Reluctant to update your PSP to the latest firmware? You may want to reconsider. The latest firmware offers PSP users the ability to access T-Mobile’s wi-fi service for free. T-Mobile HotSpots can be found at over 8,000 locations across the US, and can be found in Starbucks, Borders, FedEx Kinko’s, Hyatt, Red Roof Inns, Sofitel and Novotel Hotels, and select airports. Now, you’ll be able to frag friends through Infrastructure almost anywhere in the US … for free! How sweet is that?I went to a Starbucks to test it out, and found the process is quite easy:

1. Bring your PSP® system to a location that provides a T-Mobile HotSpot. (Refer to the T-Mobile HotSpot U.S. Location Map.)
2. Select (Network Settings) under (Settings).
3. Select [Infrastructure Mode].
4. Select [New Connection].
5. Select [Use Wireless Hotspot].
6. Select the T-Mobile HotSpot icon.
7. If you have an existing T-Mobile HotSpot account, select [Enter User Credentials].
   Enter your user ID and password, and then press the right button.
   or
   If you do not have an account, select [Use Promotional Access] to sign up for a complimentary six-month T-Mobile HotSpot account. (To qualify for this promotional access, you must authenticate your PSP® system to the T-Mobile HotSpot network prior to March 28, 2008.)
8. Check the contents of the settings list.
9. Save the settings.

Sony’s looking to make their latest PSP firmware upgrade, version 3.30, too appetizing for all the homebrew users out there to pass up. In addition to officially sanctioned (albeit tempermental) full resolution video support, Sony has upped the ante by offering 3.30 users 6-months of complimentary access to T-Mobile WiFi HotSpots, available at over 8000 locations across the US including Starbucks, Borders, FedEx Kinko’s, Hyatt, Red Roof Inns, Sofitel and Novotel Hotels, and select airports. Yeah, for free.

To access the service, follow this guide. Have an innate distrust of guides? We’ll condense it for you: turn on your PSP within range of a T-Mobile HotSpot, select the T-Mobile HotSpot icon under Network Settings, select [Use Promotional Access] if you ain’t got an account already, and then get your game on! Now, if only more PSP games supported Infrastructure mode.

If everything goes according to play, eyeVio — the new video sharing service launched by Sony — will get bought out by Google, just like YouTube before it. Then again, I don’t think Sony is as willing to sell off portions of its business.

The eyeVio service is scheduled to launch in Japan (only) today, providing users with a space where they can share “my life, your emotion.” Whatever that means.

Videos can be remotely uploaded via portable devices (like cell phones and web-connected PDAs) using the mobile version of the site (m.eyevio.com). On the flip side, videos can be downloaded in PSP-compatible formats for later viewing. They’d probably work on iPods too, but Sony wouldn’t say.

Will this be another PS3? Powerful but with no one caring? Or will it be the killer app to revitalize interest in the PSP? Considering that Japan is currently Nintendo-land, I think it’s pretty safe to draw certain conclusions.

Sony reveals new details for BD-Live Interactivity.

Sony has signed a four yeal contract with VoIP company BT that would bring video and voice calls as well as messaging to Sony’s handheld, the PSP.

Using BT’s technology, PSP users will be able to communicate using wireless internet for now. The companies say they are working on PC, mobile phone, and fixed line integration for the future.

“The PSP is an excellent device for both gaming and communications because of its high quality screen and audio capabilities,” offered Steve Andrews, chief of mobility and convergence for BT.

“With over 8 million PSPs shipped across Europe, we are very excited by the opportunity to give customers a whole new communications experience, connecting and seeing friends across the world through BT’s technology.”

Sony also added that the service will begin in the UK, and then move to other regions.

“The opportunity to combine our market leading expertise with BT’s knowledge in communications opens up many possibilities and we look forward to bringing many exciting functions to PSP fans,” commented David Reeves, president of Sony Europe.

A piece of code referring to Skype has been found in the recently decrypted firmware version 3.10.

There is a rumour circulating that Sony is working to partner the PSP with Skype. Skype is a popular application that allows PC and Mac users to call one another for free based on P2P telephony technology.

A reference to Skype was recently found in a decrypted version of vshmain.prx from PSP firmware revision v3.10. It is worth noting that references to both POPS and GPS PRX’s were found in previous decrypted firmware versions and have both since emerged as new features included in subsequent firmware upgrades.

Less than two weeks ago, the internet was abound with rumours about Sony entering into a partnership with some new major software companies and at least one major ISP. This may well have been the smoking gun for an as yet unannounced union between Skype and the Sony PSP, although at present this is as speculative as the recent claims that Yahoo were a likely future business partner for Sony Computer Entertainment.

Unlike the DS the PSP is not equipped with a microphone and so would need a peripheral microphone in order to be used as a P2P telephony device. There have been a slew of mods that allow the DS to be used as a two way communication device and Nintendo themselves demoed an application of their own at E3 2005 (complete with lip synching Mario and Luigi avatars).

Considering the growth in Mobile games and the recently unearthed Nintendo phone patent, it seems that the major console manufacturers certainly have communication in mind as a key feature for the future of their devices. Sony may well be trying to ensure their future credentials in that area of the market.

Took quite a while, but finally it’s here. The Sony PSP Firmware 3.40 first appeared in Korea, and was later rolled out to Japan. Well, we already got quite a glimpse of the changelog from both Asian official sites, but here’s a more English-friendly translation What’s new in PSP FW 3.40? Thought you’d never ask…

Game

• New for 3.40: Support for PLAYSTATION Network titles has been expanded.
• New for 3.40: Saved data from PlayStation format software can now be used on both PSP and PS3 systems.
• New for 3.40: [Certificate Utility] was deleted.
  • Information that was displayed in [Certificate Utility] can be checked by the following method.
  • Select the icon of the game you want to display information for, press the button, and then select [Information] from the options menu.
• New for 3.30: Support for Playstation Network titles has been expanded.

Network

• New for 3.30: Support for thumbnail images of items has been added under [RSS Channel].

Video

• New for 3.30:Support for thumbnail images of videos that are stored in the “VIDEO” folder of Memory Stick Duo media has been added.
• New for 3.30:The following types of files can now be played in the “VIDEO” folder.
  • – MPEG-4/H.264 AVC Main Profile (AVC CABAC) video files of the following sizes: 720 X 480, 352 X 480, or 480 X 272
  • *Depending on the data type, some files cannot be played.

Settings

• New for 3.30: [Use Wireless Hotspot] has been added as a feature under [Network Settings].

As we have previously mentioned, this PSP Firmware 3.40 has already been decrypted. To reiterate what we have said in an update of the South Korean site article, “apparently, the keys haven’t changed - this means that Team C+D’s decrypter for firmware 3.30 will work on FW 3.40.” Unfortunately there have been no other specific updates regarding this, and while there hasn’t been anything yet, just sit tight and click on the download link below.

Download: Sony PSP Firmware 3.40 (US)

Sony-Ericsson believes it can negotiate the balance between serious gaming and phones, according to a patent just granted to the company. Although titled a “Mobile Information Terminal Apparatus” in the description, the patent describes a device similar in shape to the Sony PSP Game system but with a unique swiveling screen similar to that of the Samsung i7. The LCD could rotate either 90 or 180 degrees to move the attached directional pad to a more comfortable position for gaming or (at the mid-point) a widescreen display for movies. A second directional pad would sit among the buttons with a layout that prevents accidental number presses during game sessions. Software would also play into the advancement. The phone would always monitor incoming calls and could pause a game to handle the conversation, Sony says. Code could optionally be written to provide different resume options, including both the immediate pause point, the start of the current level, or shutting down the game entirely if the phone call prompts a change in plans.

Although Sony-Ericsson hasn’t provided any immediate indications that it will release a phone based on the patent, the filing would allow the company to do so without worries about copies. It would also reflect Sony-Ericsson’s current approach to phones, which has produced numerous phones based on the Bravia and Cyber-shot lines from Sony.

[via Unwired View]

Ive been seeing that alot of peole have been trying to get Pandoras battery to work but they are having trouble, so this is a little guide to help.

First I would like to thank the Noobz team and Team C+D for making this possible. All credit goes to them.

Requirements:
1. A hombrew enabled PSP (if your psp cant run homebrew it will not work)
2. The files you can get it from "HERE"
3. A memory stick Produo ( a 32mb non produo will not work)
4. A an extra battery not necessry but it is good to have one.

First you have to format your memstick with any tool. I use windows to format mines. So go to your psp drive letter and right click it and choose format. Then click start to start format. I dont know if its necessary but the readme states it so I do it.

Now it is time to run mspformat. The best way to run this is to make a .bat file. Open up a note or worpad and type in "mspformat X" ( replace X with the your psp drive letter.Then save the file as format.bat and place it where the mspformat.exe is. Now hook up your psp to your PC and double click the .bat that you just made. A dos window will pop up and ask you if you want to proceed. Type "Y" to and hit enter. It will take some time depending on the size of your memstick.

It should look like this.

After you are all done formatting, it is time to start putting files in the memstick. Extract the download that you downloaded if you have not done it already. Then go to your psp and make a folder called PSP. then inside of the PSP folder make a folder called GAME. After you are done go back to the download folder and open up the folder called "install" and take the 2 folder you see there and put it in the GAME folder you created. Then go to the folder called "battery" and take the 2 folders in there and put it in the GAME folder as well.

So your memstick should look like this.

X:\PSP\GAME\pbfirm_install pbfirm_install% and pandora_battery pandora_battery%

Now you must get the 1.5 EBOOT from "HERE". Unzip it and rename the EBOOT.PBP to UPDATE.PBP. THEN stick it in the root of your memstick. Then remove your memstick and put it back in.

After you got that done go to your xmb menu and run the Pandora installer. It should make all the files that it required including the msipl you will use to make the memstick bootable.

Ok after the installer has finish making all of the required files, it is time to run msinst.exe. Go back in to your psp and take the file msipl.bin that the installer created in your memstick and place it in the same folder as msinst.exe.. Open up notepad/word pad and type in msinst X msipl.bin(repace X with your psp driveletter). Then save it as msinst.bat and put it in the same folder as msinst.exe. Once done connect your psp to your PC and double click the .bat file you have made and a dos window will pop up and ask you to proceed. Type "Y" and hit enter.

It should look like this.

Now that you have all the files and are ready to make your battery. Go into your psp xmb and run Padora battery creator. When the screen finish loading it will give you some option like to create battery or return to normal and backup eeprom. I suggest you backup your eeprom just incase. After you have backup you eeprom, then run the creator program again and just press X on your psp and you are done!

NOTE: When starting up the battery make sure you dont have the AC charger plugged in.

If all goes well.
CONGRATS NOW YOU HAVE AN UNBRICKER BATTERY.

The Wii’s Twilight Hack has been a big hit for the homebrew crowd. Using the software flaw, they’ve been able to play Tetris on their Wiis and even create some custom Wii channels. Nintendo tried to shut that program down, but 8 hours later, it was back. Nobody can keep the homebrew devs down, and over the past week there have been two more major breakthroughs in “hacking the Wii.”

A group called Waninkoko has created a custom firmware for the Wii which allows writable DVDs to be read by the system. This means that downloading Wii titles to your PC, and then playing them on a burned disc could be right around the corner. The second crack for the Wii came from teamshift. They were able to create a PSP emulator that can play whatever games you wish.

Of course, neither of these hacks have actually been confirmed, so take heed before you try to install the Waninkoko hack. Do so at your own risk. The PSP emulator rumor from teamshift comes from a single image posted on NintendoMax showing Puzzle Bobble Pocket playing on a Wii. The image doesn’t hold much credence, and could be completely fake, but if it’s real then PSP games may become the new black for a while in Wii owner’s homes.

As more information is revealed on this, we’ll let you know.

Read more at engadget and DCEMUuk