CAMY Dual Injection Pro Gear PSP Faceplates

A lot of the replacement PSP faceplates out there seem to be either cheap-looking, or ugly (but, hey, I'd love for some other manufacturers to prove me wrong). The faceplates produced by CAMY, though, are neither cheap nor ugly. They seem to be just as well-made as the original Sony faceplates (and they're made in the same two-layer process), and the designs are stylish and not overdone.

I wouldn't have thought I'd ever like a design called "Hell Skull." I usually find most skull designs terribly tacky (I do have a weakness for skulls and crossbones, but even a lot of those are just ugly). But CAMY's Hell Skull PSP faceplate is actually pretty nice looking. The design has a small flaming skull at the middle bottom, but the rest of the design is sort of abstract flamey, cloudy lines. It looks pretty stylish and even an old lady like me wouldn't be embarrassed to have one on their PSP.

I really like the twin dragons best of all, though. With a dragon to each side of the screen and a kanji symbol centred a the bottom, it just looks classy. Both of these Special Edition designs are available in silver or gold on black, but you can also get plain black if you prefer. According to the blurb on the back of the package, the Pro Gear Dual Injection faceplates will also be coming out in blue, red, yellow and white.

As I said in my Quick Look review, CAMY has used the same method of construction as the original Sony faceplates. The second layer of clear plastic overlying the colored plastic looks really good. I only saw the two special edition designs, but I imagine the clear plastic would give any color the same added depth and shine.

Installing the new faceplate was supposed to be "a matter of minutes." I was a bit dubious that it could be that easy, so I set aside a bit of extra time. But even with having to take the faceplate back off to remove some dust that got trapped inside on the screen, it really did only take a matter of minutes.

The process involves removing five screws to take the original faceplate off. Two of the screws are inside the battery compartment, so you have to open that first and then peel up one side of the warranty sticker. After that, the most complicated thing is replacing the buttons, part of which involved removing the analogue module (itself held in by two more screws). Putting everything back together is simply the reverse of taking it apart. Keeping dust out can be finicky, but otherwise it's fairly simple.

You don't even have to buy a special screwdriver, as there is one very thoughtfully included. There is even a packet of spare screws in case you lose one or more of the tiny things while working.

CAMY has included buttons with the faceplate, but since the shape buttons are unmarked, I just put the original buttons back on with the new faceplate. Everything you need is in the package, but remember that taking the faceplate off your PSP voids its warranty. If you have an older model like I do, you don't need to worry as your warranty probably expired ages ago.

And, now I get really picky. The graphic designer in me thought the packaging design--primarily the typography--left a lot to be desired The idea is pretty cool, but the execution not so much.

My main nitpick, though, involves the installation guide. For the most part, it's pretty easy to figure out what to do, but there were a few typos it would be nice to see fixed. Most confusingly, step 2 says there are six screws that need to be removed, yet only five are shown on the diagram (there really are only five that need to come out). And the numbering of the steps appeared to have been cut-and-pasted without re-numbering, so that step 3 is numbered 2a, 2b, and 2c, while step 4 is numbered 1a and 1b.

Like I said, nitpicks. But with such great design and construction in the product itself, and with the manufacturers being so thoughtful as to include extra screws and the right size screwdriver, it's a bit disappointing to see less care put into the paper inserts.

Despite the picky comments I made above, I really like these faceplates. CAMY has put out a well-made and attractive product that I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone wanting to change the look of their PSP or just replace a scratched screen with a new one. I gave CAMY's Pro Gear Dual Injection PSP Faceplates 4.5 out of 5--with a bit more attention to the packaging and installation guide, I would happily have given them a five. If they come out with new designs, I might even buy another or two, to switch out the look of my PSP from time to time.