A new PSP Firmware update will be available to download soon. The minor update will address system software stability issues during use of some features. Other than that, nothing new has been added to the software update. You will need to update to the latest version in order to access the PlayStation Store on your PSP.

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Overall

• The number of folder levels that you can view under Photo, Music and Video has been increased.

Game

• If you select [Internet Search] from the options menu for a game, you can now perform an Internet search based on the name of that game.

Network

• [Trend Micro™ for PSP™] haｓ been added as an option in the Internet browser.

PlayStation®Network

• [Information Board] has been added as a feature under PlayStation®Network. The Information Board displays news about games and the latest information about PlayStation®Store.
• You can now access PlayStation®Store even if you do not have a PlayStation®Network account.
• An option to sign-in automatically is now available for PlayStation®Store. Set [Sign In Automatically (Auto Sign-In)] on the PlayStation®Store sign-in screen.
• [Download All] has been added as an option for use when multiple items are purchased from PlayStation®Store.
• Less free space is now required on Memory Stick Duo™ media when downloading games from PlayStation®Store. Previously, it was necessary to have free space on the Memory Stick Duo equal to twice the size of the game to be downloaded. With system software version 5.50, you can now download games from PlayStation Store to Memory Stick Duo media if there is free space equal to the size of the content to be downloaded.

The latest firmware update for the PSP is now available to download. Firmware v5.50 introduces an Information Board on the PSP system’s XMB (XrossMediaBar) interface. Those of you who have a PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) may be familiar with this feature, which displays news and updates from the world of PlayStation in a scrolling ticker in the upper right-hand corner of your TV screen. In addition to this, you will now be able to create and access subfolders for photos, music and videos.

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Security

• System software stability during use of some features has been improved.

Over at the PlayStation.Blog, Eric Lempel has announced that PSP Firmware v5.03 is now available to download. The minor update "improves system software stability during use of some features." Other than that, there is nothing different in the new firmare update. However, it could also patch the recently discovered GripShift exploit so if you are using homebrew, you may want to hold off on upgrading your PSP for the time being.

The official changelog for the update states "a security patch was added to address security vulnerabilities in the system software."

This is a really stupid thing to do but it it happens by accident, your PSP will most likely be useless. Since the update is flashing files to your PSP, any interruption will halt this process and mean that all the files could not be copied. If crucial files were not copied, then the PSP will no longer function unless you can flash the PSP using a modchip.

General

• System software stability during use of some features, including PlayStation Store, has been improved.

Video

• The number of file types that can be played has been increased to include MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) Video Main Profile (AVC CABAC) in 640 x 480 pixels. Some video files of this type may not be playable.

Music

• [Sleep Timer] has been added as an option on the control panel.

Settings

• [Title Display] has been added as an option under [Video Settings].
• [USB Auto Connect] has been added as an option under [System Settings].
• [Backlight Auto-Adjust] has been added as an option under [Power Save Settings].

PlayStation Network

• PlayStation Store is now available on the PSP system

Other

• The default Theme for the PSP system has been redesigned.
• You can now use a full-size on-screen keyboard.
• The feature for outputting video from PlayStation format software to a TV has been improved (PSP-2000 only)

Music

• The number of visual player patterns that can be used has been increased.

Network

• Display of search results under Internet Search has been improved for certain languages.

Video

• Playback of video content under Video has been improved for certain file types.