Neo4in 1 Pad Hands On Review and More

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You just can't have enough Flash Memory nowadays. Cell phones, digital cameras, MP3 players, PDAs, and even PSPs need them. But what can you do if you happen to have an MP3 player that uses SD cards, a digital camera (or N-Gage) that wants an MMC card, and a PSP and a cell phone that needs Sony's Memory Stick Pro Duo? Until now, you could either use half of your paycheck here and then to buy a new 2G monster flash card, or just forget about that high-tech frenzy and use the not-so-spacious 128MB or 256MB cards that probably came in the box with your devices.

Hope is near. The first 3rd party manufacturer in China is soon ready with the first generation Compact Flash and SD/MMC Card Adapters for the PSP. How they perform compared with Datel's bestselling 4GB Hard Drive for the PSP, if they are any good at all, and what else they are good for, we will soon find out. We have spoken to the developers and had the chance to play around with their beta hardware for a while. Read the following Hands-On review to find out more.

Datel 4GB Hard Drive with X2 Battery Pack (In Stock)

For the record, the Datel 4GB Hard Drive (as reviewed by Lik Sang here) consists of four parts: the Hard Drive, a X2 Battery Pack, Max Media Manager Software for Windows, and a High-Speed USB 2.0 cable to connect your PSP to your computer. 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.

While there was initial fear that this may make the PSP look bulky, it turned out to be the best solution and adds only 125 gram to the total weight of your PSP. On the inside, the Datel 4GB Hard Drive is powered by a Datel developed Compact Flash adapter and a Magicstor 4GB Microdrive. Lik Sang successfully tested standard Compact Flash cards and Microdrives from other brands. Due to the PSP's Firmware limit of 4GB per Memory Stick (this may change in the future if Sony releases a new Firmware version), larger Microdrives or Compact Flash cards will work, but you can only use and format them with up to 4GB. In other words: it works with 8GB Compact Flash Cards and 6GB Micridrives, but you can only use 4GB which makes it all pointless so far. Again, this may change by Sony releasing a new Firmware for the PSP, this could happen once they release Memory Sticks with more than 4G.

First Generation Adapters Flash Card Adapters for PSP

After Datel's direct approach with a 4GB Hard Drive solution for the PSP, there are now three new products entering the market. On the first look, all three products definitely allow greater flexibility but we wanted to look a bit closer at the 2in1, 4in1 and whatever-in-one features. Just like with USB card readers on the PC, it may well be that behind a 21in1 device stands actually just a standard card reader that supports three different card slots with all its different card versions. Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick with and without MagicGate, and of course you can connect it to the PC and have it sitting on your desk. That already makes it a 7in1. Do not underestimate (or overestimate) the creativity of Chinese third party manufacturers ;-)

The beta samples that Lik Sang has available for this hands-on report were all directly from the factory and they are all still work in progress. We were already able to collect a first impression and forward our feedback to the manufacturer. We hope that all the flaws we have discovered are fixed in the final stage of the products, and that the manufacturing quality et all will be improved.

We were particularly unhappy with the fragile flat cable (flexible PCB type) and the connector that goes into the PSP Memory Card slot. It has been particularly difficult to plug into the Memory Card slot, and there was a constant feeling that the cable will get damaged easily, having no protection whatsoever on the outside.

Datel addressed that problem by developing their own flexible Memory Stick adapter and not just using a flexible PCB. They've used a flat cable on the inside that is protected on the outside with isolating rubber material. The cable on the Datel HDD is naturally also much shorter because the hard drives position near the Memory Stick slot. On the other hand, the cable on all these new first generation adapters seems to be replaceable with a special connector, while the Datel one is not replaceable if you ever break it (but would still be fixed through Datel's 1 year warranty).

The next question we had to ask ourselves (at least with the 2in1 and 4in1 version) was where to actually put the device. Because the device looks basically like a PC card reader that connects to the PSP instead of a PC, there is not a lot of choice. You can't have it hang down on your PSP because that wouldn't only disturb your gameplay and look foolish, it would also break the Memory Stick adapter cable and in worst case even your PSP Memory Stick slot. The only way of putting your adapter out of sight is to use a double sided tape and stick it on the back of your UMD drive. While not included with our beta samples, the manufacturer told Lik Sang that the final units will come with Velcro to hold it on the back of the PSP, on the UMD lid covering the PSP logo and symbol.

http://image.lik-sang.com/images/170/psp-4in1pad.jpg

We noticed that the overall quality of the card slots and the casing feels a bit dodgy when compared with a normal mass produced PC Card Reader. Again, we hope that this is still something that they improve for the final production but chances are that this won't change. Spring loaded slots like with the PSP itself would definitely help to increase customer satisfaction on this point. We also noticed that a Microdrive barely fits into the CF card slot, meaning that over time it will become scratched. We nearly had to force the drive in, which is a risky thing to do with a $250 Microdrive. The Memory Stick slot on the other hand seems too large, which means a smaller stick like the one that the PSP natively uses may need two attempts to sit perfectly. General impression of the hardware, parts and assembling was that it is of inferior quality, but this may change (at least a little bit) with the final version. Don't expect too much though, we have already received word that the 4in1 case will be re-used for the 2in1 (with the 'slot' for the SD/MMC card just closed and the words SD/MMC still sitting right on top of the unit). These are unfortunately the small details that low-fame manufacturers often don't understand, always looking to decrease production cost further.

Just as the Compact Flash adapter from the inside of the Datel 4GB PSP Hard Drive, the first generation flash card adapters also don't support anything larger than 4GB. This is not a flaw or design problem of these adapters, it is a simple limitation of the PSP firmware that Sony may change in the future. We have hoped that they developed a way around this by using two partitions and/or by implementing a switch just like Sandisk does with some of their higher capacity Compact Flash cards. Although this wouldn't show 6GB at once, it would at least make a 2GB and a 4GB partition available. Some users have also successfully connected real hard drives via standard CF/IDE adapters, and if this develops further (or in other words someone finally makes an adapter that lets us use multiple partitions), it could become very interesting: 8 GB Compact Flash cards, Microdrives, 2.5" and 1.8" hard drives with up to 60GB. Sitting right on the back of your PSP or in your glove compartment if you want.

To make a long story short, even if you connect a 6.8GB Microdrive from Hitachi or a 8GB Compact Flash card from Sandisk to one of these reviewed adapters, it will only format them as 4GB max.

The built-in Memory Card slot on all the tested devices basically functions as pass-through port. This means if you want to use a Memory Stick once in a while, you don't need to remove the adapter from your PSP. This is especially helpful considering the fragile Memory Stick slot flat cable, you just don't want to touch that too often or it may get damaged.

The Memory Stick slot also supports the older and larger (outdated) Memory Sticks, which is another positive side effect of the pass-through port.

Read the full article at Lik Sang