When Chris Watts goes to the bathroom, he takes his new Sony PSP with him.

What does he do with the PSP while he is indisposed? He watches movies, plays video games and listens to music.

It is small, but the machine does not lack a wow factor, PSP owner Timothy Cassady said.

The screen, about the size of a wallet, is incredible, Cassady said, embarrassingly admitting it looks better than his television at home. The screen produces nearly 2 million pixels. In comparison, Nintendo’s DS produces 60,000 to 80,000 pixels.

At that rate, the PSP is sharper than high definition televisions with a good DVD player, Watts said.

Watts works for a video game store and said it was sold out of its 62 systems. Some of these customers were not looking specifically for a PSP but were considering getting an iPod or a portable DVD player until they tried Sony’s new machine.

It does not play DVDs, but rather UMDs, a format that Sony has patented. In the United States the Spider-Man 2 UMD comes with the PSP, but other movies are available for downloading.

Cassady, as much as he likes his new toy, does not understand why Sony added the movie, he said.

The UMDs cost about the same as DVDs at $20 but for now do not have any of the special features that are part of the DVD’s success. A more accessible price would be $10, Cassady said.

As a music machine, it is not as convenient as an iPod because the music is stored on memory sticks, Cassady said.

The 32 MB memory stick included with the PSP can hold between four and eight songs, but it is possible to buy memory sticks with much higher holding capacities.

When Sony released the Playstation 2, it quickly became notorious for poor reliability.

Cassady is not worried about quality, but Chris Cates, another video game store employee, is. The UMD loading door on his PSP has stopped making noises when it opens, causing him concern.

Video game salesman James Ball noted other problems. Dead pixels, poorly tempered and darkened glass screens and jamming buttons are the most significant problems.

The system was released little more than a week ago, but already there are rumors of add-ons Sony is working on, and even a new version.

A digital camera attachment is being considered, Cates said.

Ball heard rumors of a more durable version coming in the fall. This version is far too delicate, he said.