Sony PSP Go announced -- $249, no UMD

Just as expected, Sony just announced the PSP Go at E3 just now -- Haz Kirai called it the "worst kept secret at E3." The slider handheld has a 3.8-inch LCD, built-in Bluetooth and 16GB of internal storage, all in a case 50 percent smaller and 40 percent lighter than the original PSP-1000 -- a weight savings we're guessing is directly attributable to the loss of the UMD drive. That's right, the Go doesn't have a UMD drive -- games will instead load in through the Memory Stick Micro slot or over PlayStation Network. That's not the end of the classic PSP, though -- Sony says it will "live on." New PSP titles will be distributed through both UMD at retail and online simultaneously -- Sony's beefing up the desktop client and renaming it Media Go for easier access and syncing with Playstation Network media, but you'll be able to get PSN content directly from the Go as well. The PSP's music features have also been beefed up with a new auto-playlist feature called Sense Me, which sounds a lot like Pandora or iTunes Genius playlists, and there's a new video delivery service being rolled out.

Don't expect the loss of UMD to lower the price, though: the Go will be $249 when it launches on October 1 in North America and Europe and November 1 in Japan. Sony's showing demo videos with both black and white versions, but that's not confirmed yet -- we'll let you know.

Update: Check the full PR here.

Update 2: Sony has just blasted out the detailed specifications. Here are the highlights:

• Approx. 128 x 16.5 x 69 mm (width x height x depth)

• Weight: 5.6 ounces (including batter)

• CPU: 333MHz
  

• 64MB memory

• 3.8-inch display (480 x 272 resolution)

• Built-in stereo speakers and microphone

• 802.11b WiFi

• Bluetooth 2.0+EDR

• USB 2.0

• Memory Stick Micro slot

• Analog video out

• 16GB storage