We’ve seen our share of gaming and gadget rip-offs, but this is one of the most blatant knockoffs we’ve seen in a while. Look familiar? Why it looks exactly like a Sony PSP. And while the PXP-900 clones the style, it doesn’t bother with the titles, instead, sticking to retro gaming ROMs.

The PXP-900 can handle classic titles from the NES, Famicom, Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Super Famicom and SEGA MegaDrive. Onboard storage is 2GB, and it functions as a PMP too, playing up to 25fps 320 x 240 video in a bunch of formats on a 4.3-inch display.

Rumors of a major PSP hardware redesign have repeatedly surfaced over the last several months. There have been claims that the UMD disc drive is gone, and others pointing to a second analog stick and sliding screen. 1up cites some sources directly involved with the new system and says that Sony will unveil their revamped PSP at this year’s E3 conference in June.

Here’s the breakdown. The UMD is gone, replaced with options for 8GB or 16GB of built-in flash memory. Three rumored names include PSP Slide, PSP Flip, and PSP Go!. That last borrows from Sony’s Go! brand and has us thinking there might be a built-in camera. The same D-pad, analog nub, and face button configuration, but they now slide out from the bottom of the unit.

Dante’s inferno was one of the books I had to read in literature class back in the day. I can’t say it was one of my favorite books and I wished it were a movie instead so I didn’t actually have to read it. Students today can crib for the quiz with a new video game from EA based on the book.

The game is based on part one of the Dante Alighieri classic, “The Divine Comedy.” The game will put players on a mission to move through the nine circles of hell including high school, college … I mean limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery.

With every release of new PSP firmware, Sony’s handheld gets closer to the PS3 as far as features. Firmware update 5.50 will installed the “Information Board” to the XMB, letting PSP users get the latest news from Sony whenever new additions are available.

Some other super-amazing updates include creating and accessing sub-directories on the Memory Stick, on the browser side there’s a trial of Trend Micro’s “Kid’s Safety” service and Internet search games.

There are all kinds of nifty spy gadgets you can buy to get your sleuth on, but if those products aren’t doing it for you, Sony has something new that you may want to check out. According to a site called Siliconera, Sony has filed a patent for a remote-controlled car that would use the PSP as an interface.

It’s equipped with a camera to feed video to the PSP and users would be able to upload the footage to a website if they want. But that’s not all. The patent mentions an augmented reality racing game. The game recognizes real objects as elements in the racing game, so basically, you build your own track from stuff ou have around the house.

Sony won’t be happy until we have PSPs in all of the skittles colors. They love to dish out candy-colored PSPs. The next mouth watering color may be lime green, if this image is accurate.

It was supposedly leaked from inside a Sony factory. But hey, they may have just been having some fun. Who knows. May be just a prototype. The question is do you want a lime colored PSP? Or is it too much? Ready to taste the rainbow?

Now you can enjoy Rock Band while on the road to your next gig. That’s because the game is coming to the Sony PSP. To celebrate, Sony is releasing a limited edition Rock Band Unplugged PSP Entertainment Pack.

You get a piano black PSP-3000, a 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo and a PSN downloadable movie voucher for School of Rock. Very clever. Rock Band Unplugged will merge some key gameplay elements from the original Rock Band as well as its sequel, with a bunch of new songs and some features that are unique to the PSP. Like loneliness and isolation.

We’ve heard all of the rumors that a new PSP will be arriving with a sliding touchscreen, but now Pocket Gamer says they’ve confirmed it with a developer working on the system. It will be here before Christmas.

The source repeats earlier rumors about the design: Like the touchscreen that will slide open to reveal a D-pad and….two analog thumbsticks. And as we told you before, the UMD will be gone in favor of digital downloads. According to Pocket Gamer it’s more like an iPhone than the last PSP you’ve come to know and love.

Sony will be releasing two new Blu-ray recorders that offer support for a bunch of Sony gadgets. The 500GB BDZ-A950 and the 320GB BDZ-A750. It means you can export what you record or download to your Walkman devices, your PSP and some cell phones.

There’s also an accompanying Internet-based service called acTVila that allows you to download videos for a fee. Or, you can stream content for a smaller fee, but surprise, you can’t keep the content.

Looks like SCEE is prototyping a new addition to the PSP PlayStation Store. According to a tipster, Sony is planning a service that will let you download digital comics directly to your PSP. Survey participants were asked to watch the video below and to help determine a pricing scheme: subscription or a la carte prices.

Digital comics aren’t new to the PSP, like the Metal Gear Solid comics for instance. The interactive comics were enhanced with slight animation, music and even sound effects. The PlayStation Store currently only has one digital comic available for download: The Cryptics, which will cost you $2.99.

Do you use stock headphones instead of a high quality pair when you play on your portable? If you are looking for a high quality pair, Audio Technica has introduced a new series of 4 headphones specially designed for portables, specifically the PSP and DS/DSi.

The ATH-EQ300G, ATH-C100G, ATH-C500G and ATH-CK300G will allow you to control the volume from the headphones themselves instead of using hardware or software controls. They also have a unique and hopefully comfortable shape. We don’t have a price yet, but they’ll be available in April in Japan.

Here’s something that’s slightly messed up. But it’s the kind of thing that carmakers must do in order to sell to Sony loving geeks. A PSP Edition SUV. Citroen is offering their C-Crosser SUV which boldly boasts a PSP sticker that lets everyone know your handheld of choice.

Each purchase comes with some “freebies” including a black PSP (Probably not the new PSP-3000), a couple of games, a 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo and a head mount that lets folks view UMD movies on the PSP while the driver drives.

If you haven’t found a PSP color to suit you, you might want to try a female color, like this new Lilac PSP aimed at girl gamers.

This Lilac PSP will debut as part of a $199 Hannah Montana Entertainment Pack that features Miley Cyrus’ PSP game, a UMD with some Hannah Montana episodes, a 2GB memory stick, and some stickers. What about us males? An Assassin’s Creed Entertainment Pack will launch with Altair’s PSP debut later in the year with “other content that will announced later.”

What are the odds? There’s a rumor floating around on the internet. And it involves the PSP. That’s never happened before… Sarcasm aside, this latest rumor predicts an actual lustworthy design that includes a sliding screen and yet no new hardware inside.

If true, that means it’ll have the exact same internal guts as your current model, it will just be more cellphone-like. On one hand, i’d be glad they upped the design and payed attention to various fan renders like the one above, but what good does that do you if the innards don’t match?

Sony claims to have sold 50 million PSP handhelds worldwide as of January 2009. That number includes all PSP-1000, 2000, and 3000 devices sold since December 2004. That’s a pretty impressive number, for sure.

But not so much if you’re sitting in Nintendo’s corporate offices, looking at 96.22 million DS handhelds sold between December 2004 and December 2008. I guess since they can’t brag about how many PS3 units have been sold, they have to have something to give them hope.