PSP Gets ShoutCast Radio Update

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 12/18/2007

Foster City, Calif. — Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) is offering a firmware upgrade for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) that will bring Internet radio via AOL’s ShoutCast Radio to the handheld entertainment devices.

Using the update, PSP users will have access to more than 20,000 stations using an Internet connection through a Wi-Fi hot spot. A variety of songs and genres can be streamed through the player, including pop, hip-hop, rock and talk.

Sony said more than 50 percent of PSP owners use the system to listen to music.

Sony also said it is offering a PSP extended-life battery kit to get users through their holiday travels and any long delays at the airports.

The kit, which is available this week at a $44.99 suggested retail, will double the battery life of the new PSP model (PSP-2000).

Due to the fact that the battery pack is thicker because it requires higher amps, the kit will ship with two custom PSP battery covers in both piano black and ice silver.