Sony Surveys The Masses About LocationFree! - PSP3D.com - Sony PlayStation Portable News, Homebrew, Hacks, Reviews, Videos, Mods, Forums

Robert A. · #1 (**permalink**) 07-25-2006, 06:04 PM

Most frugal PSP users can unanimously agree that the LocationFree setup is not the most efficient nor practical. The wireless hub alone costs a few hundred dollars, and the range is slightly less than that of a standard WiFi connection. Nevertheless, Sony aims to improve the LocationFree standard; just today, emails were sent out to PlayStation Underground members (PlayStation.com members) surveying users about what they thought about the unit, its capabilities, and future possibilites regarding its use.

The way I see it, LocationFree is just another Sony flop. It fails in almost the same way as the UMD format for movies did; it's impractical, overpriced... and yet again, impractical. For $300, you can view your DVDs and TV on a 480x272 screen, a few feet away from where your TV or PC would be located anyways. Call me stupid, but I'd rather watch my movies in HD with surround sound, not on a small-screened handheld with barely existant speakers. Thoughts?

Check out the survery questions at Kontaku here.

Orrmonger · #2 (**permalink**) 07-25-2006, 06:10 PM

I love it. I just got it last week for my Sony Vaio PC which I am on now and watching my Satellite. This will come in handy for the crappy cable at Purdue next year. However, I will not hook a DVD player up to it, for I can just watch them on here. The Sony customer service guy told me that in the FW 2.8 will have a universal controller for the Location Free, which really sucks right now for the PSP. It's $270 I think now. They dropped it so they could compete with the Slingbox.

johnnyoo · #3 (**permalink**) 07-25-2006, 06:31 PM

A joke? Ha ha ha ha ha.

LocationFree is a waste of money. Either that or you must be rich to own one. At which point, it would be a waste of time.

Orrmonger · #4 (**permalink**) 07-25-2006, 06:47 PM

Either that or you don't have a job? lol Well I spent most of my graduation money on a top of the line Vaio and other accssories such as Location Free. It's most for my laptop, but the PSP is just a nice bonus. You wouldn't know it's a waste of money since you do not own one.

Hank Williams IV · #5 (**permalink**) 07-25-2006, 10:28 PM

That's a good point there Orrmonger. By the admin post I thought the Location Free thing was only for the PSP, but it makes it a lot more worthwhile since it works with all Sony products. We have a Sony laptop (don't ask me what type, it's not mine), and if it ever came to being someplace where wireless access would be most warranted, I don't see why you wouldn't want one. One question though is the strength of the wireless connection. Is it as weak as what I'm lead on to believe? And if so, would it be possible to connect it to a wireless router to strengthen it's signal?

mart19902004 · #6 (**permalink**) 07-25-2006, 10:30 PM

u can just use the pmp mod

Robert A. · #7 (**permalink**) 07-25-2006, 10:38 PM

Hehe, well being as this is a dedicated PSP site, I wasn't quite paying attention to its potential applications on other sony products. Yes, it may come useful if you have a Sony-ized house/apartment, and if ya really feel the need to catch a flick while typin' an email at the same time. =)

But as my rant stated, is it really worth the almost $300 price point? You decide.

Orrmonger · #8 (**permalink**) 07-26-2006, 01:09 AM

$300, exactly...half the price of the PS3 lol. For Hank Williams IV, the signal is very good. I have mine connected to a wireless router. It is actually the only and prefered way, but there might be another I think. You do get like a second or so lag when switching channels and stuff, but that's obviously going to be expected.

Hank Williams IV · #9 (**permalink**) 07-26-2006, 08:27 AM

I'm not sure if the price is worth it, but then again, it's cheaper then the ATI video card we have in the desktop PC upstairs, which lets us record television shows in HDTV quality, as well as watch them on the computer, so it may very well be worth the $300. We spent about $500 upgrading the computer this year, so it's obvious that outragous prices such as that don't bother me too much.

matt63634 · #10 (**permalink**) 07-26-2006, 01:12 PM

I used to have a location free...It sucked. The PSP wouldn't be able to pick up the signal except for in my house. It's supposed to work via your broadband connection so you can watch TV anywhere you have WiFi. I returned it and bought a slingbox, which the quality is about 10x better. Doesn't work on the PSP though.

Another way that sony tries to screw you is they only license their Location free software for one (maybe two) computers. If you have more than that, $ony charges you something like $30 for additional software per computer. Slingbox's software is free and the quality is much better than sony's. Just my $0.02.