Want to keep in touch with your friends everywhere you go? Either get a cellphone, or get Danzel's AFKIM, the Sony PlayStation Portable homebrew that lets you send and receive instant messages from clients such as Yahoo Messenger, GTalk, ICQ and more. And in this update from Zx-81, we get wind of a very nasty bug that's been promptly squashed with this new version. All the details in the full article.

Download: AFKIM v3.3.2
Visit: QJ.NET's PSP Development Forums

Here's another entry to the on-going NeoFlash Spring Coding Competition. It's called Flo's Funportal from homebrew coder FloXxX. The application is currently on version 1.1 and is home to several games, videos, and applications. Know more after the jump!


Download Flo's Funportal v1.1

Since homebrew developer zx-81 mentioned before that he'll stop working on Danzel's AFKIM, we're quite delighted to find out that a new version of the nifty PSP instant messenger app surfaced. AFKIM version 3.3.0 brings new updates for everyone who love their IM services on the go.

For those still scratching their heads in wonder, AFKIM (or Away From the Keyboard Instant Messenger) is a universal messenger client that supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, GTalk, and Yahoo!, among others. To get the most out of this convenient chat program, don't forget muse over the Readme files that come with the download.

Aside from new design and other functions, here are some new features in this release (from the readme):

• Add iso 8859-1 font/characters compatibility (useful for French, Spanish, German etc ... )
• Add modified version of Danzeff Keyboard with iso 8859-1 characters
• Code cleaning

Download: AFKIM v3.3.0
Visit: ZX-81's Homebrew Releases forum

  

If you've ever wanted to chat on popular messaging clients with your PSP but haven't found the right software, this is for you. The PSPcc v1.0 by Johnny Rainbow is a chat client written in LUA which supports MSN, AIM, ICQ, Yahoo!, and Gtalk.

This PSP homebrew application has quite a plethora of features that users will definitely appreciate such as being able to add multiple accounts on different networks and be simultaneously logged into all of them and listening to your MP3s while chatting. Here's a short list of the features of the program.

Key Features:

• Simultaneous use of multiple accounts on different networks
• Ridiculously skinnable interface
• Mp3 playback, remote support
• Audio alerts for new message, sign-ins, etc.
• Chat-logging (can be disabled, like most features)
• Three original skins included + AFKIM skin
• Uses the faster "danzeff" typing system (custom)

Sounds too good to be true doesn't it? Why don't you download the program below and try it out? Be sure to go over the readme file before doing anything. It should noted though that if the homebrew isn't working with your wireless network, you can try using the Patched WLAN version of the program.

Download: PSPcc v1.0 unpatched
Download: PSPcc v1.0 patched WLAN

Finally, after over a year since its announcement, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) will now be demo'ing its new e-distribution service Station Launcher. This will allow consumers to download MMO games to their PC units and eventually, the Station Launcher will be used to download movies and other content for the PlayStation Portable (PSP).

Aside from downloading games, the Station Launcher also allows MMO players to communicate with their friends using the launcher itself. Players will be able to tell where those friends are now and which games they are playing now. Likewise, SOE Creative Director Nathan Pearce added that integration with AIM, ICQ, and Xfire are also being planned.

The official also talked freely on how the Station Launcher will allow consumers to download movies and music and store them locally. According to him, content from other film and music studios will also be available through the service. What will happen is that users will buy the rights to a content and then it will be attached to their Station account.

Quite interestingly, Pearce noted that one of their short-term plans for the service involves the PSP. He explained, "We have a version of Launcher where it recognizes when you plug in your PSP into the PC. You can download a movie straight from the internet through the Launcher straight to your PSP without it ever having touched your PC."

Take note that it is SOE's plan to allow consumers to watch the content wherever they log into their Station account. "It's not just one device or limited devices, it's wherever you are you can watch it," added Pearce. Aside from the above mentioned, other plans for the Station Launcher include making the service work with Sony's LocationFree Player and bring over TV shows.

As for release dates, Pearce commented, "the time frame for what I demonstrated over here, which is just games and friends, is late summer. Movies and music is sometime after that. It is going to be a pretty big endeavor, so I don’t have a release date for it, but it is going to be a good time after summer."

It must be a Helvetian thing, perhaps, for products from that region of Europe to come in big, strong packages. Zeron certainly proved that one with his Indigo package that is no wilting flower. 1.3 alone had a ton of programs, PSP OSs, HTML games, Flash games, and Flash movies, you'd wonder why the thing isn't on a UMD (or that it deserved a free Memory Stick of its own).

Well, it only gets beefier in Indigo 2.0, he tells us. Containing the programs of the 1.3, not to mention some of the skins of the Ultimate update (ooh, an Adriana Lima skin!), and then some. We're just going to post the full list of available features of 2.0 after the jump, but we're looking at the addition of RSS feeds, movie feeds, an MP3 player, and tools like yongobongo's PSP-messenger that allows your PSP to chat with AIM, MSN, YM, and so forth, all the way to SMS, even. You've got to admit: Zeron's Indigo 2.0 really brings the kaching!

And the kaching comes in three packages: Pro, Standard, and Mini, and will work with all firmware PSPs - use the latest DevHook with web browser functionality for 1.0/1.5, and use the web browser found in 2.0 up (although some features might not be available if using firmware lower than 2.70). Yes, this will also work in 2.71 SE and 3.02 OE custom firmware.

Download links below take you off-site to Rapidshare links - do remember that even on Mini, these are rather hefty files to download into your PC (the installation program), and install into your PSPs. And if you have any questions, do drop a line here in the comments. Zeron may come around to help you out. And don't forget the Readme!

Download: [Indigo 2.0 PRO]
Download: [Indigo 2.0 STANDARD]
Download: [Indig0 2.0 MINI]

Zeron's sent us a list of features available in Indigo 2.0. A ton of features. Check it out at the jump!

Christmas' gift-wrap-ripping time may be over, but who says the giving's done? IGN recently posted a letter to Sony on what they'd like put in the PSP's firmware version 3.03, and they (accidentally) invited their readers to do the same.

That is, come up with what they think should be put in v3.03 to make the most out of their portable system. The results was - to be blunt - controlled chaos. IGN's staff picked out the best ideas in the pile, and slapped it all into one "Dear Sony" letters list.

To give you an idea of how diverse the reactions (and readers) were to the challenges, here as samples of the sent letters:

1. Open media support - for Divx, Xvid, subtitles in SRT format (and Hebrew font)

2. More encoding for the web browser - mainly Hebrew.

3. Live Messenger, Yahoo, ICQ, etc.

-- Guy Sahaf

I would like to see a "Self-Destruct" Button in the next patch. Do you realize how many people would press it out of curiosity?

-- Mucudadada

I know this is off the subject on the updates but sony needs to put some sort of symbol on the cover of games to signify if they are online compatable. I mean Xbox has the xbox live stripe ps2 has the white box and even Nintendo DS has their blue nintendo wi-fi thing. I know that they have INFRASTUCTURE on the back but you can call me lazy I think that it would be a little easier because 99.9% of the time you only see the front cover when you are surfing the web.

-- Jake

For the full list of letters, hit the read link.

For most of the PSP guys there, take this opportunity to voice out what you'd like to see in v3.03. Be it something cool, practical, or downright strange, go wild. Hey, we were all pretty disappointed with fw 3.0 - might as well let it out.

Now, for the new PSP owners post-Xmas sales, this might be a good opportunity for you guys to familiarize yourselves with the PSP's capabilities. And lastly, here's one for the homebrew devs and programmers - we suggest you read the letters, and see what sort fun the other PSP fans would love to have. Enjoy the read.

QJ reader mikeall tipped us about this... this... mother-load of homebrew apps, games, flash games and more courtesy of zeron. It made all of us gasp, "Madre de Dios!" upon gazing at its content. But be warned. Indigo 1.3 is not for the faint of heart. This monstrous German package weighs in a hefty 87MB! Maybe your PSP can handle that much. Question is, can you?

It has at least a dozen programs:

• Pocket calculators (normal and Flash)
• Calendars (normal and Flash)
• File Loader
• Magic 8 ball
• Lamp
• PSPMail
• Stop clock
• HTML DEAD pixel more cleaner
• Alarm bell
• Flash world clock
• Fast Google/Yahoo/Abacho support
• ICQ/AIM/MSN/Yahoo! mobile - support

It supports six HTML OS:

• Windows Xp PSP edition
• Flash portal
• Xtel Flash portal
• X5
• Kiunes 1.5
• PSbetripp

More of what's inside this mother-of-all portal browsers for the PSP after the jump:

Download: [Indigo 1.3]