In the wake of recent gadget releases like the new iPhone-ish iPods, the release tomorrow of the next iteration of the Sony Playstation Portable, the PSP2, also known as the Slim and Light PSP, is decidedly underwhelming and anticlimatic, particularly due to the new and innovative features (or lack of them). And beside the still-peaking (after all this time) Nintendo DS, the Sept. 10 release of the PSP2 is like a mildly interesting side attraction in the gaudy carnival of gadgetry for 2007.

The PSP-S150, as it is formally known, is actually interesting in that Sony managed to shave off nearly a third of the weight and nearly a fifth of the thickness of the original (hence the nickname slim and light), loads faster and lasts longer, but basically that’s it (aside of course from the new video-out feature, which turns it basically into the smallest PS2 in the world). A bit like the iPod Classic in upgrade terms, but certainly nowhere near the class of an iPod Touch update.

When launched at E3 earlier, people were disappointed - they were expecting a bigger, better screen, if not a touchscreen already, more memory, and the loss of the reviled UMD media. Instead we get slim and light.

Expected to hit stores tomorrow, it costs US$199, is available in black, white and silver, and comes bundled with a 1gb Memory Stick and Star Wars Battlefront, as of last reports. Whoopee.

Expect a full review in Mobile Philippines soon.