Sony released version 2.53 software update for the Playstation 3 game console. The new release brings in a host of feature tune-ups, feature additions and security fixes. This update is characterised by the introduction of full-screen Adobe Flash video playback for the web-browser, with the addition of Adobe Flash Player 9 to the browser. Others include minor user interface related changes that enhance the user experience. Ideally stability related issues should be addressed by this firmware release. The update can be installed from the console's own interface when connected to the internet, or by means of a PC download and when the update is bundled as a requirement on game discs. To learn more about this update, visit this page.

It appears that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Dell, HP and Toshiba, have issued another laptop battery recall for Sony branded batteries. It's very unfortunate that the Sony battery fiasco is still a problem. According to the new data, Lithium-Ion batteries used in about 35,000 Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and Dell Notebook Computers can overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers. The information is based on 19 reports of laptop batteries still overheating, including 17 reports of flames/fire (10 resulting in minor property damage). Consumers should immediately remove the recalled battery from their notebook computer, and contact their computer manufacturer to determine if their battery is included in the recall and to request a free replacement battery. The bad battery packs are used in laptops from all kinds, including models retailing from $700 to models that cost around $3000. There's a list of the models in danger below, that might help.

As part of its frequent updates, Sony announced today that new firmware versions for its PLAYSTATION3 and PSP (PlayStation Portable) consoles will very soon be available to their owners. Let's start with the v5.00 update for PSP. In this version, you'll notice the addition of the PlayStation Network icon on the XMB. You can now sign up for PlayStation Network, manage your account and access PlayStation Store directly from your PSP - meaning you can download games, demos and trailers directly to your PSP while you are on-the-go. Update v5.00 also adds a sleep timer option that can be used while you are playing music on your PSP. In addition, v5.00 adds a full screen keyboard option for text entry and redesigned background of the XMB. You'll be able to find all of the information on Firmware v5.00 here once it goes live. The PLAYSTATION3 firmware version 2.50 includes a ton of new enhancements. To see each one of them, you'll need to go past the "Read full story" marker.

In yet another PR posted yesterday Sony debuted its third generation internal Blu-ray Disc (BD) writer for the computer aftermarket, which at about $400 achieves a new level of affordability for BD enthusiasts. The new BWU-300S model burns single and dual layer BD-R media at up to 8X speed, recording a full 25GB disc in about 15 minutes and a full 50GB disc in about 30 minutes. The 8X recording speed is achieved using 6X compatible BD-R media. The drive also records DVDs at up to 16X, CDs up to 48X, and supports DVD-RAM recording. The internal BWU-300S features a Serial ATA (SATA) interface and standard 5.25-inch form-factor for easy installation inside a desktop PC with Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista operating systems. It comes bundled with a "Men in Black" Blu-ray Disc from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Also included with the drive is CyberLink's software suite for capturing, authoring, editing, burning and viewing high-definition personal content. The BWU-300S drive will be available through select retailers, resellers and directly at Sony Style starting next month. Pre-orders are now being accepted by Sony on the website.

Yesterday Sony took the wraps off the world's lightest computer with Blu-ray Disc technology - the VAIO TT Series notebook. Available in two models VAIO TT160 and VAIO TT198, both laptops come housed in a lightweight carbon-fiber chassis, weight just 2.87 pounds and are less than 1-inch thin, but have different hardware installed. The TT160 series comes with a 1.2GHz U9200 Intel Centrino 2 processor (3MB L2 cache), 3GB PC3-6400 memory and 160GB 5400rpm SATA hard drive, while the TT198 features a 1.4GHz U9300 CPU (3MB L2 cache), 4GB PC3-6400 memory and 2x128GB SATA solid state drives in RAID. Sony offers both models with a 11.1-inch XBRITE-DuraView widescreen LCD that also has LED backlight. This screen boasts 16:9 HD 1366x768 wide resolution. Future owners who want to pay a premium price can also purchase a Blu-Ray writer drive. The TT models start at $2,000. The BD version will go for about $2,700, while the SSD model (128GB) for around $2,750. Available colors include premium carbon black, silk black, champagne gold and crimson red. Retailers will start selling the TT series starting this fall. Click here for any additional information.

Sony Computer Entertainment just announced the simultaneous global launch of its free Life with PlayStation PS3 service for PLAYSTATION 3. Life with PlayStation is a new lifestyle service that offers users a new visual and interactive way to use their PS3 to access news and information from around the world, only possible on the PS3's feature-rich platform. Initially, Live Channel will worldwide news and and information such as time, weather and live camera images provided by The Earth Television Network of nearly 60 cities around the globe. All this is free of charge and requires your PS3 to be connected to Internet only. PS3 users can easily join Life with PlayStation by simply clicking the Folding@home icon on the network column of XMB (XrossMediaBar) that will update to Life with PlayStation. For more information, please see the official website here.

Sony released two models of the Vaio laptop, the Vaio CS and Vaio NS. Both these models come with Blu-ray drives, with the option of having them without the drives as well. The Vaio NS comes with a 15.4" display and is powered by a 2.00 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 processor. It comes with 3 GB of DDR2 memory and a 250 GB hard drive. Additionally, the Sony Vaio NS has an integrated A/V mode, featuring a dedicated menu for quicker access to nine user-selected programs. With the Blu-ray drive installed, the product range starts at US $1000. Without it, the range starts at $650.

The Vaio CS features a smaller 14.1" screen with the same optional Blu-ray drive feature. It comes with the much more powerful Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 processor at 2.26 GHz, 4 GB of memory, and a 320 GB hard drive. It also offers a uniquely configured keyboard, designed with spacing between the keys, for a more comfortable typing experience. The notebook has a 12-tone music analyzer that translates your music into a colorful LED light show. Prices start at $970 without the Blu-ray drive, and $1070 with it.

Notebook PC makers and users desire the realism and performance of a discrete graphics processing unit (GPU), but they still demand maximum battery life. Now Sony, Fujitsu Siemens, and BenQ have announced the availability of notebooks that let users dynamically switch between a discrete NVIDIA GeForce GPU and Intel Centrino 2 integrated graphics without rebooting, giving users the choice of more visual computing performance or reducing power demands to extend battery life.

All GeForce 9M Series GPUs support the hybrid graphics feature, but the notebook must be designed to support the technology. The hybrid graphics feature is currently available in the following new notebook models:

Yet another overheating drama has struck Sony's laptop subdivision. As of today a potential overheating issue has been discovered in the following notebook PC models:

• VGN-TZ100 series
• VGN-TZ200 series
• VGN-TZ300 series
• VGN-TZ2000 series

The issue involves a small number of units which may overheat due to a wiring problem. Sony has initiated a voluntary program to perform a free inspection and, if necessary, a repair to ensure these units meet our high quality standards. To find out if your VAIO TZ notebook is one of the affected units, please visit this link here. After a quick check of the product code and the serial number located on the bottom of your notebook, you'll know whether to worry or not. Please follow the information found here if your laptop is affected.

The Leipzig Games Convention has become a playground for one more announcement that's worth knowing. This time Sony is officially updating its game console line-up with the introduction of PlayStation Portable 3000. As the name suggests this is the third update for PSP and it comes to bring a built-in mic for VoIP calls and a new LCD that improves both the color range as well as the contrast over the original version of the 4.3-inch display. The home button of the PSP 3000 has also been redesigned. It is now called "PS Button" and has the PlayStation logo on it, instead of just the "Home" sign used in previous two versions, otherwise it has the same function. Other than that the console looks just like the older PSP 2000. First PSP 3000s should start shipping on October 15th for 199 Euros ($294) and be sold as bundles that will either include a game like FIFA 09 or the Go! communications pack.

During the E3 Media & Business Summit today, Sony announced that it is returning back the 80GB PS3 to the market in September, but this time with a new price of US $399.99. This move is probably dictated by the Xbox 360 price cut which became official two days ago. The 80GB "Core Pack" PLAYSTATION 3 as it will be called will offer all of the features and functionality of the currently selling 40GB model, but with double the storage.

The Sony Playstation 3 console firmware update 2.40 rendered several units dysfunctional, forcing users to either try 'DIY homebrew remedies' (and possibly voiding warranties in the process) or seeking professional technical assistance which could cost the user anywhere up to US $150. With several users in distress continuing to express disgust on the official Playstation 3 forums, Sony has decided to work closely with users whose consoles have damaged solely due to the 2.40 firmware update. After it is determined that 2.40 firmware update is the sole cause of damage, the console would be either repaired or replaced free of cost.

After last week's fiasco involving the 2.40 firmware update, Sony has launched the 2.41 update. No added features, just that issues brought up with the previous update are said to be fixed.

Sony is positive that all bugs with the previous update have been fixed. In a statement, they say: "As many of you know, we released PS3 firmware update v2.40 last week, but had to take it offline temporarily because, for a limited number of users, the XMB wouldn't display after the update was installed," said Eric Lempel, Sony's PlayStation Network Operations Director. "We've been able to fix the problem, and I'm happy to report that firmware update v2.41 will be released shortly. We want to extend our apologies to the PlayStation community for any inconvenience."

For details on how to update, please visit this page.

Good Luck.

After Sony recently pulled off its long awaited XMB PS3 2.40 firmware, many customers were left with empty hands. Moreover, little of them knew what exactly happened and why the update was removed. Now Sony is reported to be working on firmware version 2.41, which should be clear of all errors and will make all PLAYSTATION 3 owners happy again very soon. Although Sony is yet to make an official announcement to confirm this information, various sources already claim that the update will be out by the end of this week.

In what can dubbed as a fiasco, the much anticipated 2.40 firmware update for the Playstation 3 (PS3) gaming console which was released the other day, has been scrapped owing to several units facing acute problems with the new firmware. The new firmware had brought in new features such as an in-game XMB access and a trophy support along with enhanced gamer profile system.

Shortly after the update went online, several users began reporting problems with the update. A thread at the official Playstation 3 forums is currently over 60-pages and is filled with a number of ranting PS3 owners. Kokatu.com reports that the new firmware causes controller malfunctions, and sometimes corrupts the system completely. One of the solutions included that the user could remove and format the hard-drive and reinsert it, the system will prompt the user to format it following which the system will return to normalcy. Of course, you lose all previous firmware update along with all your saved games and user profiles. If you are a victim of this, please visit this site for possible solutions.

Sony has come up with a statement saying "In order to further assess the issue, we have temporarily taken the firmware offline for further testing. We are working diligently to isolate the problem for those few consumers and to identify a solution before we put the firmware back up".With inputs from Kokatu, Gamesindustry.biz

Kaz Hirai, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, revealed today that a new movie download service will hit the PlayStation 3 in the U.S. this summer. Players from Japan and Europe will have the opportunity to enjoy the service at later dates. More details are likely to be unveiled next month during Sony's E3 Media and Business Summit conference. "Please expect more from our evolving PlayStation business," Hirai said.

Videogaming247 has learned that the upcoming PLAYSTATION3 (PS3) firmware 2.40 will bring in-game Xross Media Bar (XMB) and Trophy support. The XMB support is one of the most requested features from PS3 owners since the console's launch. This time the information is said to be valid. The update will be dropping sometime in June. For more information please click here.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today confirmed the release of an official Grand Theft Auto IV bundle exclusively for PLAYSTATION3 (PS3).The bundle, available on April 29, 2008, will consist of a PLAYSTATION3 40GB model, a SIXAXIS wireless controller and a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV, the latest title in the genre-defining Grand Theft Auto franchise, all for just €439 (RRP). "We are delighted to offer the millions of PS3 and GTA fans the ultimate gaming package," said David Reeves, President, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV) is the eleventh, upcoming installment of the best-selling Grand Theft Auto video game franchise.

Sony PlayStation 3's online community service Home will not be launched until this fall, Sony Computer Entertainment has announced in just another delay. The service was first announced in July last year and promised to be available globally in the "fall" of 2007 but later it was delayed until "spring" 2008 at the Tokyo Game Show. Now the launch date is being moved to the "fall" of this year. When the time comes, PlayStation Home will be available only as an open beta test service.

We understand that we are asking PS3 and prospective PS3 users to wait a bit longer, but we have come to the conclusion that we need more time to refine the service to ensure a more focused gaming entertainment experience than what it is today, ... Spending more time on the development and on the Closed Beta testing reaffirms our commitment to bringing a quality service, maintaining the PlayStation tradition.

said Kazuo Hirai, president of Sony Computer Entertainment, in a statement. There are no details on when PlayStation Home might launch as a full service.

The PLAYSTATION 3's redesigned DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controllers are currently shipping to North American retailers and are expected to appear on shelves by next week, according to a post on the official PlayStation.Blog. The DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller includes pressure sensors that rumble with each action. SIXAXIS technology is also included, so you can still use motion control, and the controller features Bluetooth technology for wireless gameplay. The titles that support the rumble feature will require a patch (DUALSHOCK 3 Compatibility Chart). The patch will automatically download to your PS3 if your console is connected online. You can pick up the DUALSHOCK 3 controller for $54.99 MSRP.

Now after HD DVD is out and the format war is over, a research in the US shows Blu-ray disc sales have topped nine million since inception, with some three million of those discs flying off the shelves in 2008. The figures, published by Home Media Research, show average weekly sales of BD titles ranging from between 200,000 and 300,000. Big-sellers, such as the recent No Country For Old Men release, helped weekly sales reach 319,000, with the disc itself selling 68,000 copies in the week ending March 16th. The second place is for the Hitman title, who sold twice as low or 38,000 copies.

Sony has finished the list of tracks that will take place in the North American soundtrack for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, the fifth installment of the billion-dollar selling racing franchise developed exclusively for PS3 by Polyphony Digital Inc. The official Gran Turismo 5 Prologue soundtrack will include an edgy soundtrack that mixes an aesthetic audio blending of indie dance rock, electronica, classic rock and brand new remixes by some of today's hottest recording artists such as Weezer, Mars Volta and DJ Shadow, among others. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will be available in April for $39.99 SRP on Blu-ray Disc and as a download via PLAYSTATION Store.

Sony released the latest firmware 2.20 for their PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) console this morning. In case you haven't read what's new in this update, please check our previous story here. Some of the new features include, support for Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0 (BD-live), the ability to copy PS3 Music and Photo playlists to a PSP system, as well as playing DivX and WMV format files that are over 2 GB. All owners, may now proceed to their PS3 System Update menu.

Sony has updated the PS3's firmware taking it to version 2.17. Unfortunately there are very few improvements with this update - under the main features in this version Sony lists only "The operating stability of some PLAYSTATION 3 format software has been improved." The simplest way to update the firmware is via the PS3's system menu.

The Financial Times citing an unnamed senior executive reports that rivals Sony and Microsoft are discussing the possibility of offering a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360. Sony Electronics US president Stan Glasgow also noted that the company was holding discussions with both Microsoft and Apple over Blu-Ray. The report even claims that there is also the possibility of an internal Blu-ray drive being incorporated into a new, more expensive Xbox 360 model, as it is already done in the PlayStation 3. Currently all Xbox 360 consoles support the HD-DVD format only, but since Toshiba abandoned production last month, Microsoft has no choice but to reconsider Blu-ray as vital step forward. Microsoft refused to comment on the story.