Which PSP to get? Any comparisons?

Hi,

I am looking to buy my first PSP within the next week or so. Obviously I want it to be as flexible as possible but cant seem to find a definitive guide with differences between firmware, let alone if any of that makes any difference if I intend to downgrade!

So my Questions:

What is the recommended PSP firmware/hardware to buy for homebrew, whether 2nd hand or new?
Are there any comparison charts to show the differences?
Are there any versions that currently cant use homebrew?
Is there a solution that lets me have the benefits of a new version, whilst being able to temporarily go back to older versions for the sake of homebrew?

From things I have previously read, I found that either 2.8 or 1.5 are the best versions- correct?

Obviously I want all the usual features (not sure if it makes a difference), wireless LAN, music player, play backed up games, video player, browser, customisable view (icons etc).

Thanks in advance,
Alex

I dont think I am in a position to try the Pandora battery as I dont know anyone with a homebrew PSP.
For the sake of ease, would you recommend buying a version 1.5 from new? Or are there any features of later models that I would be missing out on (like net browser)?

I want to buy whatever would make my life easiest with regards to getting the most out of homebrew.

Well either way, its pay extra for a 1.5 or buy a later model and pay extra for the pandora battery? Hmmm!

When I've been looking on Ebay, many of the advertised PSP's dont show whether they are slim or fat!
Is there any simple way to tell?

Otherwise I am just going to buy a random PSP for a good price and hope fot the best- providing the statement is true... "all of them can be made to use homebrew".

I just want to be sure that I arent going to miss out on any features that I could have gained if I had bought a particular firmware version!!

Thanks asddasit for your replies! You are most helpful!
Finally, are there any other things that I could be aware of with regards to PSP- I have heard a lot of talk about CFW's etc to enhance the PSP- what are the advantages of custom firmwares? Any difference/relationship to homebrew?

Thanks again!

Custom Firmware is the same thing as the Official Firmware it uses, except it has waaaaay more extras and stuff to play and use.

Well the cool things you can do with custom firmware include:
Running Homebrew! Homebrew is the main program type used in the psp custom firmware programs. These include IR Shell where you can:
It lets you listen to your music while you play games.
Put shortcut to your homebrew programs and emulators on your psp.
has a cool Universal Remote program you can use to control different devices.
Its just basically another XMB, but in a different format.
It is pretty cool, it has easy access to devhook and you can also go into USB Mode and you don't even have to keep your screen sitting there. You can be in USB Mode and off listening to music and going into different sections on your psp.
Theres more stuff, you will see all the different things if you get it.

You can also play NES, SNES, N64, SEGA, and GBA emulators on your psp with custom firmware. So you can play about all NES, SNES, SEGA games on your psp. And there are not quite as many N64 games that you can play on your psp, but about 15? or so work alright. Such as Super Mario 64, Super Mario Kart, Starfox 64 and Super Smash Bros, or Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time sort of.

You can also watch youtube videos directly from your psp using your wireless internet.

You can also easily play PS1 games on your PSP, and also PSP ISO game files too.

You can also have short intro videos pop up when you turn on your PSP.

That is a short list of stuff I guess . It is pretty cool, i would recommend getting custom firmware. It is the same thing as regular firmware, except is has so much extra stuff you can do.

So I can get custom firmware on ANY fat PSP that I choose to buy? But latest versions will require me to use a Pandora Battery to downgrade first before getting the CFW to work. Am I close enough with that analogy?

Yes! But in order to put CFW on a PSP it needs to be downgraded to the 1.50 official firmware. Once you are at 1.50 you can upgrade to a CFW. Using the Pandoras Battery method puts your PSP at the 1.50 Firmware.

By George I think I've got it! I will get myself a PSP now, and not worry about which version to buy myself! So expect to see more of me when it arrives as I'm sure I'll need some help to get the thing how I want it!!

Thanks for your help guys!

Alright cool . Got another PSP fan on our hands. If ya need anything just ask.

Hey yall. I'm getting a new slim psp soon. I'm borrowing my friends lately and I love it! just need to know how everything works? n when I get my psp, should I get homebrew? what are the advantages of it? and why different versions?

Thank you for your replies! I'll be returning

My simplest answer from my limited understanding:

Homebrew is a term used to describe unofficial copies of games (like downloads of games, snes, sega etc) and also any applications developed by PSP developers for use on the PSP.
Obviously the advantages of homebrew are the range of applications you can use and also the amount of games you can play without having to buy the games.
Version 1.5 is pretty much the only version worth having to use Homebrew applications and games.
You can upgrade to custom firmware (CFW) which gives 1.5 advantages with features from later official firmware releases.
Different versions are simply the newer features that sony release in the official releases (like extra functionailty), so generally the higher the version the more features you have.

I recommend downgrading to 1.5 when you get your PSP then you will have so many other options available to you with regards to games you can play and applications you can use.

How do you downgrade the psp?

I'm reading up more info on the programs. everyone recommends one type of homebrew...uhh I think it's 3.52?

what's so special about it?

and thank you for answering my questions, it's really helping.

Ah okay. but how do I downgrade it? I need to find someone who has it already n then they do it?