PSP World

Brando Metal PSP Case

Our previous review of Brando Workshop’s PSP Clip Case (PSPworld Rating: C) showed us a case that was good in theory, not so good in execution — but that was March. For the Metal Case, we hoped that the good ideas had stayed, and the execution had improved.

For a good looking case, the Metal Case is amazingly simple — it’s basically two pieces of metal double-jointed together, with some neoprene on the inside for shock protection. There is a little more to it than that, but not much. Cut-outs allow access to the Memory Stick door, the Wi-Fi switch, the headphone/remote jack, the AC port, the power switch, the USB port, the IR port, and the UMD door switch. Why there is an opening for the UMD door switch is somewhat of a mystery, since you can’t actually get to the UMD inside unless you remove the PSP from the case.

The first thing you’ll notice is that the case opens toward you, not away. This means that the lid either dangles in front and hits your hands, or you fold it underneath the PSP. We found this to be rather uncomfortable, but hey, maybe you enjoy metal scraping against your palms. For this reason, we really don’t feel that we can review the Metal Case as a playable case — which brings up a whole different set of criteria, and that is where things start to fall apart.

If you can’t really play the PSP while it’s in the case, then you don’t really need access to anything but the headphone/remote and possibly the AC ports. Unfortunately, there is nary a port that is protected on this case. To it’s credit, there is nothing stopping you from spinning the case around and inserting the PSP so that the top opens toward the back, but that causes nearly every hole to be in the wrong place, and even blocks access to the power and Wi-Fi switches and the AC port when closed.

Overall, we were disappointed with the Metal Case — the protection wasn’t up to par for a non-playable case, and playing the PSP while in the case bordered on being downright painful. Like it’s cousin the Clip Case before it, the Brando Workshop Metal Case is good in theory, not so good in execution.