If you ever fancy using the PSP's GPS function outside playing Portable Ops, this may help you think it over. Somebody decided to put his portable to the test, and matched up a PSP GPS/Maplus Portable Navi UMD to a Panasonic car GPS.

The Results:

• The Panasonic starts at the same time as the car, while the PSP requires a 5-minute warm-up time.
• The Panasonic didn't have problems when going through tunnels, while the PSP suffered connection problems.
• The Panasonic's system menu could access addresses, names and phone numbers. The PSP allowed only provides info for addresses
  

Yeah, we know - it just doesn't sound fair comparing the PSP to a dedicated car GPS. The author didn't either apparently, as he tried the unit out for something a little more lucrative - mounting it on a motorcycle. He placed the PSP in a map case built for bike touring, and loaded up an external battery pack to boost service life to 14 hours. Also included in the pack were a pair of earphones to allow him to hear the PSP's voice messaging on the rode.

  

The verdict on this side? The system worked well at night, though it was difficult to read in daytime driving. The software felt somewhat old compared to other dedicated GPS nav systems, and there was no way to distinguish between national and prefectural roads.

Now, before we hear the flaming, do understand that the GPS function is built as an Add-On, meaning it's an accessory to the unit rather than the meat of what the PSP's all about (cough*homebrew*cough). Secondly, the comparison was done between a portable gaming system and a GPS navigation system, which was purpose-built for this sort of thing. We'd be more surprised if the purpose-built GPS system flopped.

if anything, this just tells us that GPS tech for the PSP may be long in the tooth at the moment, though homebrew devs may see this as a challenge - think you guys can do better than this? And lastly, this argument stands - can the Panasonic play homebrew, UMDs, MP3s movies and images? We think not. Then again, we strongly advise against playing any of these while driving.

Harris Interactive has just concluded their annual survey of 2,351 adults in the USA, known as their "Best Brands" poll. They've found that Sony is still ruling the roost (for the 7th year in a row!). Although some gamers may not be happy about the price of the PS3, this poll might be seen to show that their attitudes might change when the PS3 actually starts selling.

Microsoft, which made it into the top ten last year, didn't manage enough votes this time around. Sony is the only company in the list this year that deals with video games.

According to the survey, here are the ten Best Brands for 2006:

1. Sony
2. Dell
3. Coca-Cola
4. Toyota
5. Ford
6. Honda
7. Hewlett Packard
8. General Electric
9. Kraft Foods
10. Apple

Other brands that receive a substantial number of mentions but not enough to make the top-10 list included Chevrolet, Panasonic, Pepsi Cola, Nike and Maytag.