Filed under: Gaming, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Cookie cutter gadget? Passe. It’s all about skins, even the kind that may or may not ruin the shiny new finish on your valued consumer electronics. Submitted for your approval: tons of skins for your rare and lustworthy devices. Ok, so the 360 isn’t much of a skin, but we find the literal use of the term rather amusing, and when was the last time you saw a fake-fur faceplate?

P.S. -Big ups on the Xbox 360 and Eames-inspired PS3 and Wii skins above.

[Via Joystiq, thanks Craig]

Read - PS3 skins
Read - Wii skins
Read - Zune skins
Read - PSP, Xbox, etc. “skins”

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming, Portable Video, Wireless

Apparently dishing out surveys to garner potential interest in (hopefully) forthcoming products and services is the fad of the month, as Microsoft barely received back all the results in its latest Xbox 360 questionnaire before Sony threw down a few of its own. Most recently, however, a question was posed to PSP owners that piqued our interest, and it involved the possibility of receiving TV streams on that oh-so-sexy widescreen LCD. The higher-ups at Sony HQ seemingly have streaming video on the brain, as users were asked to choose which scenario they’d prefer when kicking back and catching a show on their handheld. The choices involved a “Sony LocationFree TV box” that would stream content directly to the PSP using a local WiFi connection, or a subscription-based service that would broadcast TV shows using “always on cellular technology” for $9.99 per month. Considering Sony can hardly pay folks to take those dust-gathering UMD flicks, we don’t think that making a move in the television realm would be such a bad idea — so, what’s up Sony? Inquisitive minds (and PSP / DS Lite fence-sitters) are yearning for an answer.

[Thanks, Simon V.]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

Sony’s just going hog-wild with these fancy new PSP editions. This time we have the “camo” version that was spotted at the TGS, complete with Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops, a “Skin of a Warrior” faux snake-skin case, three pins and a nifty certificate. The handheld should be hitting Japan on December 22nd, and Play-Asia is already offering pre-orders for a fairly hefty $449 USD — but we suppose they’ve gotta make a living somehow. There’s also a cheapo option that skimps on the snake-skin and certificate, but reduces the price a whole hundie. No indication yet of when the madness might stop.

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

If you thought you were going to have to wait until the PS3 came out to rock Playstation 1 titles on your PSP, you’ve just been granted a reprieve. Well, kinda. MaxConsole is reporting that a clever hacker named Yoshihiro has just released the first PS1 emulator for your trusty portable console, and that the so-called PSX-P app will run on firmware versions below 2.71, with users of 1.5 and above obviously requiring the eLoader exploit. As a reminder, the only way you can legally use this program is if you already own a Playstation and a number of games, as it requires the SCPH1001.BIN PS1 BIOS file and ripped ISOs of your game discs — which can be found elsewhere, but we like to keep it legit ’round here. So all is well and good, right? Eh, not really; since PSX-P currently lacks a dynamic decompiler, games apparently run super-slowly, in the neighborhood of 10fps: i.e. a good proof of concept for the homebrew community, but until Yoshihiro or one of his colleagues manages to achieve a playable frame rate, for now this breakthrough is little more than a frustrating tease.

[Via DCEmu, thanks wraggster]

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Gaming, GPS

You’re probably getting pretty sick of toting around all those cables, adapters, and antennae required by the GPSP mod to get sat nav functionality on your PSP, so you’ll be happy to know that Sony’s official GPS add-on for its portable console has just been spotted in the wild. We’ve already seen pics (albeit crappy ones) of the wayfinding peripheral, but now we’ve got proof that it exists somewhere besides on a PowerPoint slide. Unfortunately there’s really not much to see here (it’s a little gadget sticking out of another gadget — wow), and we’ve got no new info regarding functionality, pricing, or release dates. Still, when we come across something that we think you’d be interested in, we write a post about it — that’s how we do things around here. Sharing is caring, right?

[Via DigitalBattle, thanks Tom]

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Filed under: Gaming, Portable Video

Sure, we’ve seen plenty of PSP fakes in our time, but we can’t say we’ve ever seen this many fakeries in one convenient place before. So if you were on the lookout for a PSP look-alike with, say, an SD card slot, or a bundled NES emulator, check out the many many — and we do mean many — options after the break.

[Thanks, Logan J.]

PSP Player

MP4 Player

Super Multiple Function PSP with Hi-Fi Sound

PSP Shape Game Player (JK-DR540)

Digital MP4/PSP

Game MP4 Player with SD Card

PSP Game Player

PSP Shape Game Player (JK-D538)

PSP Game Players

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

You wouldn’t necessarily think that San Diego’s annual Comic Con would be a hotbed of videogame news, but this year’s event proved different, as Sony revealed a number of exciting future plans for the PSP. At a seminar called PSP University (man, we sure wish we could have spent our college years at that institution), company execs confirmed that the portable console will indeed work as a remote for the PS3, and that the upcoming firmware update will support RSS video feeds for the built-in web browser. Furthermore, Sony is apparently in talks with wireless providers to provide more Nintendo DS/Wayport-like hotspots for online gaming, and is also looking at ways to bring downloadable movies to PSP owners — which sounds to us like another foot in the grave for the almost-dead UMD. Not all the news here is good, however, as those folks expecting a Sony-branded keyboard for their console will likely be in for a disappointment; in fact, the company has no plans whatsoever to improve text entry on the PSP at all. Other new info centered around games and demos, and since that’s not really our bag, we’ll leave those details to other fine publications like Joystiq and PSP Fanboy.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

More legal woes for Sony: the computing and consumer electronics giant is being sued by Pennsylvania-based Agere Systems over a number of devices spanning several product categories that, you guessed it, may be infringing upon some eight different Agere patents. Specifically, Agere is claiming that the PSP, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 — along with several Vaio, Handycam, Walkman, and Location Free TV models — are in violation of patents covering such varied technologies as a “wireless local area network apparatus” and “barrier layer treatments for tungsten plugs,” whatever those are. Furthermore, the integrated circuit component manufacturer believes that Sony “willfully” violated the patents, and is thus seeking damages that could end up being three times what non-willful infringements would warrant. For its part, Sony is putting up a multi-pronged defense: its lawyers are first trying to get a judge to invalidate all of the patents and make the whole mess go away quickly; but if they do turn out to be valid, Sony is claiming that it’s in the clear anyway due to cross-licensing deals dating back to 1989 with AT&T and Lucent Technologies (from whom Agere was spun off) that cover seven of the eight patents in question. Our uninformed legal opinion? Without knowing all of the specifics, it’s difficult to ascertain who’s got the stronger case here, but we can say that Sony’s recent track record in fighting infringement accusations hasn’t exactly been spotless, so as much as we’d love to cover yet another ugly, drawn-out court battle, maybe a quick settlement is the way to go with this one.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Reader Matt Z. spotted yet another PSP knockoff in the wild, this one at a computer show in Pittsburgh. C’mon, guys, if you’re gonna have the nerve to copy a product’s name along with its design, at least take the time to get the logo right.

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Portable Video

It’s probably a bit of a stretch to call this the beginning of the end of movies on UMD, but Sony is set to offer at least one other means of getting flicks onto your PSP. Starting next month, you’ll be able to grab a bundle consisting of a Memory Stick and a DVD pre-loaded with four PSP-ready movies, along with a code that’ll let you unlock and transfer one of ‘em (just one) to your PSP. Available for your choosing are four classics of modern cinema: Hitch, S.W.A.T, The Grudge, and XXX: State of the Union, although it’s not clear if you can buy additional codes to unlock all four movies. The bundles will be available with either 1GB or 2GB Memory Sticks for $60 and $100, respectively.

[Thanks, Kevin]

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Filed under: Gaming

It doesn't come as much of a surprise after the virulent reaction we saw last week, Sony's pulled the plug on their "PSP White is coming" ad campaign in the Netherlands, which depicted, well, you know. We're not gonna call it an admission of guilt or anything (and neither did they, read on), but Sony did apologize to those offended by the campaign, also stating, "We recognize that the subject matter of one specific image may have caused concern in some countries not directly affected by the advertising. As a result, we have now withdrawn the campaign." We're quite well aware of the cultural context in which advertising must be taken, but it's apparent the world holds a company like Sony to a higher standard, and Sony can apparently recognize this as well. So, case closed, let's all move on with our lives now, yeah? We've got some toys to obsess over, no time for this foolish business.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, Gaming

We're all aware that a digital camera/webcam for the Sony PSP is right around the corner, but how many of you knew that you could also snap photos with your Nintendo DS? Don't feel bad; we didn't know it was possible either until we spotted modder Kako's handiwork on YouTube -- apparently he's taken a Treva CMOS chipset, done a bit of rewiring, and written software that allows the unit to output images directly to his DS Lite. We can't vouch for the picture quality, and the frame rates are positively sluggish, but at least this mod gives Nintendo fanboys one less missing feature to defend when the PSP crowd goes into one of those regular, tiresome diatribes listing the many reasons why their product totally "pwns" the little dual screen console -- in fact, you'll probably catch a few examples of said diatribes right here in the comments section of this very post.

[Via DS Fanboy]

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The PSP 1.50 to 1.00 downgrader we mentioned the other day has been released. The usual precautions apply, since you can brick your PSP whenever you write to your PSP firmware.

1. Find someone with a 1.0 PSP and get them to install the downhelper program from the downdater download.
2. Copy the downhelper100 folder to /PSP/GAME/ and start the program.
3. It will dump your flash and your ipl to the memory stick. After finished, the program will exit.
4. Send the folder created at the root of your memory stick called “DOWNDATER” to someone with 1.50 to allow them to downgrade using the Easy downgrader app.

You probably shouldn’t attempt this unless you know what you’re doing and have a good reason for going down to 1.0. – Jason Chen

1.50 to 1.00 Easy Downgrader Released! [QJ.net]

Filed under: Gaming

Sony, seriously, this is getting out of hand. Every time we want to rethink what you’re doing and try to back you guys up, you go and pull some stunt like this latest ad campaign in Holland, which, as one can see above, depicts a “white PSP” avatar/model violently holding the mouth of a “black PSP” avatar/model — in commemoration of the launch of the ceramic white PSP, of course. The billboard pictured here is one of supposedly somewhere near 100 evocative images created for the campaign with the same theme, which found viewers of the ads — and game lovers alike — crying foul at Sony’s latest foible cum PR fiasco (and believe us, we’re sure to catch some fire for calling it just that). When it comes down to it we honestly don’t think Sony is stupid enough to mean any ill will — or smart enough to capitalize on a PR firestorm — with such an ad campaign. But instead of confronting the issue and addressing peoples’ concerns, they meagerly defended themselves to GamesIndustry.biz with the following: “The marketing campaign for the launch of the White PSP in the Benelux focuses on the contrast between the Black PSP model and the new Ceramic white PSP model,” and “A variety of different treatments have been created as a campaign to either highlight the whiteness of the new model or contrast the black and the white models. Central to this campaign has been the creation of some stunningly photographed imagery…” Oh, make no mistake Sony, the animosity and drama of the imagery, the visceral emotional implication of powerful racial overtones, and this is a huge blunder. And once again we find ourselves urging — nay, demanding — Tokyo reevaluate what the hell it is they’re doing these days. Because mistake or not, this biz don’t fly, Sony, and you’re not helping the perception that you’re an incredibly callous megacorp with little real direction.

P.S. -As always, we encourage a discussion. A sensitive, intellectual, worldly discussion. If you can’t infer what it is we’re asking of our dear readers tempted to intone on this matter, then please skip this thread to comment on, mkay?

[Via Joystiq and GamesIndustry]

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

So if you made the “mistake” of upgrading your PSP to firmware version 2.5 or 2.6 just to find out that your precious homebrew would no longer load, it seems you now have a questionably-legal way to downgrade back to version 1.5 and all the emulation fun that goes along with it. Several forums dedicated to Sony’s portable console are reporting that hackers using the handles Dark_Alex and Hitchhikr have succeeded in creating a workaround that exploits files from the 1.5 updater to overwrite the current firmware, although owners of so-called “TA-082″ PSPs are warned not to attempt the procedure unless they fancy a bricked device. Furthermore, since you’re required to either download the necessary 1.5 swag or get it from a friend, you’re probably breaking some anti-piracy laws here, so of course we can’t put our stamp of approval on this hack. That’s all for now, but the battle between Sony and the homebrew community is far from over, so keep your eyes peeled for the next installment in this exciting saga.

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Filed under: Gaming

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