The new release of 2.70 brings with it 2 major additions in Macromedia Flash support and RSS feed support.
There were some basic bug fixes and system setting changes as well that affect UMD playback and the Album Art for music but the Flash and RSS additions will make the most impact until the next release is unveiled. The Japanese version was released yesterday and theirs included a new downloadable demo of Loco Roco. (both links run through Babelfish since I assume you cannot read Japanese, you’re welcome). It should be noted however, the downloadable game works just fine on the US PSP. It is just in Japanese but I did figure out the controls with out to much trouble. If you would like to know more about this and how to get it on your PSP, check out this thread.
What is exciting about the Flash addition is not only the aspect of now being able to see Flash content (Flash 6 is only supported) but also the aspect of playing and downloading flash games and applications to the PSP. The Sony “Official” PSP forums are full of new buzz with people very excited about this. It also possibly opens some more doors for the Homebrew scene which Sony constantly adds security to the PSP to combat. It also opens the possibility of Sony to release Beta Test Demos in a downloadable form versus the cost of producing a UMD and mailing it out. As a person in the Sony Gamer Advisory Panel who may get chosen for Beta Tests, this is exciting as well.
The RSS feature has been present since release 2.60 but was not useful for anything I could ever find, until now. As an example, I was able to add an RSS feed to the beloved 2Old2Play Podcasts but it never worked. I was forced to download the Podcast to my PC and USB transfer it to my PSP. In release 2.70, the RSS feed here now works like a champ and I am able to play the Podcast dynamically or download it to listen to later. This of course requires a WLAN connection for both options, but works like it should.
The update, while not the most exciting, is a step in the right direction. Sony announced that this fall a new release (thought to be 3.0) will support a GPS add-on, USB Camera, Calendar and Notepad functionality. An Email client and Integration with the PS3 as well as the ability to download emulators for PS1 and PS2 games to play without a disk from your memory card should also be on the way. I am sure the emulators will not be free, but this is awesome news in any case. 2.70 seems pretty solid to me us far, and I am pretty excited to see what is coming out next for this amazing portable device.
Available for download here for a USB upgrade through a PC or from the Network Update option on the PSP.
What is exciting about the Flash addition is not only the aspect of now being able to see Flash content (Flash 6 is only supported) but also the aspect of playing and downloading flash games and applications to the PSP. The Sony “Official” PSP forums are full of new buzz with people very excited about this. It also possibly opens some more doors for the Homebrew scene which Sony constantly adds security to the PSP to combat. It also opens the possibility of Sony to release Beta Test Demos in a downloadable form versus the cost of producing a UMD and mailing it out. As a person in the Sony Gamer Advisory Panel who may get chosen for Beta Tests, this is exciting as well.
The RSS feature has been present since release 2.60 but was not useful for anything I could ever find, until now. As an example, I was able to add an RSS feed to the beloved 2Old2Play Podcasts but it never worked. I was forced to download the Podcast to my PC and USB transfer it to my PSP. In release 2.70, the RSS feed here now works like a champ and I am able to play the Podcast dynamically or download it to listen to later. This of course requires a WLAN connection for both options, but works like it should.
The update, while not the most exciting, is a step in the right direction. Sony announced that this fall a new release (thought to be 3.0) will support a GPS add-on, USB Camera, Calendar and Notepad functionality. An Email client and Integration with the PS3 as well as the ability to download emulators for PS1 and PS2 games to play without a disk from your memory card should also be on the way. I am sure the emulators will not be free, but this is awesome news in any case. 2.70 seems pretty solid to me us far, and I am pretty excited to see what is coming out next for this amazing portable device.
Available for download here for a USB upgrade through a PC or from the Network Update option on the PSP.
