I read somewhere that the Sony PSP 3.80 upgrade might be out soon. So, I fired up my PSP for the first time in a long time and checked for system upgrades. 3.80 is not out but 3.73 was available. So, downloaded it over a WiFi connection and upgraded the PSP’s firmware. After rebooting, I fired up the PSP’s WiFi again and was unable to connect to my access point?

It turns out that the 3.73 upgrade changed something about the way the PSP WiFi settings worked. I ended up creating a new profile (very easy to do) and was back online. I wish Sony had put some kind of warning about this in the informational text they provide during the upgrade process.

The Nintendo DS Browser (Amazon affiliate link) became available in the US earlier this month (although it had been available in Japan and Europe months before). Reading through the comments on Amazon, I learned that while the item is simply listed as the Nintendo DS Browser, it is actually specifically for the second generation DS Lite model. The Opera browser itself is on a standard small DS cartridge while a memory expansion card is provided in non-standard sized GBA card that only fits in the DS Lite model. So, if you have the first generation Nintendo DS, make sure you get a version specifically for that model.

If you are like me, you probably have your old (and slow) 802.11b Access Point lying around somewhere.

If you have a Nintendo DS or Sony PSP portable gaming console, you might want to dust off the old 802.11b WAP and put it to use. Neither the DS nor the PSP support WPA encryption. So, you probably can’t use it with the 802.11g WAP you use for your notebook. They do, however, support WEP. So, you can dust off your WAP, put it on a different LAN segment (something like IPcop might do the trick) and use it exclusively for portable gaming net access.

Sony released the Sony PSP 3.01 Firmware upgrade just days after the 3.0 release. The stated reason was to address a security vulnerability. I’ll guess this translates to the 3.0 was cracked by PSP enthusiasts who like to run their own apps on the PSP.

Many of the new 3.0.x features tied into the recently release Sony Playstation 3 game console. It also adds the ability to access online (via WiFi) manuals for both the PSP and PS3.  Support for a Sony USB camera is also in this upgrade. But, the camera is not available in the US as far as I can tell.

The most surprising thing about the upgrade to me is how long the download took over its 802.11b WiFi connection. I didn’t time it with a stopwatch, but I believe it took well over an hour over a relatively fast broadband connection.

Gizmodo reports on the sighting of a Nintendo DS MP3 player option that will be in available in Europe soon.

The Mysterious Nintendo DS MP3 Player

MP3 audio files are stored on a SD card (up to 2GB). Using Apple’s estimate of 1,000 songs on their 4GB iPod nano, the Nintendo DS option could store up to 500 songs when using a 2GB SD card.

There also an earlier reference to a Nintendo DS Opera Web Browser cartridge.

Nintendo DS Browser Review

This links to a YouTube video review of the Opera Browser cartridge available in Japan.