While the TomTom iPhone app might make the planet’s most lusted after mobile a full-on satnav, what if you want to turn your Sony PSP into a fully fledged PND? Well, that’s where PSP Go! Explore comes in. An add-on for Sony’s handheld, can it replace your regular mapper? Read our full PSP Go! Explore review now and we’ll reveal all.
Perhaps the biggest deal with the PSP Go! Explore is its price. At £105, it’s around the same price as the TomTom Car Kit for iPhone, but comes with Maps on a UMD for your old school PSP 3000. That beats the complete £160 price for TomTom’s Apple-friendly effort.
But can it live up to its competitors on mobile platforms from Google, TomTom and Navigon? Well, sadly no. The maps on PSP Go! Explore are fine, but the real issues lie with audio guidance. You can barely hear the directions when your zipping along the motorway and we tested it in a bog standard hatchback, not a rattling Transit van.
Read our TomTom iPhone app review now
The problems don’t stop there either. The screen, while usually stunning for games, just doesn’t serve up maps with any great clarity and everything looks very low-res. Not great when you need to take a quick peek at PSP Go! Explore when a busy junction is fast approaching.
And while rerouting on most satnavs we test is always up to the task, the PSP Go! Explore was worryingly leisurely. Pull off down the wrong slip road and it’ll disappear to ponder your next move while you swear heartily at yourself for getting lost.
The dock which comes as part of the PSP Go! Explore pack feels very cheap and the fact it doesn’t pack a charger is a real miss. Battery will soon dwindle, leaving you high and dry on all but the shortest of trips.
The price of the PSP Go! Explore undoubtedly makes it worth a peek. But seeing as the TomTom Start costs a mere £120, we’d recommend a cleverer, dedicated PND.
