PSP goes white, version 2.0 sighted

News - New announcements from Japan

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has just announced that a brand new edition of the PSP handheld will be launched in Japan on September 15th, in a sexy shade of ceramic white, instantly calling to mind the groundbreaking aesthetics of Apple's iPod. The new colour will only be available in value park form, and will cost about 26,040 Yen (about £130, or $260 US). The company also announced that the new colour will be just the first of several planned - we also fully expected Sony to send these new shades to other regions where the PSP is sold.

In other PSP related news, the forthcoming major 2.0 update for the system has been scheduled for release on July 27th, using the USB link cable, users will be able to upgrade from the Sony website, and introduce a brand new web browser function to the device. The 2.0 update will also add a wireless image trading option, over ad-hoc networks that work on a PSP-to-PSP basis. Users will be able to set desktop wallpapers too.

Several new media formats will be supported after the update, and there will also be improved wireless security. No sign of the calculator or any of the other previously mooted features yet, sadly. The PSP arrives in PAL regions on September 1st and we expect this patch to be pre-loaded, as it will be a prerequisite on all new game released anyway (bundled on the UMD). The patch also puts pay to homebrew programs that were usable on hacked 1.4 PSPs, though this might not last long.

Farewell for now, Sony PSP.