2.50 firmware is out, adds LocationFree support

October 13th, 2005, 08:19 Posted By: wraggster

Source - PSPVault

<blockquote>2.50 firmware is out. You can currently get it via "Network Update," but keep your eye on the Japanese and USA update pages as we expect the update to be appearing there shortly. Update: looks like it's on the Japanese homepage now.

The biggest addition in the new upgrade appears to be:

"LocationFree Player has been added as a feature under [Network]."

I've been saying and saying LocationFree support was coming, so please read the old article I did on "LocationFree support for PSP." I'll be posting more information throughout the night as I get it.

I have a short FAQ prepared inside with some questions I expect to be asked about this new update.

Update 1: Complete changelog inside!
Update 2: Added some more clarification about LocationFree, pointed a few interesting aspects out.
Update 3: Added some screenshots of the new features from the Sony webpage.
Update 4: Added links to necessary Sony sites.
Update 5: Holy crap, an English site about all this. Looks like us Americans will also get this feature!
Update 6: Added more screenshots of the LocationFree feature.
Update 7: Added a boatload more screenshots from the official Sony documentation. I've also uploaded Sony's PDF about LocationFree for PSP, in English, here. I'll put it in the File Vault later tonight.

Revisions to strengthen security have been added

[LocationFree Player] has been added as a feature under [Network]

[Auto-Select] and [Unicode (UTF-8)] have been added as options to [Encoding] under [View] in the [Internet Browser] menu bar.

[Text Size] and [Display Mode] settings of the [Internet Browser] can now be saved.

The input history of online forms accessed through the [Internet Browser] can now be saved.

Copyright-protected video can now be played under [Video]. (This applies to video data saved on Memory Stick.)

[Set via Internet] has been added as an option to [Date & Time Settings] under [Settings].

WPA-PSK (AES) has been added as a security method under [Network Settings].

Korean input mode has been added to the on-screen keyboard.

So the first question you ask is:

What is "LocationFree"??

And the answer is, well, we've already answered that question! If you read this PSP-Vault article, I explain exactly what LocationFree is and suspect that it will be available for the PSP. And now it is. The LocationFree server is this thing:

And it retails for 33,000 yen, which is around $289 USD.

Will this be available outside of Japan?

Yes, it will. There is now an English website about LocationFree for PSP. SonyStyle is also listing the LocationFree server (product page here) in their lineup. It retails for $349.99 USD.

What do they mean by "Copyright-protected video"?

I suspect this has something to do with the P-TV service. PortableTV offers downloads for the PSP, but these downloads have been free of charge -- if Sony wants to start charging for downloads of more popular programming, they will need some sort of copyright protection. Good for them, too, because Memory Stick Duo already has integrated protection through "MagicGate" copyright protection technology. We'll be bringing you more details on this particular aspect in another few hours, we hope.

Wait, does that say "Memory Stick"? Don't they mean "Memory Stick Duo"?

That's something I noticed too. I have absolutely no idea what this means; is Sony planning some sort of accessory for the PSP? I guess this is just a typo in the update file itself, or I'm looking into things too deeply.

Will homebrew work?

Seeing as how this update incorporates the security changes we saw in firmware version 2.01, the answer is no, homebrew will not work. If you want to retain your ability to use homebrew, do not update. You cannot downgrade.

Is there anything else I need to know?

Besides the browser improvements, that appears to be the extent of what the new firmware update offers. We'll keep you posted as we expect some sort of official announcement from Sony about this.</blockquote>

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