Hack35.Turn Your PSP into a PDA


Hack 35. Turn Your PSP into a PDA

With the web capabilities in Version 2.0 of the firmware and all the homebrew options available to people running Version 1.5 of the firmware, you could easily do many of the tasks you would normally do on your PDA on your PSP.

If your boss has agreed to bankroll a new PDA to help you keep track of your busy schedule, you're probably not going to be able to convince him that the PSP is the PDA you need…at least not yet. Many of the rumors and quotes in the media indicate that Sony wants to grow the PlayStation Portable to be the must-have digital device. They have already released Version 2.0 of the firmware that added a browser and opened the platform up to more functionality than it originally had, so there is every chance that future firmware updates will add even more functionality.

Nevertheless, there are several current options, both homebrew and non-homebrew, available for the PSP that can make it a rather attractive make-shift PDA. The text-entry capabilities of the device are currently limited by the lack of a functional keyboard attachment for the PSP, but hopefully either Sony or a third party will fill this need soon. In the meantime, this hack will walk you through the different ways you can trick out your PSP as a PDA.

3.16.1. Address Book

The little black bookan address book, keeping track of the names, phone numbers, and sometimes addresses of important contactshas been one of the most popular non-digital assistants, surrounded by its own social mythology. And it has become the must-have feature of even the most simplistic PDAs. We have address books on our computers, our cell phones, and our iPods, and ideally we like to keep this information synchronized between these different devices. Why not sync this data to your very sleek PSP?

This section will cover a few options for keeping an address book on your PSP.

3.16.1.1. Turn addresses into pictures.

Before Sony released their browser with Version 2.0 of the firmware, and before people figured out that they could redirect the Wipeout Pure browser to view the rest of the Internet [Hack #41], several people realized that you could keep a lot of information on your PSP using the device's built-in picture viewing capabilities. Using the procedure discussed in "Create Your Own PSP E-Books" [Hack #29], you can easily convert your address book to a series of images that you can view on your PSP. Just export your contacts in some sort of textual form, convert to PDF, and then convert the PDF to a series of JPEG images.

This can be time-consuming. Fortunately, if you are using a Macintosh computer running OS X, PocketMac for PSP (http://www.pocketmac.net/products/pmpsp/index.html; $9.95 USD), shown in Figure 3-54, synchronizes the contacts in your address book or Entourage address book to an images folder on your PSP, as shown in Figure 3-55. Each contact appears in a separate image, and you can scroll through the names on the PSP (see Figure 3-56) and hit the X button next to any name whose details you need to view. Figure 3-57 shows an address card that's been turned into an image.

PocketMac for PSP can also sync pictures and music from iPhoto and iTunes to your PSP.

3.16.1.2. Address book through the Web.

If you have a web site or server space somewhere, you could serve up your address book as a web page available either via the browser included with Version 2.0 of the firmware or via the Wipeout Pure browser. There are also several online services such as Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com) and Apple's .Mac (http://www.mac.com) that offer online address book access. PSP Web Browser (http://www.pspwebbrowser.com/) is a PSP-specific community portal that offers contacts, along with a whole slew of other services.

Figure 3-54. PocketMac 1.0 for PSP


Figure 3-55. Contacts folder


Figure 3-56. Scrolling through the address book


Figure 3-57. Individual address "card"


The browser included with the Version 2.0 firmware is capable of opening plain text and HTML files saved locally on your Memory Stick. You could easily export your address book as HTML, name it something handy like addressbook.html, place it in the root directory of your PSP, and navigate to it in the browser by entering file:/addressbook.html in the address bar. This would make a nice enhancement to the Memory Stick portal hack [Hack #30]. While you're generating a portal for your PSP's Memory Stick, why not convert your address book to HTML?

3.16.1.3. Address book via homebrew.

If you are running Version 1.0 or 1.5 firmware, your PSP can run homebrew applications that the vibrant online community has developed for the PSP [Hack #40]. Likewise, if you're running Version 2.0 of the firmware, there are several homebrew options made to run inside the PSP's JavaScript-savvy browser.

One option that has garnered quite a bit of attention is the WinPSPortal (http://www.winpsportal.com/), which unfortunately lacks an address book. However, the JavaScript PSP Homebrew Portal (http://pspupdates.qj.net/2005/07/firmware-20-javascript-homebrew-portal.html) shown in Figure 3-58 has an address book (see Figure 3-59).

3.16.2. Calendar

The PSP displays both date and time in the upper-right corner of its screen, so you can use it to keep track of the time. However, to qualify as an actual PDA, the PSP needs to support a full calendar. As with the address book functionality, you are facing the same choices when setting up a calendar on the PSP: you can either reproduce your own calendar in JPEG form available via the Photo menu, use an online calendar service via a web browser or access a local text or HTML calendar on your PSP, or use one of the homebrew calendar options. WinPSPortal has a very basic calendar (see Figure 3-60), and while the JavaScript PSP Homebrew Portal also has a calendar, it didn't work for me during testing.

Figure 3-58. Javascript PSP Homebrew Portal


Figure 3-59. Address entry


Figure 3-60. The WinPSPortal loaded in the browser of a PSP


3.16.3. To-Do List

A to-do list isn't very useful unless you can cross off items as you accomplish them, so while you could set up a to-do list as a single JPEG image, this wouldn't prove very useful. The only way it might work would be to create a separate image file for each item on your to-do list, and save these all in a single To Do folder in the PHOTO folder of your Memory Stick. Then, as you complete each item on the list, you simply have to select that image from the list and hit the Triangle button to pull up the control panel on the right side of the screen. Select Delete and erase the image.

In addition to this makeshift to-do list, you can always use the browser method to access a to-do list over the Internet or locally on your Memory Stick, although a generic todo.txt file wouldn't be editable.

For a full-featured to-do list (and more), check out Backpack (http://www.backpackit.com). Backpack lets you set up a workspace that you can fill with to-dos, notes, and reminders for free.

3.16.4. Notepad/Portable Office Documents

The lack of notepad and office capability of the PSP is admittedly the weak point of its PDA possibilities. However, this is mostly due to the lack of any sort of quick text-entry device. Mac users can easily export PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, and Word documents to PDF and then convert to JPEG for viewing through the photo capabilities of the PSP (if you're on Windows or Linux, you can do the same with Adobe Acrobat or GhostScript, or use the free OpenOffice to open the documents and then generate your PDF). Word documents can be converted to plain text files that are readable by the browser.

Unfortunately, none of these solutions allows you to edit your documents while you are on the go. If you have Internet access and a PSP with Version 2.0 firmware, however, you will find that you can use your PSP to edit most of the popular types of online blogs, wikis, and other editable sites, so if you need to jot down some notes, why not log in to your blogging platform of choice (I use WordPress) via the PSP and save your notes as drafts on the site? You can access these later and flesh out your hastily scrawled notes that you banged out on the PSP's primitive text-entry system. If you want, you can easily configure such software to allow you to view and edit things, but keep the rest of the world from seeing anything.

If you are running Version 1.5 of the firmware, there is a homebrew solution called "Notepad for the PSP" (see "Run Homebrewed Software" [Hack #40]).

3.16.5. Email and Beyond

If you're not sure about basic Internet access on your PSP, make sure you check out "Get Your Wireless Network On" [Hack #5] and "Find Yourself a PSP Web Browser" [Hack #41]. Fortunately, once you have an Internet connection via one of the available PSP browsers, the entire world of webmail and other web-based services is open to you.

3.16.6. Hacking the Hack

As you can see, the PSP is still lacking in some of the key PDA areas. I wouldn't be surprised if future firmware upgrades add some of this functionality, and I hope that a workable keyboard attachment of some sort is also in the works. In the meantime, stay tuned to the homebrew scene [Hack #40] and consider developing a solution of your own [Hack #47].




PSP Hacks
PSP Hacks: Tips & Tools for Your Mobile Gaming and Entertainment Handheld
ISBN: 0596101430
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 108

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