We’ve been checking daily for that next firmware update we told you about earlier this month that is to include Skype VoIP calling, and looks like it hit today. Version 3.90 is available for download from the Network Update menu on the PSP and will bring support for more PlayStation Network titles to the PSP along with the ability to make and receive free Skype calls on your Playstation Portable. The announcement comes today from Sony Europe but the update appears to be available for download here in the U.S. as well.

Unfortunately this feature is available only on the newer, slim PSP 2000 models and will require you to get a PSP headset and PSP remote control or Go! Cam to operate the Skype features. The 3.90 firmware with Skype lets you make free internet calls through the PSP Wi-Fi connection much like you would from a computer and will even let you setup a new Skype account on the PSP. If you have some Skype credit you can also make SkypeOut calls to landlines for a fee.

Sony is only days away from releasing the availability of Skype on the PSP and the company has released an announcement saying that the January 24th launch will be delayed. In particular, Sony officials said that the microphone products they’ve created for the PSP to go along with the Skype service are what is causing the problem.

Both the Single Pack and the Double Pack microphones did not meet Skype’s specifications, and instead of going on without them Sony is going to hold up the whole works. A new solution and a new launch date for the Skype service and microphones for the PSP are being “sought after” and will be announced at a later time.

The good news is that this delay so far seems limited to Japan. It’s strange that they would come to this conclusion only a day before the launch. Are the microphones for Japan customers different and not up to standard while the microphones for the U.S. are acceptable, or is there some other force in Japan that doesn’t like the idea of free mobile VoIP minutes?

Sony’s Playstation Portable handheld gaming console has been trailing in sales to the Nintendo DS since the DS’s inception, but Sony is a far cry from giving up quite yet. Last month we saw a pretty cool upgrade with the version 3.80 firmware for the PSP which brought internet radio through the systems WiFi connectivity. Now Sony is saying that they are partnering with Ebay’s Skype to bring VoIP Skype phone service to the handheld system.

The new firmware is slated to be available for download to the PSP by the end of January and will add a Skype icon and functionality to the Network portion of the PSP’s menu. When connected to the internet users will then be able to log into Skype, manage contacts, view who’s online and of course make calls through their PSP to other Skype users or other PSP owners with the Skype feature installed. Owners will even be able to create a new Skype account right on the PSP.

We knew some upgrades were coming for both these devices and today both the PSP 3.80 firmware and the PS3 2.10 firmware upgrades are available for download.

We haven’t seen the PSP 3.80 version available online yet but it is available through the Network Upgrade menu option directly on the PSP bringing streaming internet radio directly to the handheld device. In fact, I’m listening to the ShoutCast player on my PSP while writing this. You’ll need an Wi-Fi internet connection of course, and after installing the update there is a new menu option in the network settings for Internet Radio. Selecting it brings you to an “About” page that shows two different but similar players available for download to your Memory Stick, one from ShoutCast and the other from IceCast, each having 50 genres to choose from once downloaded.

Sony has released a new firmware update available now for the PSP, bringing the version up to 3.7. The new update can be picked up automatically through the Network Update Wi-Fi connection on the PSP.

Some of the updates with the new 3.7 version include revisions to increase security and an increased number of Playstation network titles that can be played under “Game”. The system will now also let users set custom theme settings in the Themes menu and a number of features for viewing media have been added.

Any of you that own a Sony PSP and don’t own an iPhone can still manage to get a little of the iPhone juice on you, even if it’s not the real deal. iPSP is some software you can download and transfer onto your Memory Stick and then use on your PSP. It provides a menu system that looks very similar to the iPhones, and is actually functional providing access to things like email, photos, IM’s and other apps.

It doesn’t look quite as nice as the real iPhone, and of course there’s no fancy touch screen, but it does look pretty cool to try out before someone takes it down. Also, instead of the iPhone switching from portrait to landscape when you rotate it, the directions instruct you in just the opposite …

A recent patent application filing at the US patent office by Sony Ericsson reveals what looks to be a PSP phone. This does kinda’ make sense since everything is moving toward integrating with a mobile phone lately. Also, it’s been difficult to take a traditional mobile phone and integrate games with it, so why not go the other way around and integrate a phone into an existing mobile game design.

It looks like that’s what Sony Ericsson is up to. The PSP is already designed well as a portable game system with the wide screen layout and buttons on either side. In this case they have pictured a rotating screen which would be key for getting the wide screen for gaming, watching movies, etc. It looks like the potential PSP phone could also be used as …

Yesterday Sony released a version 3.10 firmware upgrade to the Playstation Portable system with some increased security among other new features. By the end of the same day, hackers had already decrypted the 3.10 firmware to allow third party applications to run on the PSP.

The party claiming responsibility for the PSP hack, “C + D”, was boastful about the day 0 hack of the new firmware stating, “$ony has lost another batle and will loose the war…”. Obviously they are better at hacking than they are spelling.

The new firmware updates for Sony’s PSP include support for an expansion of Playstation titles, support of MPEG-4 AVC format video files, a Conserve Memory feature and a dynamic sound normalizer. In addition, and more interesting in this upgrade is the ability to download demos directly to the PSP or transfer …