There are a ton! Check out the Retroid Pocket 5 if you're wanting something which can run upscaled PSP (and far more), or the more recently released Retroid Pocket 6 if you want it to be able to run Switch and PC games also
The word 'junk' on Buyee/Japan's online marketplaces doesn't mean what it does elsewhere. It can mean anything:
Not having a charger on hand, so it can't be tested
Literally just dusty
They don't know how it works
...all the way to actual issues (which typically I've found are things like muck in the power switches which isopropyl alcohol fixes right up!)
Junk absolutely doesn't mean they're broken! Listings tend to go into a little detail on what is wrong with the consoles :)
I've bought a TON of handheld consoles through Buyee. DSi's (I got a great DSi LL in box with all the bits, barely used for $52 AUD), GBA SPs, I even got a launch Switch to jailbreak from Japan!
I actually wrote a article on a 'junk' PSP from Japan, you can read more on it here:
You knew exactly what I meant by my headline with this article. If you thought I literally meant every person alive then you've got a rough go ahead of you!
felt like a huge tech upgrade over the DS at the time
There's a post somewhere on the internet comparing a racing game available on the DS and PSP, and the gap is HUGE between what they were both capable of. What that game was escapes me now, but it was an interesting time!
And a PSA for anyone who has a terribly dead or spicy pillow battery, OSTENT make great batteries which do an even better job than the originals. I opt for the 1,400 mAh ones, which give you more capacity with the same size!
I went from being amazed that anyone would opt for native hardware for older gaming (I am a huge fan of retro handhelds!) to being amazed anyone would not want one. There's something to be said about the original games on the PSP, it just feels 'right'.
And they're relatively inexpensive (if you buy from Japan) to get one in nice shape these days. I've got another on the way from Tokyo right now:
Oh sorry, I didn't mean to give the impression that I was giving up my phone, or that these devices are designed to replace phones at all. I'm certainly not refusing to use my phone, in the slightest. But I have been taking slight steps to make sure I use it less. I think something like this has been great fun, I own my music, I curate it (which is fun), collect it, transfer it to a device like this one the Snowsky Echo I just had delivered, and I don't support a streaming company like Spotify!
"...these dumb devices purported to replace phones"
I guess we could make the argument that these dumb devices (like the original Sony Walkman) have existed longer than phones have been the daily carry item, too!
I don't think digital audio players will disappear in 5 years' time. It might not be the popular choice, but it is still a choice to use them. This article I wrote is just kinda part why-I-have-decided-to-look-at-music-players, and part review.
I just got another one delivered yesterday which has a slot for an SD card, though. But tbh this is the benefit to me, it forces me to be intentional with what I load on.
