According to the Sony Playstation blog, the company has released firmware version 2.41 for the Playstation 3 which is expected to be a smoother update than the 2.40 version they released last week and had to pull shortly after. Apparently some folks who installed the 2.40 version experienced problems getting to the XMB when booting up and were stuck with a bricked console, at least temporarily.

We had heard that Sony would get a fix for the 2.40 firmware out sometime this week and their blog entry late last night said …

The latest firmware 2.40 put out just Tuesday for the Sony Playstation 3 was apparently pulled shortly after its release due to multiple reported problems caused by the update. If you’ve already gotten the update and things are working fine you are one of the lucky ones, otherwise if you seem to be faced with a bricked console you’ll need to be getting in touch with Sony support or possibly trying to fix it yourself.

Sony confirmed Wednesday that they had official pulled the available update within an hour after its release due to the reported problems, which they say were experienced by a “limited” number of PS3 gamers. The most common problem appears to be that the console gets “stuck” when booting and doesn’t get past that “wave” background display, never reaching the XMB. Some argue that formatting the PS3 hard disk will fix the problem which you can attempt, but at your own risk.

Sony’s patent application for a haptic touchscreen composed of “tactile pixels” shows former Sony Computer Entertainment chief Phil Harrison as the inventor. It also has a bunch of references to potential use in “a game device” and to “game events,” so it seems fairly obvious that it was developed as an idea for PSP.

The patent app describes a haptic feedback system that seems pretty complicated. The pixels themselves are capable of moving up and down, providing feedback to user actions. It’s certainly interesting, but we’re not gonna hold our breath waiting for this to hit the consumer market anytime soon. We wouldn’t mind being wrong though.

As far as originality, you won’t find any here. When they designed this Maxx Digital portable DVD player, they simply re-did the PSP for some reason I can’t fathom. Not that it’s not a good looking PSP. It is. It’s just a PSP, not a DVD player design. I just don’t like all my stuff to look like PSP’s, that’s all I’m saying.

The PDV-8500BLK features a nice 8.5-inch LCD widescreen, and will play videos in DVD, DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW, CD, CD-R/RW, VCD and SVCD formats. It’s also got support for JPEG, MP3 and MPEG4 files via a built-in SD, MMS/MS card reader slot. Strangely it doesn’t play video games at all. And no UMD discs. It will cost you $120.

Sony Ericsson has won the honor of the greenest electronics company around. They finished on top of Greenpeace’s Greener Electronics Guide, going beyond Energy Star requirements. All of its models are PVC-free and they banned the most harmful chemicals from their phones since January 2008. It was really no competition, as the scores of others plummeted badly.

In fact, surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprising to some, Sony Ericsson was the only company that scored more than 5 out of 10 in the Greener Electronics Guide. The guide judges tech companies on recycling programs, use of harmful chemicals and energy waste. So who was at the bottom of the list? Microsoft and Nintendo, thanks to Microsoft’s very low score on climate and Nintendo’s Wii being an energy pig. There’s always next time if they clean up their act.

Sony is updating its line of upper end “Elevated Standard” A/V receivers with three new models. The STR-DA4400ES, STR-DA3400ES and STR-DA2400ES receivers are priced at around $1,500, $1,000 and $800 respectively.

Sony said all three receivers will be available later this summer. Key features include 7.1 channel surround sound, support for advanced audio codecs like Dolby TrueHD, a new graphical user interface and auto audio calibration. You can get the full details of these new Sony ES A/V receivers after the jump.

Sony has released an update to it’s corporate strategy through 2010. It talks about initiatives to move Sony from recovery to the “leading global provider of networked consumer electronics and entertainment.” The most welcome short term news is that Sony will have a movie download service available to US PlayStation 3 owners this summer.

Japan and Europe will have to wait until later for once. More details should be coming “next month,” probably at E3. As far as Sony’s gaming business, they expect it to be profitable by March 2009, the end of this fiscal year. There you go, summer. You won’t have to wait as long as you thought.

Sony introduced earlier this week what it is calling the world’s camcorder with “Smile Shutter” technology. It is called the Sony HDR-CX12 and you’ll find it pricing around around $900.

The Sony HDR-CX12 make use of the company’s “Smile Shutter” technology, which detects and takes a photo when your subject smiles without having to switch to photo mode or press a photo button. This HD camcorder, which uses Memory Stick Pro Duo media for storage, can record full 1920 x 1080 video and 10-megapixel photos.

The portable is getting Google search, with stored memory of your last 20 searches. Another feature is that video played from a memory stick can be sped up or slowed down to suit your needs. Nothing very earth shattering, but welcomed nontheless.

Sony Japan just announced their new Bluetooth headphones, the DR-BT140QP. They’re pretty nice looking and promise to make you look less dorky.

They feature Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR with support for A2DP/AVRCP/HFP/HSP profiles and have onboard Lithium Ion batteries for up to 12 hours of continuous playback with a standby time of 200 hours. They also have a mic for hands-free action. They’ll be available in four colors black, white, silver and pink for about $139.

Sony topped off its announcements yesterday with word it was bringing new content to its BRAVIA Internet Video Link service. Chief among these is a partnership with popular video Web site YouTube.

Sony said its BRAVIA Internet Video Link device will now let people have access to millions of YouTube videos through connected BRAVIA LCD flat-panels at no additional charge. Models supporting this device include select 2007 and 2008 flat panels.

One of the worst things about a home theater aside from the wires is that the speakers tend to be big and bulky. Larger speakers often sound better, but they are hard to hide and can really mess up the looks of a room (so says my wife).

To go along with the new line of Sony Bravia HDTVs I wrote about this morning Sony has released a HT-IS100 Bravia Theater Micro System. The system is designed around five tiny speakers that are each about the size of a golf ball or a strawberry.

When it comes to LCD HDTVs Sony has some of the most popular sets on the market in its Bravia line. While LCD TVs and LCDs on notebooks share some of the same tech, notebook LCDs have been using LED backlighting for better picture quality and thinner profiles for a while now. The LED tech hasn’t been seen much in HDTVs until now.

Sony introduced seven new XBR HDTV models including models using TRILUMINOS LED backlighting and local dimming to provide better black levels and contrast. The TRILUMINOS LED system uses clusters of red, blue and green LEDs to produce improved color. The new models include screen sizes from 19 to 70-inches.

Once again Japan gets all the cool things. Like this latest, the Cinnabar Red PlayStation 2. It should be available on July 3rd, for the equivalent of $155 US. Perfect if you love rocking red, or if you have some sort of Hell theme happening. In fact, it would probably be at home in Hellboy’s house. Hell. Damnation. The damned. Red is the color of anger you know. I think it’s affecting me in a strange way.

The rumor reads like a scene from the gaming X-Files. Supposedly, a small group of PS3 owners were taken to a secret location in California where they got their chance to test a new Sony item. Not something made from alien technology, but a PS3 remote that mimics the Nintendo Wiimote.

Participants apparently enjoyed minigames like tennis, fencing and paintball. One source says one of the gamers spotted a “PS3 Fit” and was immediately mind wiped and carted away. Ok, I made that last bit up, but the rest is true. We think. The players also got to see some Quake on a laptop while using the device. Apparently, Sony has a long way to go before all the bugs are worked out