Hacking the PSP Blog

The PSP Keyboard has arrived - TyDoPad v0.01 beta

You might be a little confused here. The title says the PSP keyboard has arrived but today the news comes in the form of a homebrew application, not a USB keyboard for PSP. That's because madruscoe (also known as moneytoo from our forums) has managed to create a homebrew application which lets you make short notes and save them as .txt files on your Memory Stick using the Palm(One) Universal Wireless Keyboard.

This is the only keyboard supported at the moment and the good news is you can pick them up for around $50 on Amazon and they'll work with your Palm PDA.

As homebrew veterans will probably know, this is an amazing feat because accessory giant Logic 3 has been trying to make a keyboard for the PSP for a very long time and has failed because they needed "to acquire certain information and command protocols from Sony for the PSP" which they where unable to obtain.

There's another planned PSP Keyboard on the way for Spring 2007, but we haven't heard from the company developing the product, FITC, since August 2006. Once again, the homebrew scene has continued its habit of sticking it to the man - well done to madrusco for this release!

We haven't got a Palm Wireless Keyboard handy to test it out, but we're sure that some of you must have one already for a PDA. At this time you aren't allowed to view/open/edit written text and the limit for one note is 4 kB, with the number of notes you can gave only limited by your memory stick size. This is only a beta though, so start expecting a fully-functional PSP keyboard soon. There's even talk in our forums of a prx to accept keyboard input anywhere - in the XMB, in a game or even when playing homebrew. It's a good time to own a PSP! Check out the video below.

Video here... (YouTube)

Download TyDoPad v0.01 beta

Source: PSPUpdates

Hardware sales slow in Japan

Next-generation consoles have suffered a slow week of sales in Japan, with the PlayStation 3 recording its worst figures since release.

According to data from Media Create, the PS3 sold 25,531 units for the week ending January 14.

Nintendo Wii sales were estimated at 93,708 units, the second worst week since it sold just over 85,000 units immediately after launch.

The news wasn't impressive for Microsoft either, with the Xbox 360 managing just over 9,000 units sold in the same period.

Sony recently announced it has shipped over a million units of the PS3 to Japanese retailers.

Looking at sales data for software, Wii Sports is the number one title in the region, selling over 61,000 units. Resistance: Fall of Man is the highest ranking PS3 title in the charts at number 40, while there are no Xbox 360 games in the top fifty at all.

Matt Martin
January 19, 2007

Source: GamesIndustry.biz

PSP Outsells DS... In New Zealand

Ah, New Zealand. Kiwi fruit, Peter Jackson and, above, rugby. Pencil in "Sony-lovers" for another thing the island nation is famous for. Last November and December, Sony moved 21,800 PS2s units, which accounts for 70 percent of the consoles sold. Says Sony Computer Entertainment New Zealand's Warwick Light (killer name!):

"It is no surprise to us that PlayStation 2 was the number one selling gaming platform for Christmas. As the PlayStation 2 offering goes from strength to strength, more consumers are buying into the value proposition of the hardware and the unrivalled range of software on offer. Consumers obviously saw exceptional value in PlayStation 2."

Okay. That's not such a big deal. The PS2 is and has been a big seller. But what is interesting is that the PSP sold 9,560 units and captured 73 percent of the handheld market during November and December 2006. Wow, what the DS is to Japan, the PSP is to New Zealand.

Brian Ashcraft
January 19, 2007

Source: Kotaku

Map This! v0.461S beta (Now supports Sony GPS receiver)

Deniska's just released the first Map This! beta homebrew that supports the original Sony GPS receiver "PSP-290". In the event that you actually have the said original GPS accessory, then this is one homebrew app you've probably been waiting for. Check out the features for Map This! v0.461S below:

• GPS info screen with satellite data
• Screen rotation in map mode
• Trip reset option added to menu. Trip data does not get reset when you switch to map mode.
• Fixed a bug in TRACK UP mode. (should not switch the mode when approaching to map's boundaries.

The GPS-homebrew master notes that some features like the GPS data re-play and WiFi download aren't supported in this version release. Hopefully he can tweak them back into the application in the future.

If you don't know how to map this out on your PSP, check out the readme file included. It's got all the installation instructions and other notes that you'll be needing.

Download Map This! v0.461S beta

Source: PSPUpdates

Dark_AleX mentioned in UK's EDGE

An article in the February issue of UK gaming magazine EDGE, entitled "PSP enjoys a grey Christmas," makes mention of Dark_AleX's Christmas morning release of 3.02 OE-B and its hacked PlayStation emulator. The half page blurb also discusses the relationship between Sony and the "PSP's underground community." The photo of the article that's been making its way around the PSP blogs is a bit difficult to read so I've duplicated the article below and I've also provided a link to a PSPUpdates post displaying the image. If EDGE is available to you then you may want to pick up a copy of the issue for yourself. It's not clear from the photo who wrote the article, otherwise I would cite the author. The article does mention the piracy of PlayStation games but make note that it does also say that images were "illegally distributed," and neither I nor Auri condone piracy in any way. Now, with that said, here's what EDGE had to say...

"If Sony wants people to believe that hacking is no laughing matter, it should really do something about the farcical relationship it continues to share with PSP's underground community. As if the instantaneous exploitation of its 3.02 firmware wasn't enough (its security circumvented by pre-existing firmware emulation software), the yuletide antics of Hollywood-grade hacker dark_alex must have had its manufacturer wondering whether to hire him (or indeed her) or have him shot.

Having dismantled the DRM protection of PSP's recently enabled PlayStation emulator mere days earlier, dark_alex chose Christmas morning for the release of a revised custom firmware, improperly capable of running almost any dumped PlayStation image from a Memory Stick. The underlying method appears to involve duping a PSP into believing it's running a legitimately downloaded game.

Newsgroups and similar channels were, if course, flooded with illegally distributed ISOs over the course of the following days, and the compatibility of the emulator reported to be exceptional, though less so in the case of PAL games. Presumably, this versatility would have been the object of some pride at Sony under different circumstances.

The platform holder has avoided going into detail when discussing the security of its software, on this occation choosing to instead reiterate its stance on piracy in general. 'Privacy is detrimental to the entire industry and, as a result, is detrimental to the end consumer,' said a company spokesperson. 'We are against piracy 100 per cent and will continue to protect our intellectual property and fight against it in all its forms.'"

PSP Enjoys a grey Christmas
EDGE Magazine (UK)
February 2007 Issue

View a shot of the article here... (Via PSPUpdates)

Road testing the PSP GPS

If you ever fancy using the PSP's GPS function outside playing Portable Ops, this may help you think it over. Somebody decided to put his portable to the test, and matched up a PSP GPS/Maplus Portable Navi UMD to a Panasonic car GPS.

The Results:

• The Panasonic starts at the same time as the car, while the PSP requires a 5-minute warm-up time.
• The Panasonic didn't have problems when going through tunnels, while the PSP suffered connection problems.
• The Panasonic's system menu could access addresses, names and phone numbers. The PSP allowed only provides info for addresses

Yeah, we know - it just doesn't sound fair comparing the PSP to a dedicated car GPS. The author didn't either apparently, as he tried the unit out for something a little more lucrative - mounting it on a motorcycle. He placed the PSP in a map case built for bike touring, and loaded up an external battery pack to boost service life to 14 hours. Also included in the pack were a pair of earphones to allow him to hear the PSP's voice messaging on the rode.

Read the full article here...





Source: PSPUpdates

"There is no PSP2" says Sony

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has shot down alleged 'leaked' information on a PSP2, saying flatly "There is no PSP2".

Reports hitting the internet yesterday featured a supposed image (which you can see here) of a new version of the handheld, saying the codename for the machine is Cobalt.

Reports said it featured the likes of dual analogue thumbsticks, an improved display, an 8Gb flash drive, wifi and Bluetooth support and an in-built camera that lets users stream live video to PS3 over wifi. But it's all just wishful thinking, it seems.

Who's been having fun with Photoshop in their bedroom then?

Stuart Bishop
January 19, 2007

Source: CVG