Well that wasn’t a surprise. Sony recently announced their new PSP Go at E3: it’s a slide-out 16GB flash memory PSP that will live alongside the PSP-3000 on store shelves. If that’s not enough space for ya, you can also use a teeny weenie Memory Stick Micro to add extra space for media.

The device features a flip-up screen, and the controls hide underneath it like Snake from Metal Gear Solid. You’ll need to download all of your content right onto the device, but thankfully Sony is also buffing their online services to make this more viable. The PSP Go and PSP-3000 will be able to download movies and media directly onto the device, and there’ll be an extra mood-based playlist feature (a la the Walkmans) as well as new desktop syncing software to make everything run more smoothly. Speaking of syncing, the new device will also feature Bluetooth, so you can tether your handset (for its data connection?) or headset if you’d like to.

I’m not too sure I’m a fan of the new design, although it’s touted to be smaller and lighter. It doesn’t look as sleek as the other models did. It will operate the same as a 2000 or 3000 when it’s open, but will feature PSP Go applications (calendar/clock) when closed. It’s neat, but a second analog stick would have been much, much, much better.

Anyway, it’s not all ho hum for me. The arrival of a new PSP means that there’s still be games to play and my $140 investment won’t soon be forgotten. Digital copies of games that reside on my console are a lot more appealing to me than swapping silly little UMD’s. They also seem be a bit cheaper on the Playstation Store, and they’re a heck of a lot faster to load. The Go will run for about $249 USD when it’s released this October in Europe and North America. Pricey, but I’m hoping to benefit from the firmware updates on my lowly PSP-2000 when the time comes. I hope they don’t snub me.

[news and pic via Engadget]