Dynamism claims the computer is the world’s smallest PC and, well, it very well might be. It sure is tiny at only .69 lbs and 6.3 x 3.7 x 0.7 inches. An Atom CPU powers the device and a microSD card slot provides backup to the 8GB SSD hard drive. The screen is only 4.8-inches but that’s probably large enough to update Facebook and read email anyway. Plus it’s pink. Everyone loves pink. Except for dudes.

Lending credence to the rumor that Sony is doing away with the UMD drive on the next PSP comes word, beit rumor, from Ars that Patapon 2 will only be released digitally next month. You can, however, pick up physical product at your local game shop, though. Or so says Ars’s mole. In total, there are three ways of getting Patapon 2 for your PSP.

So the deal is that P2 will be released on PSN for $15, but you can go into your local GameStop, Best Buy or whoever and pick up a Patapon 2 PSP case that has a download voucher and nothing else. If you choose to go down that route then you’ll have to fork over an extra $5, which we assume goes towards the cost of manufacturing and shipping empty cases. The third alternative according to the Ars mole says that certain retailers’ websites will sell just the download codes as well.

via Ars

Earthworm Jim and MDK creator Dave Perry claimed the other day that the PSP2—yes, it’s in development—will not have a UMD drive. That’s good news, seeing as though UMD is terribly slow; eliminating it from any future PSP design would both 1) cut costs and 2) shrink the device’s footprint by a not-insignificant amount. And while Sony may deny that any such redesign is in the works, Perry insists that’s he’s right.

Perry posted on his Twitter account the following:

John Koller is publically questioning my post about PSP 2. So I confirmed with Top PSP 2 developers. John, state that PSP 2 WILL have UMD.

If this were a professional wresting feud, Perry would be standing in the middle of the ring, yelling, “John, I’m calling you out!” Then the lights would dim and John would smash Perry with a chair.

Internet speculation suggests that Sony will announce and/or debut the next version of the PSP at E3, which is in May. I think we’ll be there at E3.

via Kotaku

There’s not a lot of content in this video of PSP firmware v5.0 but you can expect to see the PSN store, a new RSS reader, and a snapshot tool for taking screenshots of games. Pretty exciting, right? More importantly, a firmware upgrade will ensure that PSP hackers will have to spend a few minutes hacking this version of the software and then go back to drinking Mountain Dew and eating Gamer Grub.

Is the PSP even relevant anymore? UMD is pretty much a dead-end for media and the games have been bad to abysmal so far – even God of War wasn’t that hot. Could the DSi pound the final nail in the PSP coffin?

UMD has been a thorn in Sony’s side since it was introduced as an ill-fated storage format for the popular PSP almost two years ago. Sony has had a string of proprietary format failures, and has now faded into relative obscurity.

That does not mean that movies for the PSP is a dead idea, though. Reports indicate that Sony is developing a movie download store of its own, much like that offered by Apple via its iTunes application. The movies could be stored on Memory Sticks (again, a proprietary format, though one far cheaper, more extensible, and larger user base than UMD), with up to ten titles of a 4GB card.

This puts one of the larger movie studios in position to compete head-to-head with Apple, though the real question remains: does Sony really want to put all of its motion picture eggs into one PSP basket? Or will it compliment, not compete against, iTunes and iPod?

Sony to enter video download market [Financial Times]