Firmware 3.50 now available on Network Update
by Jem Alexander 
{ May 31st 2007 at 5:20AM }
We told you it was coming, and here it is. Firmware 3.50 has a woefully short feature list. Along with the much-anticipated Remote Play improvement comes a single other addition. The 'full' feature list, then, is as follows.
- Support has been added to allow remote play over the internet in [Remote Play]
- [RSS Channel Guide] has been added as a feature under [RSS Channel]
No doubt we'll be posting our thoughts on the new firmware later today, after we've had a chance to test it out. In the meantime, why don't you try it yourselves and get back to us with what you think? It's a two way thing, you know.
[Thanks, Lucas]
Download the update from PSP Fanboy. Include file in directory PSP/GAME/UPDATE.
Update: One of the cooler things about Remote Play is the potential to play PS3 games on your PSP. Right now, we only know of one game in Japan that does this, Mainichi-Issho. We're hoping that other games will come out in the future that support this potentially awesome feature. [Video via PSP GadgetZ]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
iamdigitalman @ May 31st 2007 5:40AM
the RSS guide "feature" is just a permalink hard coded in the top of the RSS channel, with a youtube-esque icon. all it does is launch the web browser. just like the online instruction manuals, it's nothing but a glorified bookmark.
come on!! where is the RSS video/photo streaming? where is the FULL PSN integration? where is the updated flash player? but the feature I really want to see more than anything is a new web browser. Net Front is nice, but it's too crippled on the PSP. either expand the current browser, or build in something like a mobile firefox or license Opera mobile/mini.
computer and psp 4ever @ May 31st 2007 6:41AM
i want sony to make something good like play avi type or have a windows vista inside or like more better
like download full games in the internet ans stuff
kingofwales @ May 31st 2007 7:00AM
3,50 oe here we come
Bored @ May 31st 2007 7:24AM
Well, for europeans this update adds nothing at all. We were all able to do Remote Play directly to the PS3 from day one anyway.
For those who got a 20Gb model, however, it's a substantial update. Those will now be able to use any wifi access point for Remote Play.
It's a nice feature, really. I use it. Can't really say essential, but nice to have :).
phillyvu @ May 31st 2007 7:42AM
@Bored
Wait, Europeans could Remote Play over the internet? Are you sure?
I'm not too excited about this firmware. I am excited about the ability to remote play over the internet, but will have to wait for 3.5OE.
Bored @ May 31st 2007 7:55AM
No, we couldn't Remote Play over the internet, but we only had the 60Gb, hence everyone could Remote Play from day one.
Not the same in the US: those who bought the 20Gb model could not Remote Play without any additional accessories.
whackmushrooms @ May 31st 2007 8:02AM
tried it last night .. works great i just wish i could leave my ps3 folding while i remote access stuff. i really hope home is remote playable .. i mean you dont really need real time for it and all ;) and they keep setting the psp expectation with the device being the in game interface ;)
txa1265 @ May 31st 2007 8:10AM
I wonder when the next time they'll release some features for *PSP OWNERS* instead of PS3 owners?
Ed @ May 31st 2007 9:06AM
Well said, txa1265. This is ridiculous. Sony seems more interested in making the PSP a peripheral for the PS3.
Tom @ May 31st 2007 11:27AM
where is skype function???
DNR @ May 31st 2007 10:07AM
my only wish right now for the PSP is video streaming.
that way i can watch youtube... :)
PSP_Evolved @ May 31st 2007 11:09AM
I could not agree more, I did not purchse my PSP to be a mere extension of the PS3. The PSP needs to and does stand on it's own credentials. It's a neat offereing to make it more compatible with the PS3 but I am a LONG ways away from even purchasing a PS3. I own a PSP now and want more functionality with what I am already using. It's starting to look like SONY wants to make the PSP a posterchild for the PS3.
phillips @ May 31st 2007 11:14AM
youtube works great in remoteplay
navsimpson @ May 31st 2007 11:48AM
In the words of Grandpa, "oh bitch bitch bitch". The new Remote Play functionality is a great idea. It's not as if Sony haven't released a tonne of updates that had nothing to do with the PS3.
Right now though, the North America RSS page is down, so I don't really know what they have up there. What I hope is that this is the beginning of a sustained effort on Sony's part to build interesting, consistent services. psp.connect.com could have been great if they had put more effort into it, but it's lacklustre and aimed at 13 year olds.
What I really hope is coming is support for the same video codec used by the iPod *and* Sony's own new Video Walkman. All video podcasts are in that format and it's frustrating that one of the coolest features of the PSP - it's RSS capabilities - are hamstrung by bad format support.
kingofwale @ May 31st 2007 11:55AM
3. 3,50 oe here we come
Posted at 7:00AM on May 31st 2007 by kingofwales
Please do not impersonate me. :)
nivardz @ May 31st 2007 12:43PM
whatttt??????
wheres the skype function???
the remote play function is awsome but
come on, i think a lot of us owners of the psp did not buy it to use it as some kinda peripheal of the ps3!!!also not all psp owners have a ps3 (i do, lol)
we want a firmware that totally makes our psp cooler!!!
trystero @ May 31st 2007 1:00PM
This is one of the issues with a handheld designed by a consumer electronics giant.
Want voip for PSP? Sony's mobile division doesn't, since it may hurt the sales of Sony Ericsson cell phones in US markets.
Want a better browser, viewable pdfs? Nope... that might hurt the Clio.
Read e-books? No way, they would never sell any Sony Readers.
RSS video? Even regular video on PSP seems like an afterthought sometimes... Why would they make it easy? They might hurt the Sony Video walkman lineup.
Whether any of these features in a PSP would ever hurt the other product lines, I don't know. But I do know that business divisions can be very protective, and I bet regular corporate politics play a large role in why features take so long ( if ever ) to get to the PSP.
Oz @ May 31st 2007 1:18PM
Is it possible to shut off the ps3 remotely using the psp? Anyone try, not home to try myself yet.
sm0ke @ May 31st 2007 1:44PM
Well said, trystero. I believe you have hit the proverbial nail on the head.
ryan @ May 31st 2007 2:27PM
why cant i update? it says cannot start game.
HELP!
G Lampa @ May 31st 2007 3:03PM
"Want voip for PSP? Sony's mobile division doesn't, since it may hurt the sales of Sony Ericsson cell phones in US markets.
Want a better browser, viewable pdfs? Nope... that might hurt the Clio.
Read e-books? No way, they would never sell any Sony Readers.
RSS video? Even regular video on PSP seems like an afterthought sometimes... Why would they make it easy? They might hurt the Sony Video walkman lineup."
That would make sense, except for one thing.... Why should they concern themselves if the purchase of a PSP puts a dent in other SONY markets? Either way, they've covered the market and sold you their hardware. It's just like the whole "Boot Camp" thing for the MAC. If MAC users buy Windows Vista to run on a MAC, Microsoft has sold another copy of Windows. If Windows users know they can run Windows on an uber-sexy MacBook, it means more PC users are likely to make the jump to MAC. Either way, Gates and Jobs sit pretty.
Besides, the target consumer for a PSP is hardly the target consumer for a SONY Reader unit.
It can only sell more PSP's if you put, say, Skype functionality in the code. I doubt this will hurt their cell phone sales. How the hell can you compare the two? I guarantee that if the PSP had VoIP functionality, EVERY PSP user will still have a cell phone in their pocket. EVERY one of them. Will it be a SONY-Ericsson phone? Who can say. It wouldn't impact cell-phone sales at all. Not until the globe is completely blanketed with Wi-Fi, and even then, it would take years for people to make the jump from standard cell service to VoIP phones / units. I hardly think the PSP will be around (in this incarnation) by the time the globe is at that juncture.
Nik @ May 31st 2007 7:27PM
Actually G Lampa... sales of Skype phones indicate otherwise. There is a market out there made up of people who don't need to be tethered to a cellphone every minute of the day and only want to pay for communication when they need communication. If the PSP had a solid VoiP service I might drop my cellphone. Trystero is right here though... cuz my phone is an SE :P
trystero @ May 31st 2007 3:48PM
@GLampa
As I said, it is *corporate politics* that hold these features back. You are right that as long as the money rolls in it may not matter where the source of the revenue stream is... but it DOES matter to the people in those respective divisions. Trust me, the division that focuses on the Sony Reader would be very unhappy if sales were down 50% regardless of what the PSP sales figures might be.
Besides, Sony could believe it will be HURT by cramming all this into the PSP. They can bilk customers for more money by selling all these features separatly. In this case, the sum of the parts is likely greater than the whole.
masterp @ May 31st 2007 5:11PM
i must say these psp udates r getting worse and worse for us psp owners but not a ps3 owner, man i dont even look forward to these updates anymore :(
CyborgSPIKE @ May 31st 2007 8:42PM
all i want is the ps1 downloads. i neva bought my psp for ps3 stuff. in fact i hate the ps3 and will NEVER get one. im a major 360 fan (havent got one of those yet, working on it). but like all the posts above me are saying. we need sum psp only updates! enuf of this ps3 connectivity.
my frend has a ps3, and he doesnt use his psp with it at all. i yell at him that hes a fool (:D) to not use em together.
now i just gotta get him to turn on his ps3 so i can use it over a wifi zone!
(GIVE ME FFVII!!!!)
G Lampa @ May 31st 2007 9:06PM
"There is a market out there made up of people who don't need to be tethered to a cellphone every minute of the day.... "
Not tethered to a cell phone? That remark is so 1998!
I'm not tethered to my cell (I may use 20-30 minutes a day), but you can be damn sure that I don't feel like having to find a hot-spot to communicate with others, when I need to! Skype phones are great for home use... when you're near your wi-fi at all times! Skype is for suits who like to talk business at starbucks without running up a cell phone bill... but I'll bet that every one of 'em has a cell phone.
We're talking about whether VoIP will put a dent in the cell phone market. I'm saying, that won't happen for quite some time.
Every kid over the age of 10 has a cell, now. Look around. Skype won't be changing that anytime soon, my friend.
Christopher @ May 31st 2007 9:24PM
I'm really quite astounded at how some people are complaining about an update. Sure, it may not be an update that directly suits strictly PSP owners and has more benefit for those than own a PS3 as well, but what is the sense in complaining about it? People that own a PS3, like myself, are happy to see this kind of thing. If you don't own a PS3 that doesn't necessarily mean that the update is worthless, it has a purpose and its been met. But, please, continue to whine about how these FREE things are suiting your particular taste and how you can't play Final Fantasy XXXVIII or use it as a telephone.
DolphGB @ Jun 1st 2007 6:59AM
I can tell you the Remote Play over the Internet feature not only works perfectly but has come at a perfect time for me. I'm about to embark on a business trip that will last two weeks and instead of filling my 4Gb stick with stuff, I'll be playing movies from my 60Gb PS3 HD.
And @trystero - I understand what you're saying but I think you're off the mark. And BTW - what's a 'Clio'?? If you meant the Clie that was canned by Sony years ago, so they don't care about it any more...
Brandon @ Jun 1st 2007 8:15AM
The reason remote play is a good idea in sony's opinion is that it elimates the need to have large storage in the PSP itself. It means that the PS3 harddrive (whatever size you have, my brother has 120gb) can act as a virtual drive for psp content. Since I live in a college town, Wifi is everywhere, especially on campus, so not having to nessecarily fit everything on my psp is nice. It just means that my ps3 runs all the time in remote play mode while away (which hasnt caused any problems, its never run hot).
iamdigitalman @ Jun 2nd 2007 7:31PM
ok, one of the things I just noticed is when you go to the camera icon and choose it, if no camera is attached, the message that comes up is diffrent, and now includes one of those error numbers.
now it reads:
"connecta camera that is compatible with the PSP(tm) system to the USB connector. (80108050)"
I know they changed it, since that number was never there,
when is the PSP getting a camera in the US? I mean come on, if you are not going to use it, then remove it for something else. Oh well, i'll be getting a chotto shot in a few days.
Chris Matchett @ Jun 3rd 2007 6:06AM
I'm not complaining about an update that does nothing for me. Until I download a demo or buy a game that says you must have this version to play me. If that version has nothing for me (such as 3.50) then I will be annoyed. If I am forced to update then I want some features - otherwise leave it alone!
Jahjah440 @ Jun 20th 2007 10:11AM
That would be so cool on the next update if you could play Club Penguin. When you try to play now, you can sign in and everything,but when you press sign in it says,memory full. Maybe when Sony buys Club Penguin will be able to play Club Penguin on our PSP`s
pspbloke @ Jun 6th 2007 7:54AM
HELP - my son's updated his PSP and now it won't play any of his games. He's updated from 2.8 to 3.3 and now 3.5 but neither of the last two updates seem to work. IS there anyway of roling back a version to see where it all went wrong?
shastar @ Jun 9th 2007 8:32AM
Nice update...going to try it right now....
Paul Denney @ Jun 13th 2007 11:41AM
well my friend and I have tried but we still cannot do remote play for ps3 over the internet. i tried connecting through my wifi access point at home and i just get a connection error but when i went over to his house i was able to connect to it through his wifi router. it doesnt make any sense. it does pretty much exactly what it did before.