More Info Surfaces On Datel 4GB PSP HDD

[Zeus]

Darkplanets have acquired some more pictures on Datel's upcoming 4GB hdd for PSP addon as well as more information as to how this marvellous product works. Click readmore for additional images as well as a description of the product.

<center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/4gbpspcon.jpg"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/4gbpspcon.jpg" height="200" width="144"></center></a>


How does it work we hear you ask? Well the X2 battery replaces the original Sony battery on the PSP and the PSP 4GB Hard Drive clips on to the other side of the back of the PSP, making the unit symmetrical again. The PSP hard drive then has a small cable to connect it to the memory card slot, simple!

Because the 4GB Hard Drive behaves just like a PSP Memory Stick™ you don’t need to follow any special steps to use your new PSP Hard Drive. Once connected, use your PSP’s navigation system to playback movies, music, images and games stored on your Hard Drive.


How does it fit on to the PSP?
The 4Gb Hard Drive fixes tightly and firmly into 2 holes at rear / back of PSP on Right by memory slot compartment. A very small cable connects from side of hard drive into memory slot.

Once attached, the 4GB Hard Drive forms an ergonomic addition to your PSP, sitting comfortably in your hands especially when used in conjunction with the X-2 Battery. As such you should consider the Hard Drive to be a permanent attachment on your PSP, thus maximising the working life of the unit and ensuring that you always have your content with you.


News Source: <a href="http://www.darkplanets.co.uk/datel-4gb-harddrive.asp" target="_blank">darkplanets.co.uk</a>

Thanks to Entityz for the heads-up on the update.

[headyfred]

code junkies have put further details on their website here is a link

http://uk.codejunkies.com/news_reviews.asp?c=GB&cr=GBP&cs=£&r=1&l=1&p=18&i=8836&s=7

[medafor]

after waiting a year for better psp storage solution this is all we got? 4gb? and it cost more than the psp itself? the device itself looks great and more comfortable then original psp , dont get me wrong. ive always wanted something extra to grab onto in the back. excellent design. but 4gb and 250$ suck. thats why im selling my psp, sony screwed us on storage capacity. if this thing were 10-20gb maybe. :mad: . im getting rid of my psp, wtf good is an mp3 player and movie player if it cant store both without fighting for space? pay the price of another psp to get 4gb...i dont think so. sony could have used SD card. i bout a 1gb sd card for 50$. they did this on purpose...**** paying 150 for a 2gb duo...still too much.

[Zeus]

after waiting a year for better psp storage solution this is all we got? 4gb? and it cost more than the psp itself? the device itself looks great and more comfortable then original psp , dont get me wrong. ive always wanted something extra to grab onto in the back. excellent design. but 4gb and 250$ suck. thats why im selling my psp, sony screwed us on storage capacity. if this thing were 10-20gb maybe. :mad: . im getting rid of my psp, wtf good is an mp3 player and movie player if it cant store both without fighting for space? pay the price of another psp to get 4gb...i dont think so. sony could have used SD card. i bout a 1gb sd card for 50$. they did this on purpose...**** paying 150 for a 2gb duo...still too much.

With technology, there is always progression as this is a HDD, similar to mini hdd's in devices such as the IPOD I'm sure in the future there will be larger storage solutions for the PSP in excess of 10GB.

[u235]

the official site says, "SUSTAINED READ SPEED 2.00MB/s." that's a big difference from sandisk's pro duo cards. their normal and gaming cards do about 5MB/s, while the 1GB sandisk ultra2 card does about 10MB/s. i'm not sure what brand microdrive datel is using, but according to hitachi's specifications on their 4GB microdrive, "Sustained data rate 4.3 - 7.2 MB/sec."

so, all that said -- doesn't this drive seem to be on the slow side? imo, i'd expect something more impressive for the amount of money they're asking.

on a related note, i'm interested to see how the neoflash (and xecuter's counterpart) turns out. figure a pretec 2GB 133x (20MB/s) sd card runs $130 at outpost, that might be a good low-power solution. plus, i wouldn't have to encourage sony by buying their stupid memory sticks :P

[medafor]

With technology, there is always progression as this is a HDD, similar to mini hdd's in devices such as the IPOD I'm sure in the future there will be larger storage solutions for the PSP in excess of 10GB.

i fully understand that zeus. but its not like sony is making this product. datel came to your rescue. sony will offer 4gb duos as the next thing. how much will those be? i can guarantee more than the datel solution and the psp it self. remember the psp is an mp3 and movie player also (but you cant fully enjoy high quality movies unless you got a 1gb card, then that leave no room for mp3s). sony hasnt even released the 4gb yet and its been a year(2gb duos are finally affordable). they knew this ahead of time and wanted to tap or pockets for storage cost, how long will it take till we get at least 10gb of storage from sony? anyways i cant be more happier someone just bought my psp in the ebay AUCTION!!!! to think i was almost stupid enough to get this datel thing with xbox 360 coming out next month. DO YOU ALL REALIZE THIS 4gb hdd THING IS ONLY 50 DOLLARS CHEAPER THAN THE XBOX 360 core system? WAKE UP PEOPLE STOP LETTING SONY RAPE YOU. and yes i have a job im sick of wasting money to try to make my psp hold my movies and mp3s.

what wiil it be datel 4gb hdd or xbox 360? sony = rape your pockets

[Hectic]

dont get me wrong. ive always wanted something extra to grab onto in the back.

don't we all;) anyway, don't give up man, hdd support will only get better.

[jpnn80]

What bugs me is also the effect of this hdd on the battery life: I mean shouldn't this 4 Gb hdd, even if it's a micro one, use battery faster than a Pro Duo MS ? After some reflection, I think it's very likely for this reason that Datel decided to sell this hdd in a bundle with the X2 battery, instead of earning more money by selling the two accessories separately, isn't it? So time will tell, but I guess the X2 battery will be necessary to last at least for some hours by using the 4gb hdd ...

[Anubious]

Hell yeah i agree. Sony is a itch. They take advantage of working people and force us to spend ass loads on an expenisve psp and that dosent even include the SD Card whcih is 80 bucks for a 512

I Refuse to let sony take out its huge business **** and rape me any longer

[DarkForce]

http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3707

Lik-sang have received and tested a sample, with some very interesting news on modding the 4GB drive!

[detroit]

yeah on that article they show the inside
and what's really cool here is how simple
the circuits are. Basically, it's just an
adapter that convert the memory stick
to compact flash..

soon we'll see copies with just the adapter
part for like 30$ bucks and you'll be
able to add your own compact flash
or microdrive to it... word.

[jcb]

Important note - The drive is only 4GB because the PSP can only address up to 4GB of memory from a memory stick! Yup, believe it or not... unless Sony changes this with a new firmware, 4GB is all we're going to get from the memory stick port. Which also means that you can expect to see Memory Stick Pro Duo's up to 4GB in the future (and when that does happen you'll be wishing you had the 200 bucks you threw away on this drive back!)

All in all I think anyone who buys this is very stupid! It's way too expensive for such a small amount of storage space, it's VERY slow when compared to the memory stick pro duo's and with one of the new 2GB sticks (at $150) along with a USB hard drive, you can far exceed the Datel drive in every way.

Lets also not forget that the thing is H-U-G-E! I dont care what anyone says theres no way I would EVER strap that giant drive to my sexy PSP :)

This info also shines a light on why no one has released a large format drive for the PSP yet. They can only get 4Gb from the memory stick port and no one has been able to get the USB port to host an external hard drive (which may never happen from looking at the PSP's specs)... So looks like the Apacer is still the way to go.

[jpnn80]

One more major drawback of this HDD is shown by lik-sang as its page was just updated with its test result on battery life:

• Playing movie with Standard Battery and SanDisk 1G Memory Stick: 4.45 Hours.
• Playing movie with Datel X2 Battery and Datel 4GB Hard Drive: 5.45 Hours.

So wasn't my supposition above freakily right guys ?!
Then Datel made false advertising touting about its X2 battery bundled to last 2 times longer, while they didn't add the fact that this is true only if you don't use the HDD at the same time... Pretty cunning hu ?

So seems like this bundle is not the bargain it appeared to be, and if you want psp storage with Performance + Battery Life , you will have to wait for the 4GB Memory sticks... But how much time will pass before they are released, and then that they become even affordable, given the current price of the 2GB ? I can imagine that would be only in 3 years when the psp would have come at the end of its lifespan as a product !

[jpnn80]

New updates on Lik-sang tests:

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 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
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

• Playing movie with Standard Battery and SanDisk 1G Memory Stick: 4.45 Hours.
• Playing movie with Standard Battery and Datel 4GB Hard Drive: 3.35 Hours.
• Playing movie with Datel X2 Battery and Datel 4GB Hard Drive: 5.45 Hours.

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So after that update, the HDD seems to still use power from a standard battery in a reasonable amount, by lasting with only 1 hour less than the 4 hours of a MS.
I thought the HDD would use the standard battery faster, as the 1st results showed that the HDD and a X2 battery lasted only 1 more hour than a MS with standard battery.