Boing Boing pal Mike Outmesguine says:
Trying to force wireless connectivity out of the Sony PSP has resulted in some interesting tweaks and hacks by devoted fans of the new handheld gaming/multimedia platform. In this tradition, I worked at getting the PSP onto the internet using a cellular connection, which was happily provided by a JunxionBox Wi-Fi to cellular gateway appliance. The JBox provides a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot where cellular data service is available. As you know, hotspots are (usually) short range affairs, while cellular covers wide areas. The JunxionBox essentially “converts” 802.11b Wi-Fi device connections over to a 3G cell network either for multiple users with Wi-Fi devices or for devices that only support Wi-Fi, like the Sony PSP.
In this experiment, I tried two applications. One was connecting the PSP to play Twisted Metal. The PSP was able to download stats and server info, but I was unsuccesful in joining and playing an actual multiplayer game. It’s unclear what the problem might have been. Verizon support said they play World of Warcraft over EVDO during breaks in the lunchroom, so it’s unlikely an ISP filtering issue. In any case, I then tried out the Wipeout Pure web browser hack which was a total success! I connected to the internet and surfed a few different websites.
I am reaching for new ways to interconnect mainstream devices. The Sony PSP is one such device with a semi-locked down infrastructure, supporting only minor connectivity options. For example, you cannot connect to the PSP using Wi-Fi for file transfers. And, of course, it does not directly support cellular. By exploring integration options like this, we can expand the options for a connected highly mobile society.
