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Go!View is a new, portable, video-on-demand service for the Sony PSP. This service brings Sky TV to the hand-held for people living in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Go!View provides categories of content including: Entertainment, Sports, Comedy, Movies, Latest TV. These categories are priced differently; Entertainment, Sports and Comedy “Packs” are charged on a subscription basis, while Movies and Latest TV are charged on a pay-per-view model. This combination of pay-per-view and subscription does sound a little bit confusing.

Subscription packs are priced at £5 (€7) for 1 pack, £8 (€11) for 2 packs and £10 (€14) for all three packs and users can trial all three packs free for a month. Rental TV is available from £1.50 (€2.00) per episode and a range of movies is available from £2.50 (€3.20) each.

While the library titles start at £2.50 for movie rentals, the newest releases cost £3.50, which are similar to the iTunes Store prices (Go!View is a penny more expensive).

The rentals that you download are available to you depending on the type of video and channel it was downloaded from. Go!View offers different licenses for each type, so check what you’re getting or you may be disappointed to find what you want to watch has expired. These expired rentals are automatically deleted.

The current content seems decent enough, offering television shows such as Top Gear, Eureka, Doctor Who and Lost, with many more offered through the subscription packs. The problem is that they aren’t the most recent episodes that have been shown. For example, Lost has currently just finished season four, however Go!View only offers selected episodes from season three. Go!View claim that they will be continually adding content spanning all of their genres, so the service can only get better.

Through agreements with distributors and broadcasters including Disney-ABC-ESPN Television, BBC Worldwide, Sony Pictures Television International, NBC Universal International Television Distribution, National Geographic and Sky Sports, Go!View can offer PSP users an excellent range of content. — Go!View Press Release

We are working with our content providers to secure a quality range of programming and ensure that PSP™ owners are getting the best possible service on-the-go and on-demand. — Alison Turner, General Manager, Go!View Entertainment UK.

Other than the obvious need for a PSP, Go!View has the following requirements:

Windows XP or 32 bit Microsoft Vista (Go!View on PC is currently not available on Mac or Linux) -Broadband connection (recommended minimum of 1Mb) -Internet explorer 6.0 or above -Windows Media player 11 (this can be downloaded from www.microsoft.com) -Adobe Flash player (The latest version can be downloaded from www.adobe.com) During the installation the following programs will also be installed (if you don’t already have them): -Microsoft.Net framework 2.0

With the lack of Mac support, I once again feel left out by Sky as their desktop “on-demand” service also requires the use of Windows. It’s a shame, because being a Sky customer (both full tier television and internet), I’d love to be able to use these services but there’s no way I’m switching back to Windows.

All in all, Go!View seems like a great idea if you need some form of portable, video-on-demand solution. For me, the inability to use a Mac is just too irritating; my primary computer is my iMac, with a MacBook for travel. If you are someone who doesn’t mind watching TV or movies on a small screen, check this service out. Go!View offers another way to enjoy your PSP, offering quality content that you want to watch on demand.

If you sign up now, there is a one month trial (30 days) subscription to the 3 entertainment packs (comedy, sport and entertainment). This is a completely free trial to new users, however if you don’t remember to cancel at the end of the trial your subscription will be automatically renewed at the applicable price. You’ve got nothing to lose (if you remember to unsubscribe), so give Go!View a go.