Sooory! I've been hard at work getting the Gamer Within relaunch ready which has consumed much of my free and a ton of my work time .

The eternal PSP vs. DS debate....I can sum it up with one question: what games are you mostly into?

Thankfully, I've known you for a while so I know you can appreciate RPGs and Fighting games....which doesn't make a recommendation easy since the DS is NOT a fighting game system. Being an owner of both, however, I've got some pros and cons:

DS Pro:

Innovative games and gameplay that utilize the touch screen, microphone, and the fact that you can also play GBA games is pretty awesome.
A lot of games support single game sharing, which means you can play multiplayer with someone who doesn't own the game.
Ideal for puzzle games (Meteos), Adventure games (Hotel Duck), RPGs (Final Fantasy III, FF XII, and the forthcoming 3D remake of FF IV), and of course, awesome first party games like Warioware: Twisted and Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.
Lots of casual, time wasting games like Diner Dash...if you're into that sort of thing.
Comes in every color imaginable....except for lime green .

Cons:

No Mortal Kombat, or fighting games in general.
No hardcore games.
Lackluster DS ports of other handheld games.
3rd party companies just not trying to utilize the unique features of the DS.

PSP Pros:

Pretty much a handheld PS2 and technically superior to the DS.
In addition to being a handheld gaming system, the PSP also supports UMD movie and MP3 playback.
Built in wireless support with browser.
Lots of hardcore games like the Grand Theft Auto series as well as some crazy cool Japanese style games like WTF and Loco Roco.
PSP Slim has video out so you can play it on a normal sized TV.

PSP Cons:

Not a lot of variety in the games - lack of RPGs.
Too many ports of PS2 games to the PSP - if you've got it for the PS2, why own it for PSP?
UMD format movies are an endangered species and are pretty much getting phased out.
The web browser sucks ass.
Only one analog stick makes games you're used to playing on the PS2 a little harder.
Too big to be an MP3 player.

So there you have it....from the top of my head at the moment at least. I just invested in a PSP slim and gave Eli the older model, and while the slim is smaller and lighter, I still have no intention to use it as a music player. I'd prolly say the DS will get you more bang for your buck, though the PSP is being bundled with Daxter and a Family Guy UMD for $199. Still, it's hard to say where the PSP will be going from here...but it's got p[otential .

Damn, I just hope I helped instead on convoluting things further .

Sigh...underminding my suggestion. Thanks a ton!

Congrats on the new addition, hope you're enjoying it! Speaking of stinkers, how'd  that $5 Yu-Gi-Oh game pan out?

While I enjoy my PSP, there is a special place in my heart for my DS. That thing and I had a love affair called Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and I haven't been the same since.