eh... it wasn't my unit with the problem, I have two friends (brothers) who both bought new PSP's just recently, at the same time of course... and their units, compared to mine (not mine anymore as I just sold it) were both as bright on the second, medium brightness setting, as mine was on the first (lowest) brightness setting.
This fell in line with rumors I've heard (and apparently, others have heard them as well) that Sony switched to a cheaper, different brand of LCD and that these LCD's were not of as high a quality. My PSP was one of the very first batch, they just got theres about a week ago. I saw mention on Ebay of how the US PSP's were all going to have this inferior LCD. I must say though, that other than the dimmer lighting, the screens seemed equal in quality. Also, neither of their units had dead pixels (mine had one, and another friend of mine who bought his at the same time as me, had three), and in general, their units seemed to be better put together.
Poor guy, one of the two brothers' units also came out of the box with 3 sizable hairline scratches on the screen, according to him (they checked them very thoroughly after I advised them how mine came out of the box with little problems like this). Though, just like mine, his had NO sign of ever having been opened or touched before he opened it. I REALLY hope Sony get their QA act straight by the time of the US launch.
And for all the Nintendo supporters trying to compare the PSP price to the DS, STOP. You are comparing apples to oranges. First off, the PSP is a far more capable machine... you can cover your ears (or your eyes) and shake your head in denial all you want but it doesnt' change the fact... you are paying more because you're getting more. Secondly, PSP is coming with quite a few more accesories than the DS comes with, which do help to justify the price difference as well, IMO. I bought a Value Pack, and most people who have bought import PSP's have as well. The accessories it comes with are useful, and I felt, worth the money. You guys are trying to compare a system with one demo, a stylus and a wrist strap to a system, one demo, a slip cover, a wrist strap, a memory card, and a VERY nice sounding set of headphones. And a free Spiderman 2 movie to boot. Hmm which is the better deal
I say $100 extra for all those freebies plus a system that can play movies, mp3's, view photos, has true analog control and a bitchin widescreen is pretty damn worth it.
And to further what tekt5 said on the same matter, not only did PS2 outsell Gamecube even though it was higher priced, you have to figure the GC was also a more powerful machine. And STILL look how that turned out.