According to the fine folks over at pspgen, Sony has issued firmware version 5.0 beta to legitimate PSP developers. This will of course allow commercial developers to adapt and ready their games for the next major firmware revision. Per the moment, the details are somewhat scarce…

For starters, pspgen reports firmware 5.0 will include these three updates:

1. Direct access to the PlayStation Store
2. A new RSS reader
3. An integrated “snapshot” tool; similar to FuSa screenShoot (?)

And that’s all we know for now… With respect to a release date, that also remains unknown. It’s speculated to hit around October with the release of the PSP-3000. Whatever the case, I certainly hope 5.0 sports a little more bang than those 3 specifics.

- source: pspgen (translated)

A new PlayStation Portable could be in the works… That’s according to PSP China where the following images have surfaced:

The rumoured PSP-3000 model is said to sport a built-in microphone, updated buttons, a few cosmetic changes, and possibly cell phone support.

Realer than real-deal Holyfield? Well, no official word from Sony, and we at PSP-Hacks are a little skeptic concerning the authenticity of these photos. For the moment, this should be treated as pure speculation.

- source: kotaku