PSPWare 2.5.1
Nullriver Software
Price: $15 (free trial)
Pros: Simple interface, iLife integration, profiles for multiple memory cards, the best all-in-one utility for the PSP.
Cons: No support for protected content, makes iSync look limited and short-featured.
by Justin Gatchek, 1st Lt, USAF
First impressions are crucial and PSPWare from Nullriver gives you a warm fuzzy as soon as you install it. It appears easy to operate, which is great for first time users - we all hate programs that come with a dictionary size manual, and this program is hardly that. But don't be fooled, this program packs in a lot.
In fact, it is the first of its kind in that it does the job of several individual utilities in one handy app. Before this program, Playstation Portablte (PSP) users had to connect their memory sticks as removable drives; managing folders and files manually.
You might think that would be fairly simple, but the device is pretty picky about file names and proper placement. This program does all the work for you with the touch of a button.
The music section integrates with iTunes, which makes everyone's life sooo much easier. Now all you have to do is select which playlists you want on your PSP. Just remember that protected songs purchased through the iTunes Music Store can't be played on the PSP. Don't have iTunes? Well you're out of luck and you're probably the only caveman still playing with Winamp. Get iTunes... its worth your time!
Photos
Photos sync just like music. Here you can select iPhoto albums and Windows Pictures folders to upload to your PSP. This is about as basic as it gets... just click on what photos you want... and don't click on the photos you don't want.
This is one of the areas where the program is really worth paying for. One of the most complicated things about a PSP is how it handles videos. First, they have to be correctly formatted in either MP4 or h.264 (with firmware 2.5+) then they have to be properly named and placed in a specific directory on the PSP.
This program lets you forget about all that headache. PSPWare not only puts movies in the right place and names them correctly, it converts selected mpeg, avi, Windows Media, and QuickTime files for you on the fly.
Bookmarks
This feature is handy if you use the web browser and wireless card in the PSP. Of course the web browser is only offered on firmware versions 2.0+. Since entering text isn't very fun or fast on the PSP, you can save yourself a lot of time by uploading bookmarks from your favorite browser instead of entering URLs by hand.
Backup
There is nothing better than having a generator when your house loses power, or having jumper cables when your car dies. Well the "backup" tab is just that for your PSP. This will go inside your memory stick and make copies of your saved game files on your hard drive. So you can rest assured that all those hours of beating up pimps and jacking cars in GTA will be safe...
The "advanced" tab holds some of the cooler features of this program. One nice feature is that it can be set up to sync different content to different memory sticks - perfect if you have more than one, like I do. You can also copy Address Book contacts from your Mac to a slow-loading web page accesible in the handheld's browser. PSPWare can even launch itself, synchronizing as soon as you connect the PSP.
PSPWare makes it easy to use your PSP for more than just games and turns your synchronizing job from an hour-long process to a two-minute job. Not only is it extremely user friendly, but it's also fairly cheap, does the job of five separate apps, and is available for Windows or Mac. You can't ask for more than that!
System Requirements (Mac):
* Mac OS X 10.3.9
* 1GHz G4 or better
* 512MB of RAM
* 250MB hard disk
* PSP and a USB cable
System Requirements (Windows):
* Microsoft Windows 2000 or later
* iTunes
* PSP and a USB cable