PSP Go Battery Life Won’t be Terrific

PSP Go Image

Battery life is a big deal is portable electronics. My iPhone has fairly crappy battery life and my PSP Slim isn’t that much better. When I asked Sony about the battery life of the upcoming PSP Go at E3, I was told “about 5 hours”. It seems that may be on the high end.

The European PlayStation.Blog has some info about the upcoming digital distribution only handheld, indicating the PSP Go will only see 3 to 6 hours of battery life playing games and 3 to 5 hours for watching videos. This puts it on par with the PSP-3000.

Given the fact that the PSP Go’s battery is fully contained, it makes it tough for longer trips when you want to strap in for an epic session of God of War: Chains of Olympus. I was expecting a bit more since the screen has been reduced and there’s no UMD drive sucking up precious battery cycles. I’m sure a few third parties will be taking advantage of this slip up and will be providing extended play battery packs for the PSP Go this Holiday. I’m definitely getting a PSP Go anyway. It’s just that damn sexy.

New US Dept of Transportation Ban on Lithium Batteries Explained

Laptop Explodes

This is for all the people who have to fly and need their toys while in flight. I, for no one cannot sleep on an airplane. Its not paranoia, I’m just well over six feet tall and 265lbs. Leg space is a luxury I do not have. US DOT has declared the rules for carry on batteries, notably lithium ones. Why? They could explode. Although unlikely, there are no chances and a no exception policy has arrived. Here is an excerpt from Daily Tech:

The new rules state that spare batteries cannot be packed inside checked luggage, but spare batteries can be carried on board in carry-on baggage. Those brave enough to check baggage with electronic devices inside can leave installed batteries in the devices.

The U.S. Department of Transportation does not specify how many batteries are acceptable for travel. The Department states passengers can carry spare batteries for electronic devices and that the lithium content in all batteries must weigh less than 25 grams.

There is also a 2 gram limit for lithium metal batteries. Anything over cannot be brought on the plane at all. Most are well below that, but its good to know. All in all, you probably won’t have an issue carrying your laptop on the plane, but you may not be allowed to bring a back up battery. Some planes have power outlets and some do not. For all of the official rules, click here for a table explaining further.

[image via Flickr]