The long-rumored is a new PlayStation Portable system with a smaller form factor, designed especially for users who are content to download games and videos. It's planned for an October release in North America, Europe and Asia for US$249.

While the price for the PSPgo seems steep compared to a PSP-3000, which retails for $170, It's certainly competitive with the iPod touch, which costs $229 for an 8GB model or $299 for the more comparable 16GB model. And the PSPgo emphasizes the "portable" in PlayStation Portable thanks to a neat design that's lifted from some smartphones and Sony's own Mylo Internet communicator.

The PSPgo measures 5.04 x 0.65 x 2.72 inches (128 x 16.5 x 69 mm) and weighs 5.6 ounces (158g). It retains a 16:9 aspect ratio display that measures 3.8 inches and 480 x 272 pixels, like other PSP models). Compare that to the 6.7 x 0.7 x 2.7 inch dimensions of the PSP-3000 and you can see where Sony made the cuts -- the PSPgo is easier to stick in a pocket and lighter, besides. It's worth noting, however, that the PSPgo's display isn't a touchscreen, like the iPhone and iPod touch.

The 3.8-inch TFT display slides upward to reveal control surfaces, just like a smartphone. Only instead of a QWERTY keyboard you'll find a directional pad, specialized buttons, a small analog thumbstick, start and select buttons -- the same interface you find on the full-sized PSP-3000 that Sony will continue to sell even after the PSPgo's release.

That's not the only reason the PSPgo is smaller, however. Sony has also removed the Universal Media Disc (UMD) optical drive from the PSPgo, emphasizing the unit's suitability for digital entertainment content transferred from the PlayStation 3 or directly over the PlayStation Network, an online service Sony has created for PS3 and PSP users, which offers video content and games for download.