Sony said on Tuesday it will launch a new model of its PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld machine on October 16 in Japan, its latest bid to challenge Nintendo's market-leading DS. The PSP-3000, unveiled in August, comes with a built-in microphone and advanced liquid crystal display (LCD) panel that is better suited for use outdoors and offers a shorter response time than the existing machine.



A quicker response makes moving pictures look seamless and natural, while the process of making phone calls on the PSP becomes easier with the built-in microphone. The PSP already supports a Skype Web phone function.

The new machine will sell for 19,800 yen ($182), the same price as the current PSP model and compared with 16,800 yen for the DS.

Sony sold 3.72 million units of the PSP in April-June worldwide, while Nintendo's DS sold 6.94 million units.

	PSP -2000	PSP-3000
Screen size	4.3 type
Resolution	480×272
NTSC	53%	85%
Contrast	400:1	2,000:1
Response time	30ms	8ms
Screen reflection technology	no	yes