PSP Hardware Reviews

4GB Hard Drive + X2 Battery Pack Review

200% More Battery power and 4GB Hard Drive and also Movie Conversion Software

Suppliers

SuccessHK US$ 108 (~55.80 GBP)

Screenshots

Description

The X2 Battery is a direct replacement for your PSP's rechargeable battery, but offers double the capacity of the standard model. Now bundled with a 4GB HDD, it gives you plenty of space for your saves and files on the go.

The 4GB HD uses ultra-reliable Micro-Drive technology. The HD interfaces with the PSP by means of a flexible Memory Stick™ adapter which is plugged into the Memory Stick™ slot on the PSP.

Once connected, the body of the HD attaches snugly to the back of the PSP by means of two location posts which slot into corresponding holes on the back of the PSP. When used in conjunction with the X-2 double capacity battery the 4GB HD forms an ergonomic extension to the PSP which follows the neat lines of the handheld, fitting snugly in your palms. Once connected, you use the 4GB HD just as you would a normal Memory Stick™; you can playback video, MP3s, movies and images and save from inside your PSP games.

Technical Note: If you are experiencing a video-lag or out-of-sync problem, please update your PSP's Firmware. This problem doesn't occur with PSP Firmware 2.00 or above.

Features

4 GB HDD built-in
Provides 4 gigabytes of storage space for your PSP saves and files
Effectively doubles the capacity of the standard PSP battery
3.6 volts - 3600 mAh
Lithium-polymer battery technology
Plugs at the back of your PSP
Adds only 125 grams of weight

The Review Itself

The announcement of the 4GB Hard Drive by Datel was a major piece of news for the PSP Scene and the addition of the Double Strength Battery and also Datels Media Software and also USB 2.0 Cable meant this was it seemed good value for money against Sony and Sandisk 2GB Offerings, when first announced the price was a steep $249 but upon release it dropped down to $199 and later to $179, ok thats the back ground heres my review.

Intstallation of the 4GB Hard Drive was quite easy, it involved opening up the slot where the Memory card goes and pushing the interface and cable into it, the Hard Drive then with what must be magnets on the case around the Hard drive it pushed in and was very sturdy with only the cable sticking out a bit from where it goes into the Memory card slot, not perfect but decent enough.

The installation of the X2 Battery was a breeze too, taking the original battery cover and battery out takes seconds and the install was just as easy and balanced the back of the PSP nicely, it does look a bit strange with the 2 ends sticking out but not massively awful.

One factor with the installation was the weight factor and even with both ends installed the weight of the unit wasnt a major factor.

The PSP as most know is a bit crappy in the power department with on the original battery you only getting around 3 -5 hours of gameplay before the battery dies, with the addition of the battery you now have up to 10 hours so thats much better.

If you have a USB 2.0 ports on your computer you will love the speed at which files transfer over, on tests i did there was no difference between the 4GB Hard Drive and 1GB Sandisk Card on transfers.

The size of the Hard Drive means you can put a heck of a lot of files on your PSP, Photos displayed perfectly and MP3s played as you would expect too, If you have a Homebrew Capable PSP then you can fit a lot of Games and Emulators and files needed on their too. The one area i had a problem with was the Movie playback on a Movie i encoded although on the Lik Sang website it says you should have a firmware 2.0 PSP to avoid problems although to be fair if the movie was encoded properly maybe it would be a different story :).

The Media Manager software came with a video converter and to be fair the whole package was easy to install and for novices like me the encoding seemed rather easy too with lots of options for those who like to play around with settings and those who are complete newbies.

Comments
When you look at the price of a 4GB Sandisk Memory Card or even a 2GB Card and add to that the cost of a Double Strength battery and the Media software and then look at the 4GB package and the package is good for money, add to that the extra power time and the massive amount of space for files and its a great addon, the 4GB Hard Drive does add some size but little weight to the PSP and in some ways they are like little handles for the PSP, On tests everything seemed spot on but not the Movie playback, now whether thats my fault or the movie i tried but even on Lik Sangs site they say that if you are suffering then if you use a Firmware v2.0 PSP or higher you should be OK. So basically its a thumbs up all round but i had reservations about Movie playback.

Overall i would give it a 8.6/10 , its well worth the money if you need that amount of space ;)