to 4GB Hard Drive using Media Manager: 90 Seconds.
• Transferring to Memory Stick using Windows: 35 Seconds.
• Transferring to 4GB Hard Drive using Windows: 75 Seconds.

Loading Times

Here is an overview of how loading files from the three different solutions compares. Please note that in this test we measured the time from pressing start in the PSP menu, until the file was fully loaded and could be played back. The times will of course vary depending on the file size.

• Loading from Memory Stick: 1 Second.
• Loading from 4GB Hard Drive: 8 Seconds.
• Loading from UMD: 27 Seconds.

Battery Life on Movie Playback

To answer the question if a Microdrive consumes more power than a normal Memory Stick, we have put a couple of PSP's into test and waited until they shut down before running out of power.

• Playing movie with Standard Battery and SanDisk 1G Memory Stick: 4.45 Hours.
• Playing movie with Datel X2 Battery and Datel 4GB Hard Drive: *Still Testing* (Updated within 24h)

Replacing the Internal Hard Drive

After having done all the standard tests, it was now the time to get a screw driver and see if our theories about hard drive up- and downgrades will prove to be true. After last weeks announcement of the 4GB Hard Drive, all the tech freaks here at Lik Sang couldn't resist to conjecture about all the different possibilities should the 4GB Hard Drive turn out to be a normal Memory Stick to Microdrive (aka Contact Flash, aka ATA/IDE) adapter on the inside. Imagine if Compact Flash cards work with it, imagine if you can plug in a 6GB or 8GB Microdrive, imagine if you can trick around and actually run a 120GB hard drive on your PSP?

Now all these theories can only be proven to be true if the PSP's Firmware actually supports file systems with maximum volume sizes of over 4GB. A quick search at Microsoft.com revealed that the standard FAT (FAT16) format that the PSP uses has a maximum volume size of 4GB, only FAT32 (maximum 32GB) and NTFS (maximum 256 terabytes) would allow larger hard drives. While the PSP itself only formats FAT, a quick test revealed that the PSP doesn't have any problem with FAT32 formatted Memory Sticks created with a PC. This having said, our hope for larger hard drive support in the PSP was back and the wait to get our hands on the opened hardware was getting more and more thrilling.

Theres much much more to see at Lik Sang (http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3707&&lsaid=219793), let us know what you think :)

[Stew2000]

Looks great but a bit bulky for my liking.

[Mr.Modem]

Yeah that and the size of the harddrive is the only drawbacks. I think it would be better to have a longer wire between the harddrive and the PSP so you could carry the harddrive in your pocket. But maybe it would just look stupid. It's a very nice product though.

[Odie]

So basically, it's much slower than a memory stick, because it's a hard drive it's also a lot more prone to shock damage (yes I know microdrives have *some* shock protection mechanisms) and will likely suck more battery (this may be hidden a bit by the fact that the product has a built-in battery).

[Jdemon]

Hmmmm faster than a UMD but slower than a memory stick :confused: I'm suprised that the HDD is only 4,200RPM but I guess that's for power reasons.
Actually after playing my PSP for a few hours yesterday something to bulk up the back may help with thoes handcramps. :eek:

[brazenisgod]

I found those 4gb microdrives for $129 at pricewatch.com. Thats what i paid for my 1gb stick. I'm definately grabbin one of these. :D

[scx0r]

hmm interesting the device convertor woukd own, what we need to do is open a ipod 20gig take out the drive and swap it around format to fat32 and wooohooo got urself a 20gig friggin psp :D

oh ye having said that, sony will probably bring out somthing :)

[slayer2psp]

looks good i hope the gamestore i work at carries it we have other datel products so it looks good. with my discount at work it will only be 160 bucks what a deal for 4gb and a double life battery cant wait to get one

[pepsolman]

Now how could I slide my psp into my pocket with such bulkiness?

The big deal about having huge memory cards is that fit in without being notice... and you go on with your day with you psp still in your pocket.

That's the biggest deal about portable gaming... being able to fit such fun in your pocket.

Nobody has proven that better than Nintendo and there GB SP.

[slayer2psp]

f all the people who whant to put in ther pocket dont buy it then i cant wait and nintendo sucks ass im not 5 years old i hate nintendo this is about psp so why bring up the over priced crap nintendo makes. it funny how people talk shit about cool stuff so dont buy it if you dont like it . the best all in one handheld is the ngage anyways if its about being small and can do everthing lets see mp3s movies games phone net all in a nice little package nintendo cant do that

[Clay]

Cool beans

See? I try to make a positive post now and again =b

[Psyberjock]

If you pop over to Lik Sang you'll notice this won't accept anything over the 4 gig drive.

To be exact, the PSP's USB notices more when its linked to the computer, but the PSP's firmware won't recognize anything larger.

That doesn't mean that homebrew won't notice it. Dev's could probably program in recognition to their apps, then it would be just like when everyone adopted the 333 clock speed. A bunch of small releases in a couple days and everythings cool again.

Might work.

[3elevenX]

f all the people who whant to put in ther pocket dont buy it then i cant wait and nintendo sucks ass im not 5 years old i hate nintendo this is about psp so why bring up the over priced crap nintendo makes. it funny how people talk shit about cool stuff so dont buy it if you dont like it . the best all in one handheld is the ngage anyways if its about being small and can do everthing lets see mp3s movies games phone net all in a nice little package nintendo cant do that

I can tell your obviously not 5, though I'd peg you at about 12 with that spelling and "OMGZ!1!! PSP RULZE NINTENDO IS TEH SUCK!" attitude.


why bring up the over priced crap nintendo makes
Actually Nintendo makes the lowest cost systems.


the best all in one handheld is the ngage anyways if its about being small and can do everthing lets see mp3s movies games phone net all in a nice little package nintendo cant do that
NGage is the best huh....I'm not even going to bother. If your that ignorant to not know good games/systems when you see em, you shouldn't consider yourself a gamer.

Unlike your mindless sony zealot babble I own both PSP and the DS. They both kick some major booty.

[F9zDark]

I really want to see how this works. I saw a hack some where(may have been here, but it may have been PSP-Hacks..) where someone made a device that accepts microdrives and had 6gb working on the PSP. It involved an adaptor of sorts, but I can imagine that it might be cheaper than this unit.

Unless it is actually a small hard-drive (maybe a laptop HD? not exactly sure, since I haven't seen any screenshots of the product). If it is actually a mini-harddrive, then hacking that to accept larger disks may be a good idea.

[urherenow]

micro drive... as said countless times... same interface as a compact flash card. (yes it's a 4,200rpm miniature hard drive

sheesh!

[Elbereth]

Yes, I must stress everyone talking about iPod hard disk etc..

This is a very small drive (size of a CF obviously). The biggest capacity announced (hard to find) is 6GB at the moment.

In comparison:
Laptop hard disks are 2.5inch.
Desktop hard disks are 3.5inch.

Check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microdrive for more information.

What is good to see about this product is that it is a Compact Flash to Memory Stick Pro Duo adapter for PSP. That is great news, and maybe they will repackage it as a 2-in-1 converter (CF or SD for PSP). That would be awesome. The converter would not be very expensive and then it would be possible to use CF or SD (much cheaper than Memory Stick Pro Duo).

[F9zDark]

Well since my doubts are true, then there is no sense buying this. I saw a hack floating about that was a converter from CF and Microdrive to Duo. It plugged into the PSP and could hold a 6 gb microdrive(which worked with the PSP).

Might as well just get that then, probably alot cheaper too. If I find the link I will post it here(even though I think I found it here originally).

Here it is:

http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=11466

[pepsolman]

Still... with no answer to my question yet... how is the PSP gonna fit in my pocket with those two luggy things leached on the back like that?

Does this not make "portable gaming" inconvenient?

How bout we just make a backpack for the Ps2... attach it to a dvd screen... have a waste band for the dvd screen and play with the PS2 controller?

Might as well. :D