Though SCEA is still "looking into the problem," Sony's Japanese headquarters (SCEI) has released a statement describing the PSP-3000 (a.k.a. PSP Brite) scanline issues as being part and parcel of the new hardware. "PSP-3000 has a new LCD device with vastly improved picture quality, achieving a more natural and vivid picture than older models," said the statement (via Engadget Japan). "By improving LCD response time to reduce ghosting, the horizontal-line phenomenon becomes more visible."
Turns out, phenomenon means "no fix in sight." According to Sony, "Since this phenomenon is caused by hardware characteristics, there is no plan to fix it with system software update." We'll be interested to see if Sony of America (SCEA) has anything different to say.