Hi everyone, the next system software update (v5.50) for PSP (PlayStation Portable) will be available soon, and I wanted to provide you all with a preview of some of the key features.
The firmware update will introduce an Information Board on the PSP system’s XMB (XrossMediaBar) interface. Those of you who have a PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) may be familiar with this feature, which displays news and updates from the world of PlayStation in a scrolling ticker in the upper right-hand corner of your TV screen. Now you’ll be able to read up-to-date information about upcoming games, new content available on PlayStation Store, and other news right on your PSP whenever you’re at a wireless Internet hotspot.
In addition, we’ll be adding a few more enhancements with the 5.50 update:
- Memory Stick improvements – You’ll be able to create and access sub-folders on your Memory Stick PRO Duo for music, videos and photos. Separately, the available space required to download a file from PlayStation Store to your Memory Stick has been reduced significantly.
- Internet search for games directly from the XMB – You’ll be able to easily search the Internet for information about your PSP games. Select the icon for the game, hit the Triangle button, and then select [Internet Search] from the options menu to get search results based on the game title. This feature was added to PS3 with the recent 2.70 update.
- Trend Micro trial – PSP’s Internet browser is a great tool for checking out your favorite Web sites on the go, and we’re teaming up with the Internet security experts at Trend Micro to make the Web browsing experience safer and more secure. With the 5.50 update, you’ll have the option to access a free trial of two Trend Micro services:
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Trend Micro Web Security uses Web reputation technology to block PSP owners from accidentally visiting a Web site that may contain malicious content designed to steal personal information and confidential data.
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Trend Micro Kids’ Safety uses URL filtering technology to prevent children from accessing Web sites that feature inappropriate content.
We look forward to reading your feedback.
dang sounds like a great update for the psp! ill d/l it now.
thanks Eric,
Lh
Sub-folder support?? Finally!
I must be the only 17 year old in the world who is quite excited about the prospect of Trend Micro Kids’ Safety!
Great! Subfolder creation! Can’t wait. Good update!
I like the folder options! Better organization is a priority, especially now that I have a 16 GB stick…
I won’t be using the Info Board (turned it off the minute it showed up on PS3, clutters the interface too much), internet game search (I am perfectly capable of using Google search, thanks just the same), or Trend Micro web censoring- though this last one IS a good feature for the kiddos.
I’m not updating past OFW 5.03
this is great…..please keep the updates for psp coming!…I just checked for the update and its not ready yet….maybe later then! thanx agin Eric!
Oh, yeah, for people’s information, the update is released tomorrow according to PSP’s Official UK Bebo blog
Awesome, finally sub folder support. If you can do it for the PSP hopefully that means that the PS3 will get it soon too. It would help for my Video series and custom music albums.
Next I hope to see PSN support such as a friends list. Also, I’m kinda curious if in game XMB is possible on the PSP and if so if it’s in developement.
Subfolders!? ABOUT TIME!
When will this be available for PS3???
Nice update, but why there hasn’t been new skin visualizer when playing musics? I hope more options will be available in the future.
Also about the subfolders thing on PS3… Consider making it available with the exporting of music to folders like \Artist\Album\Title.mp3…. As it stands now it’s \Artist\Title.mp3 or \Album\Title.mp3…. Not very useful if you have multiple albums with the same track title here and there… kind of annoying having all your albums into one folder, or having to find each album to copy for that artist.
Exploit?
Glad to hear. Now we really need subfolders on the PS3.
I never understood why the PS3 doesn´t have the same amount of themes or colours as the PSP(the “Original” PSP theme is much slicker than the PS3 “Original” one,which is the same as the “Classic” on the PSP)and the PSP does have more visual players than the PS3,whcih is odd.
Any news regarding that?
Cheers
Why bring the worst features of the PS3 over to the PSP?
Lets do the reverse and enable RSS on the PS3 to hell with the Info Board.
If we could get Friends list and Trophies on the PSP it might actually be better than the PS3!
Trend Micro … HA!
Everything is a very welcome update!
Subfolders: Awesome!
Memory Stick Improvements: Sweet!
Haven’t enough people (i.e. everyone) turned off their Info Bar on their PS3s to realize it’s a useless, resource wasting feature?
keep it coming with the updates…. Trophy patch for PSP anytime soon?
information board?? How about the Information board on the PSP & the PS3 get updates from the PS Blog instead of the useless feed that goes to it now?? I mean it WOULD be nice if that were able to be set to any rss feed we choose but at the very least set it to the PS Blog RSS feed
Subfolders for the PS3 please.
Good firmware update but id like to arrgue with the statement
“PSP’s Internet browser is a great tool for checking out your favorite Web sites”
I believe the psp web browser is in serious need of an overhaul, alot of websites with multiple frames fail miserably.
I know there is not alot of memory to get things done in, but have you seen the new opera web browser on the DSI i was truly amazed by what it can do compared to the PSP one and just how much more readable alot of websites are on it.
I dont own a DSI personally and i love my PSP but the web browser has needed a serious looking at for a while now.
Subfolders.. yay! Needed this for a long time.
Everything else… meh. Especially the annoying “Information Board”, which we all turn off anyway….
@loadstone007
The ps3 has sub folders just press triangle on the memory stick and one of the options in there allows you to show and browse all directorys
Subfolders finally! WOOO! Only complaint is still no PSN friends list or messaging support! Id give anything for that right now!
Oh and I agree the web browser…. well it sucks to be honest. Needs a total overhaul with PS3-like panning and zooming.
I am glad you added the sub folder feature, I have been wanting one of those for a very long time now. Thank you.
But I have one question, we have WMA support, when are we going to get WMV support? I use the format allot and allot of my friends use it when shipping videos to me, but I can’t view them on the PSP without a converter, whihc I would like to be able to download the videos strait to my PSP.
Sub-folders are a huge plus. I will assume that Beats can read them?
Also, not to beat a dead horse, but GPS? I already gave up on PDA-like features and just got a more advanced phone with my most recent upgrade, but I am not ready to give up on my hope for a GPS feature yet, as I know it exists in other regions.
The problem is that as everyone I know seems to be getting a fancy standalone GPS the temptation to give up and just buy one is huge. I think I am drawing the line at E3.
I’m not thinking poorly of Sony for not having released it by now, but I’ve waited nearly two years and I am growing impatient. I’ll just have to geocache without my PSP.
Cool, now can we have some PSone games? And as long as you’re adding PS3-like features, how about some PSP trophies? How about a wireless solution to playing PSP games on TV?
good job sony but i was expecting some more things to come along this update.
Hey Eric is there any chance of adding Trophy support to the PSP, I have to admit I am a trophy whore and I can’t get enough. I just finished Resistance Retribution and I would have loved those skill points to be trophies on my PSN account. Come on Eric just between you and me… it’s coming isn’t it.
Awesome! Sub-folders is a feature that I’ve wanted for a long time.
hmmm… nothing worth jumping about. I’d love to have a friends list and text chat like the PS3 of nothing else.
Subfolders check.
Trophies?
Friend list?
And why did you guys jump from 5.03 to 5.50? Totally gearing up for 6.00 @ E3?
Incidentally, 3.0 for PS3? ;)
Now let’s make the PSP a truly mobile device and start adding support for custom developed apps like what the iPhone and DSi are doing.
You don’t have to open up the PSP fully, but just give developers an API so that they can start creating apps for what should be one of the best, portable systems on the market.
FEATURE REQUEST: Please please please add bookmarking/resuming support for podcasts.
Nice update but I was kinda hoping for the ability to organize photos, music, and videos like the PS3 can do when you hit the Square button and you get to organize by date downloaded, folder name, artist, and etc…
But anyways keep up the good work, hoping to hear about friends list on the PSP and maybe messaging and voice chatting? lol
sounds good I’m glad you guys got a crew that still thinks about improving connectivity, I mean who needs good games on ps3 and psp. As long as we can browse safely on our system.
Ah, subfolders! Finally! Good update.
One feature that should be added: being able to rename files. I find it very annoying that you can’t rename files like on PS3. And where’s the trophies? You have trophies for PS3 but none for PSP? What?
Folder option were definitely needed. Thanks
Sweet. Looking forward to less required space on the memory stick. Just got a PSP this weekend and love it so far. Good news.
Some great updates. Now we just need some more downloadable games… Any word on when we can expect PixelJunk Monsters PSP to show up on the PSN?
My God, some of you are just so picky and ungrateful!
PS Blog, please ignore those jerks that are posting negative crap on this board. They just don’t appreciate anything that is FREE and worthwhile.
Anyways, I appreciate all the continued effort and updates for all PLAYSTATION products. I must be the only person in the world that knows things TAKE TIME and there are obviously internal constraints that need to be ironed out before things get “rolling”.
Where’s the PSN friends list?
Yeah great update. But I want GPS support this would be easier since it is already out in Japan… All we need is support from Google maps for the US… I would be willing to buy it as soon as it comes out but when will it come out????
Those Memory Stick Improvements sound like a great idea. I began saving music tracks onto my PSP again and I’m looking forward to making sub-folders for those tracks.
This is a great update, new stuff for my PSP it’s always good, but! I won’t be 100% happy with my PSP until I can use my friend list on it.
Besides from this, great update
Please
– imporve the CACHE of the internet browser!
– update FLASH (Speack with Adobe! It is possible to bring a higher version of flash to the PSP)
– DivX Support for PSP
I would exchange the combined “features” of the last 50 or so FW updates on the PSP for the single feature of Trophy support. Bad excuses like the PSP is not an always on device or hackers can get trophies for free don’t matter none.
The PS3 only ever syncs trophy information when you ask it too, so it can very well be off the grid when trophies are awarded. And who cares what hackers can do, you wanna punish your honest customers for something the dishonest are going to take advantage of?
Let them steal the trophies, it is a mostly personal collection on the PS3 anyway, the only one they’ll be trying to fool is themselves.
make more features to remote play. and ad a friends list on the psp when u meet people on line like the ps3.
Please give us the ad-hoc-Service for the PS3 (in JAPAN aviable)!!!
Can’t say I care a lick about the info board, but SUBFOLDERS!!! Hell yea!!!
Now if we could only edit the song’s name/album info through the psp like how the PS3 can that would be AWESOME!
Also I request that the US gets Ad-Hoc Party!!!!!!