More power to portable gaming. We've just picked up word via an insider that among the updates that PSP firmware 3.50 carries, one important feature that's apparently been unlisted is that this latest fw release will finally allow commercial games to run at the PSP's full 333mhz CPU speed.

Prior to this, all UMD games for the PSP have been restricted to just 266 MHz - roughly 80% of the portable console's full power.

And while homebrew applications (that means you, intrepid coders!) have already been unlocking this feature for some time now, this move will provide new-found benefits for official UMD games: accelerated frame rates and game load timesare definitely at the top of our wish list, although we'll just have to wait and see if this is indeed the case. Aside from the hopeful speed boost, we're just hoping Sony's also got something planned for the increased power usage expected from turning the proverbial limiter off on the PSP - do we see a new battery in the works?

That aside, the company has yet to give an official statement on this new feature, and whether this unlocked CPU speed is dedicated to post-3.50 UMD games, or will affect past titles as well. Stay tuned for updates on this hot news.