Flash, DivX on Demand added to PS3; PSP gets App Store

This week, Sony updated the system software to both its PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. Finally, Sony's portable console received its own access to the PlayStation Store.

Sony's PS3 software version 2.5 was made available this week, adding a handful of new features in video and system settings as well as peripheral support. With this update, the PS3 now offers Scene Search, a feature that breaks videos into one, two, or five minute scenes for quicker location of individual parts.

The console's Web browser has also received Adobe Flash 9 support, and DivX Video on Demand support.

The ability to capture in-game screenshots has also been made available with the update, however it only works with compatible games. A list of games supporting this feature has not yet been made available.

Bluetooth headsets can now be used with the PS3, and are fully exploited in SOCOM: Confrontation, which has an interesting feature called "proximity chat." With that feature turned on, the volume of another player's voice communication is directly contingent upon their "physical distance" in the game.

Other upgrades include: support for network printers, support for German, French Canadian and Swiss French keyboards, configurable power save settings, a trophy collection interface enhancement, addition of buddy list "status," and the PlayStation Store now has a "redeem codes" option for gift cards and promotions.

Sony's PlayStation Portable has also received a software upgrade, with arguably one of the biggest additions yet to the nearly four-year old handheld: its own App Store. Granted, it's the same PlayStation Store that is available through the PS3 or on PC, but now content can be directly loaded onto the PSP's Memory Stick instead of having to use a PS3 or PC.

It is also worth noting that the PlayStation Store on PSP has a great deal of potential as an MP3 store. In the "media" section of the store, there are a handful of MP3s (and even one .wav) available free of charge. Naturally, they're firmly in the PSP's niche and are all game-related music files. However, there are some remixes done by Dan the Automator, Blackalicious, and DOC, aiming just slightly away from the core "gamer" audience.

With its disc-based gaming and movie functions, It's easy to lose sight of the fact that the PSP is, simply put, a Sony portable media player. But there is no indication that Sony plans to add a wider selection of MP3s to the store.

The PSP's XMB also has taken on a resemblance to the PS3's, with a theme redesign and the addition of the PlayStation Network login icon and the Store Icon.