Korean accessory maker Joytron is making an appearance in North America via the distributor Nuri Tech. The Joytron System Skin Case is a hard plastic case that fits closely over the PSP, so you put it on and leave it on. It’s not the sort of case you put your PSP in for storage and take it out of when you want to play.
The case consists of four pieces—one piece fits over the face of the PSP, and three fit on the back, allowing you to open and close the UMD door without removing the case. All the ports, buttons and openings in the PSP have corresponding holes in the case allowing for full access to all PSP functions.
First Impressions
I had two thoughts when I first took the Joytron case out of the box: it's not what I'd call a 'skin,' despite its name, and it seems rather too delicate for my taste.
I suspect the designation "skin" was chosen because the case is not the kind that you open and close. It's not something you keep your PSP in, rather it's something you cover your PSP with. Once you've put this case on, you're meant to leave it on, though you can certainly take it off if you want to.
As for the delicacy of the case, it's a thin, hard plastic that doesn't look or feel like it can take much abuse. In fact, the manual even says, "This product does not protect the PSP from an impact." It's supposed to keep scratches and fingerprints off your machine, not keep the thing safe if you drop it (it reminds me a lot of the clear case the Source sales guy tried to sell me when I bought a cell phone there recently).
Second Look
So my first impressions were of the "it looks okay, but it’s not something I'd buy for myself" variety. After using the case on my main PSP for a couple of weeks, though, I think my first thoughts may have been a bit unfair. Certainly, this case isn't going to help if I leave my PSP on the floor and accidentally step on it. And it won't protect my machine when it falls out of my pocket and hits the tile floor in the public washroom at the mall, the way a Logitech Play Gear Pocket would. But that's not what the manufacturer designed it to do.
The Joytech System Skin Case is meant to keep your PSP free of unsightly fingerprints and scratches, and we all know how much fingerprints show up, especial on the shiny black PSPs. This case is quite good at doing exactly what the manufacturers intend for it to do, and it's not as delicate as it seemed at first. Mine's doing just fine after a week of riding around in my pack.
Good in Combos
If you're looking for a case to protect your PSP, the Joytech one won't really do the job on its own. In combination with the official PSP soft case, though, it's a reasonable choice, especially if you don't like how much room a Play Gear Pocket takes up (and does Logitech even make a PGP for the PSP Slim?). I found that the Joytech case was slender enough that my PSP still fit into its soft case (but keep in mind that I'm using a spare case from on older, thicker PSP--I'm not sure if the soft cases have been slimmed down for the slim PSP). It's slender enough, in fact, that I didn't find it hindered my game playing at all (though I used to play on an old PSP, so maybe I'm just used to a thicker machine).
Final Verdict
Essentially, the Joytech case is decent for what it is; just don't expect it to do more than protect from scratches and fingerprints. It's definitely not a PGP, but it's not bad, either. My only real objection left after using the case for a while is that there's no protection for the screen. True, you don't want to be peering through an extra layer of plastic to see your games, but something to protect the screen while the PSP is not in use would have been nice.
