Design Reviews #1
In this series, I will evaluate the products with design aspects. Also, I will try to look from a user perspective. I will try to explain the good and bad parts of them.
What I wrote here, it will be my personal opinions and my experience, so it can be wrong for you :) I would love to discuss and talk.
So enjoy and get inspired!
PlayStation Portable (PSP)
PlayStation Portable is a handheld game console. It designed by Sony Computer Entertainment on December 12, 2004. PSP is a first handheld game console in Playstation.
Buttons
PSP has the screen that dominates the machine, 4 faceup PlayStation buttons, the directional pad, the analog nob. There are “Start”, “Select”, “Home”, brightness, sound settings for various music genres and vol buttons at the bottom of the screen. The “power” button is located on the side. Memory Stick is located on the left of the system. You can use this memory stick for games, videos, photos. The left and right trigger buttons are at the top of the machine. Also, in the back of the PSP, there is a disc cartridge. The disc is Universal Media Disc (UMD). PSP has read-only UMD drive for access to games.
PSP use with both hands with very balanced. When holding the PSP, buttons and controllers falls under the hand/fingers. It is a very comfortable machine. It is light. So, the player does not get tired when playing the game. Easy to find the best viewing angle, even in strong light environments. PSP has a wrist strap. When the player wears this strap on his wrist, the machine is unlikely to fall from the player’s hand. This is very logical.
Buttons are grouped, a left group for motions, a right group for another command like jump, hit, etc. In the right part has move controls (up, down, right, left) and analog stick. Analog stick is for movement as well but easy than the others. Also movement control buttons’ shape like an arrow. It is very logical to support it visually.
Some buttons have texture on them. Thanks to the texture, the players’ finger does not slide while using this button. Examples of these buttons are analog stick and power button.
When designed PSP, the designer designed the machine based on people who have little fingers. A person with big hands can already access the buttons that a person with small hands can access.
“Home”, “Select” and “Start” buttons are easy to press. But the “volume”, “Brightness” and “Music” buttons are hard to press. These buttons are almost half the size of other buttons. The player has difficulty and can feel pain while pressing these buttons. However, these buttons can be tolerated as the buttons mentioned are not very urgent buttons during the game.
There are 3 different options for “Brightness”. These are dim, bright, and brightest.
The power and hold switch is on the right side. They used one switcher for power up and hold mode.
Nothing happens when the buttons on the machine are pressed while the power button is in hold mode. This prevents accidental pressing of keys. Hold mode is a very useful mode to use when watching movies, videos, or listening to music.
You can push the switch down for hold mode, and pushing the slider up turns it on. The button returns to the middle after pushing it up.
The designer used the symmetry on this game machine. All buttons are symmetric except an analog stick.
All buttons, cable entries, and entries of other parts on the machine are marked with symbols. To charge the machine, you need to plug the cable into the yellow area on the bottom right. They also coded the end of the cable in yellow. In this way, it is easily understood which input the cable should be plugged into.
They chose the material of the parts on the right and left up parts as transparent. Thus, they maintained the symmetry in the design of the machine.
There is a partition for UMD Disks on the back of the machine. There is a hole at the top of the machine to easily open this part. The player can easily open this piece through this hole.
When you insert the UMD Disc into the machine, a sound comes from the machine. This sound is a good way to know if the game is loaded.
There is a removable part on the left side of the machine for the memory stick. This piece is attached to the main machine with plastic straps. Thanks to these straps, this piece is not lost.
The main material used in the machine is a glossy black material. No matter how cool this material looks, it shows the fingerprints on it.
The black color of the buttons and the main body is very harmonious. It looks so cool and whole because the same colors are used.
Feedback, please…
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