Firmware version 2.60 also added new multimedia functionality and codecs, the main features being streaming of podcast audio directly from the web using an RSS feed and the playback of the WMA audio format (this requires online activation). Firmware 2.70 includes a Macromedia Flash player in the Web Browser, as well as upgraded RSS features. [edit] Camera and GPS A camera and GPS attachment were first announced for the PSP in March 2006. More details are set to be released during Tokyo Game Show 2006. The GPS reciever will feature support for GPS-enabled games such as a projected re-release or update of Hot Shot Golf, as well in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. The GPS is set to be priced around ¥6,000, appx. $54 USD. The “Chotto Shot” (Quick Shot) camera add-on will support a new video and VoIP chat service, as well as photo taking. Both the camera and service are slated for release in Japan in December 2006 for around ¥5,000, appx. $44 USD.[2] [edit] Wireless networking The PlayStation Portable can connect to a wireless network through Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b which allows it to surf the web or connect to other PlayStation Portable units for multiplayer gaming world-wide. Use of wireless network features increases the power consumption and lowers the battery life of the system by 30%. [citation needed] Firmware 2.00 was released on July 27, 2005 for Japanese PlayStation Portables, and August 24, 2005 for North American PlayStation Portables. The update included a web browser and support for connecting to networks with WPA and WEP encryption. Sony has stated that the PlayStation Portable will be able to connect and interact with the upcoming PlayStation 3. Details on link-up features are slim, however Hideo Kojima has discussed the possibility of a link-up between Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Acid 2 . [citation needed] [edit] Gamesharing Main article: List of PlayStation Portable Gamesharing games Some titles for the PlayStation Portable support a feature dubbed "gamesharing", which facilitates a limited set of multiplayer features between two PlayStation Portables with only one copy of the game UMD. A reduced version of the game being shared is transferred to the PlayStation Portable without a UMD via the PlayStation Portable's Wi-Fi connection, whereupon it is loaded into RAM and runs. Such "gameshare versions" of titles usually have their feature set reduced because of technical limitations. This is mainly due to transfer times since data for the game must be transferred to the second PlayStation Portable wirelessly, at a rate of 11 megabits per second. Also, since the game data is stored in the PlayStation Portable's RAM, there is a storage limit of 32 MB. [edit] Ad-hoc networks Ad-hoc wireless networking allows for up to 16 PlayStation Portables within range to communicate directly to each other (typically for multiplayer gaming). One unit acts as the host for a game, which is available to other PlayStation Portable units within that system's range, and appears in a list when the client PlayStation Portable searches for available hosts. Hosting a game in this manner increases power consumption and reduces battery life by as much as thirty-five percent, depending on the complexity of data transfer. With the update of 2.00 or higher the PlayStation Portable can use the Ad- Hoc technology to digitally send pictures from one PlayStation Portable to another by use of the "send" and "receive" functions that appear in the "PHOTO" menu. [edit] Infrastructure networks Main article: List of PlayStation Portable Wi-Fi games The PlayStation Portable's main menu allows the user to configure the system for use across the internet or an intranet via a wireless connection, known as infrastructure mode. The PlayStation Portable's menu can recognize protected and non-protected wireless networks within its range. Use of infrastructure networks in PlayStation Portable software began with a small number of titles at the U.S. launch, supporting online play. South Korean PlayStation Portables have shipped with software providing web browsing and multimedia streaming features, but only through company- owned Wi-Fi hotspots, and with a monthly fee. [18] Sony's Location-Free Player allows users to watch television on their PlayStation Portable over the internet. Through the Location-Free Player, users can view and control their TV from anywhere they have access to a wireless network. [edit] Infrared The PlayStation Portable features an IrDA port located on the top left of the device; however this is not currently used by any games. There are homebrew applications which use PlayStation Portable as a TV remote controller, such as PSP IR Remote, PSP Universal Remote, PSP Phillips Remote, Sony Wega TV Remote, iR Commander, iR Shell. Other homebrew applications use the IR for other purposes such as: IrDA PDA to PSP, which allows the use of a PDA as a text input device for the PlayStation Portable. IRDA Capture, which allows to store raw IR dumps to the Memory Stick. IRDA File Transfer, which allows for transfer files over IR. [edit] Design and specifications [edit] Technical specifications The PlayStation Portable was designed by Shi Ogasawara [小笠原氏] for the Sony Computer Entertainment company. Early models were made in Japan but in order to cut costs, Sony has farmed out PlayStation Portable production to non Japanese manufacturers, mainly in China. The unit measures 170 mm (6.7 in) in length, 74 mm (2.9 in) in width, and 23 mm (0.9 in) in depth, and has a mass of 280 grams (a weight of 0.62 lbs) including the battery. The TFT LCD screen measures 110 mm (4.3 in) diagonal with a 16:9 ratio and sports a 480×272 pixel resolution capable of 16.77 million colors. The PlayStation Portable's main microprocessor is a multifunction device that includes a MIPS R4000-based CPU, hardware for multimedia decoding (such as H.264), as well as a vector unit dubbed "Virtual Mobile Engine". The MIPS CPU core is globally clocked between 1 and 333 MHz. During the 2005 GDC, Sony revealed that it had capped the PlayStation Portable's CPU clock at 222 MHz in software. Its reasons for doing so are unknown, but are the subject of some speculation. Various homebrew tools enable users to operate at 333 MHz, generally leading to a higher framerate at the expense of battery life. The system has 32 MiB main RAM and 4 MiB embedded DRAM. There is no memory management unit for the CPU. No evidence of a TLB has been found to date. The Coprocessor 0 that normally manages the TLB-based MMU seems to be a custom effort by Sony and has no integrated memory. The 166 MHz graphics chip has 2 MiB embedded memory and through its 512 bit interface provides hardware polygon and NURBS rendering, hardware directional lighting, clipping, environment projection and texture mapping, texture compression and tessellation, fogging, alpha blending, depth and stencil tests, vertex blending for morphing effects, and dithering, all in 16 or 32 bit colour, along with handling image output. Specifications state that the PlayStation Portable is capable of rendering 33 million flat-shaded polygons per second, with a 664 million pixel per second fill rate. [19] Unlike Sony's PlayStation 2 console, the GPU (PS2 Vector Unit equivalent) is not programmable, meaning that many effects that the PS2 can resolve in hardware must be implemented in software on the PlayStation Portable. Nonetheless, the implementation of a GPU in the PlayStation Portable is still a significant technological advance, in that it implements robust hardware- rendering for 3D graphics in the handheld market. The PlayStation Portable was preceded in this regard by the Tapwave Zodiac and the Nintendo DS. [edit] Interface The PlayStation Portable's main menu interface is the "Cross Media Bar" (XMB) used by recent Sony TVs, the PSX (DVR) hardware, and the upcoming PS3. It consists of a horizontal sequence of icons (Settings, Photo, Music, Video, Games, and Network which, when highlighted, show a vertical sequence of sub-icons (for example, selecting Games allows the memory stick or a UMD to be selected). The main menu system allows the user to, amongst other things, adjust settings such as date, time, and the PlayStation Portable's nickname for wireless networking, play video or audio files from the memory stick, load games or movie UMDs, check on estimated battery life, and set the PlayStation Portable into a "link mode" which makes the inserted memory . Shell. Other homebrew applications use the IR for other purposes such as: IrDA PDA to PSP, which allows the use of a PDA as a text input device for the PlayStation Portable. IRDA Capture,. includes a MIPS R4000-based CPU, hardware for multimedia decoding (such as H.264), as well as a vector unit dubbed "Virtual Mobile Engine". The MIPS CPU core is globally clocked between. specifications The PlayStation Portable was designed by Shi Ogasawara [小笠原氏] for the Sony Computer Entertainment company. Early models were made in Japan but in order to cut costs, Sony has