Power Support Silicone Jacket Set for PSP Review

— By Charles Starrett
As great as cases can be, sometimes you want more. And less. More protection when the PSP is out of its case and less bulk than playing the PSP in its case (if the case even supports it). Enter the silicone jacket — (usually) thin enough to be unobtrusive during use but still offering some protection from bumps, scratching, and in the PSP's case, fingerprints. The Power Support Silicone Jacket Set for PSP does all of this — and a little more, albeit for a premium price.

The first thing you'll notice about the set is the screen protector — it's very vlear and is residue free. It's not as thick as the JAVOscreen protector, but it isn't flimsy either and seems to be more clear. Also included with the set is a small silicone cover for the analog nub. It's a little hard to get on, and it really doesn't serve much of a functional purpose, but it's a nice touch regardless.

The jacket itself is a "frosty" translucent color that, while allowing the activity lights to show through, leaves most of the smaller buttons fairly hard to read. The PSP slides down through an opening in the top of the jacket, and once inside, the bottom, back, and sides of the PSP are well protected. Only the switches, headphone jack, power jack, speaker holes and accessory holes on the bottom are exposed. Due to the opening in the top the protection there is limited, but not only is this a necessity for getting the sleeve on the PSP, but it also allows for access to the UMD door, USB and IR ports, and L and R buttons.

The fit of the sleeve is great. The feel, however, will be a more personal preference. While all of the controls functioned well while in the sleeve, we didn't particularly care for the feel of the buttons while in the sleeve. A new version of the sleeve could remedy this, but it would also decrease the protection, so it's a give-and-take situation. In our tests, the jacket provided minor shock protection and did a typically great job of protecting against stractes. When combined with the included screen protector, the set becomes really impressive in this respect.

Overall, we found the Power Support Silicone Jacket Set for PSP to be as good, if not better, than we had expected. The minor cosmetic issues and the (in our eyes) slightly degraded feel of the buttons are a small price to pay for the combination of excellent protection from scratches, little added bulk, and slight shock protection. The only other issue, while quite minor, is that the silicone surface seems fairly adept at picking up dirt and small particles of material, so it will be necessary to wipe it off once in a while. Other than that, the set is an excellent, if slightly pricey, protection option, and makes a perfect companion to a more rugged closed case.

Pros: Excellent protection, included screen protector, little added bulk.

Cons: Slightly expensive, "frosty" translucence can make small buttons hard to read, picks up dust easily.

PSPworld Rating: A-

Company: Power Support
Model: Silicone Jacket Set for PSP
Price: $35.00

Comments

Meiyi: If only it has more colors then just cloudy white... and if only the price was a bit lower... this would have been a good buy. If anyone is interested in buying a case like the Power Support Silicone Jacket, be sure to also check out other similar products as well. You may save a few bucks or too. And please post a review if you brought any silicone cover and let us know how good or bad it is. ---'Soft Jacket' by Capdase (Looks pretty good. Comes in white or black and includes wrist strap. And only for $15? O.O) Links: [Black] http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-bf-70-mbc.html# [White] http://global.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/pid-1004001593/section-electronics/code-c/version-all/ ---'Flexiskin' by BoxWave (Hmm... Power Support Silicone Jacket seems more well made than this one... it's also missing 2 of the speaker holes, should be 4 like Power Support? but this does have cheaper price.) http://www.boxwave.com/products/flexiskin/flexiskin-sony-playstation-portable-psp_556.htm

horrorpunk138: i dunno...when i got my PSP i got a jacket very much like that (yeah...made by someone else)... and im pretty damn unhappy with it

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