By Richard Menta 3/20/08

In an annoucement of the latest firmware update for the Sony PSP, The PSP's Sr. Marketing Manager John Koller made an interesting statement on his blog. On it he says "More than 50 percent of PSP users listen to music on their system".

This confirms what we pointed out back in our iPod Killers for Christmas article for 2006. In that yearly rundown of new players we wrote:

But seriously, is there really a player out there to challenge the iPod? In truth, one manufacturer has already found a secret sauce that makes it the second best selling portable digital player today. This player sells one unit for every 2.3 iPod's and is the the best portable media player on the market in our opinion. That player is the Sony PSP, excluded from the top digital player lists because it is primarily a game player.

Now, it was possible that everyone who owned a PSP simply ignored it as a music portable, unlikely as it may seem. In all fairness the PSP is quite large and heavy when compared to an iPod nano and even Apple's flagship iPod unit the iPod touch. That explains why the iPod/PSP world does not completely overlap. In our 2005 review the Sony PSP proved to be an excellent media device and it was our choice as the best personal media player on the market until Apple released the iPod touch last fall.

No doubt Sony's latest firmware, which expands Internet radio capabilities, is designed to capitalize on the fact Mr. Koller shared with us. Considering that the iPod touch is not exactly hospitable to Internet radio streams this works well for PSP owners.