PSP hacked again, Sony firmware upgrade announced

By Tim Conneally | Published November 19, 2008, 2:14 PM

Sony has informally announced its PlayStation Portable handheld console will be receiving another firmware upgrade, conspicuously, the announcement came on the same day as news that the "unhackable" PSP 3000 had been hacked.

October was a busy month for Sony's PlayStation Portable. In rapid succession, the US enjoyed the release of the PSP 3000, the latest chassis redesign of the handheld game system, a firmware upgrade that added wireless access to the PlayStation Store, and a slightly redesigned XrossMediaBar.

Homebrew fans and users of custom firmware found, however, that their traditional methods of obtaining kernel access did not work on the PSP 3000, blocking the use of pirated UMDs. The new console was briefly deemed "unhackable."

Yesterday, however, Datel, developers of the popular Action Replay tool, released PSP Lite Blue, a battery that enables Service Mode on the new PSP. Service Mode or Tool Mode allows custom firmware to be installed on the PSP, a feat that has previously been done with a "Pandora" battery.

The same day, Sony quickly announced that another PSP firmware upgrade was coming, to "improve system software stability during use of some features, including the PlayStation Store."

With no release date or details listing exactly what the firmware will be fixing, many users have already determined that they're not upgrading this time around.

Comments

View comments by with a score of at least

Boy, one dare's to denigrate the toys at your own expense!

LOL!

Score: 0

|

The new Nintendo DSi doesn't allow for the use of R4DS and similar homebrew carts. Give them a month.

Piracy on the DS is way more widespread than the PSP. They say something like 80% of all DS owners have a MicroSD cart.

Score: 0

|

Hmm, what man makes....man can and usually does destroy. And in the geek world you don't go around touting your stuff as unhackable. You're just asking for loads of fun.:)

Score: 0

|

I have yet to see anything deemed unhackable, not hacked. Stop daring people to hack your products.. jeeze.

Score: 0

|

huh.. PSP 3000 is that a reconstruct of the T-1000?
I thought Sony gave up on the PSP after their inability to compete with Nintendo in the handheld market.

Score: 0

|

lmFao... have you played w/ a psp? nintendo handhelds are a JOKE! graphics are kidlike

Score: 0

|

Spoken like a PSP fanboy. The DS was designed for kids you moron.

The PSP was designed for teens / early 20's.

I like the DS better however.

Score: 0

|

I see this a more a feature then a problem. They devices are better opened up then closed!!

Score: 0

|

"TOOL" access does not grant the software required to run under that mode, there is still private key bootloader encryption to cope with even once the battery protocol is hacked/compromised - meaning no custom firmware regardless of how Datel's announcement is mis-interpreted.

Sony's announced update is aimed more at making PSN stable on PSP, rather than cat and mouse with Datel.

Score: 0

|

Do you work for Sony or just ignorant?

Its the SAME method that was used on the original, all they did was modify it for the psp3000, it worked for the original, this will work for the new one...

From the site,

"It works in exactly the same way as the best-selling red MAX Power TOOL battery for the original PSP but includes the new features of being able to switch the Service Mode functionality on and off and built-in power indicator LEDs"

There is NO such thing as unhackable, if a human built it, a human can unbuild it...

Score: 0

|

A real beta process at work: Mozilla fires up Firefox 3.6 Beta 2

In the clearest sign yet that public input really does help the development process, a flurry of bug detections provoked Mozilla to release Beta 2 of the next Firefox.

Snow Leopard and Windows 7 still can't crack the netbook problem

Apple has killed Atom support in OS X 10.6.2 and Windows 7 Starter Edition is stripped of "basic" functionality.

Microsoft's Top 3 advances in Exchange Server 2010

The latest round of changes launched today will impact how admins deliver services to e-mail recipients, and how much companies will pay along the way.

Firefox turns five: Thanks for giving us a choice

Carmi Levy | Wide Angle Zoom: No longer the phoenix rising from the ashes, Mozilla has carried on more than just Netscape's legacy.

Kindle for PC opens in beta, underwhelms

Amazon has opened the beta of Kindle for PC, a companion to the Kindle, but little else.

European ministers approve watered-down 'neutral net' language

The latest provision in the EU's telecoms regulatory framework would let businesses cancel individuals' Internet access, if they go to court first.

It's the US vs. the EU over Oracle+Sun and the meaning of 'open source'

Now that the EU is a virtual country, the US Justice Dept. is taking a stand in favor of its view -- and against the EC's -- that MySQL will survive under Oracle.

Qualcomm: $1.3 billion Samsung licensing deal unrelated to fair trade violations

Samsung has come to a 15-year licensing deal with Qualcomm over 3G and 4G wireless technology.

Nokia's 'limited number' of recalled chargers exceeds 14 million

Today, the Finnish phone maker has begun a recall of mobile phone chargers that are a shock hazard.

Ubuntu 9.10 upgraders report frustration

For those Wine aficionados out there, beware of the remote possibility that your Linux system could be infected by Windows-seeking malware.

Supreme Court considers patentability of abstract methods today

Can software that executes a formula for a business process qualify for federal patents? An appeals court already said no, and inventors are making their case.