PSP 3000 Hacked by Datel: Battery Tool Coming

Kris Erickson • Nov 19, 2008 • Comments (1)

The previously unhackable PSP 3000 model has finally been cracked by third-party accessory company Datel. Its self-proclaimed "Raw Science Engineering Division" has cracked open a PSP-3000 and decrypted the circuit board that was preventing earlier generation Pandora batteries from working. The UK-based company performed SEM imaging to better understand the workings of the new PSP 3000 at the silicon level. The resulting Datel Lite Blue Tool is a new battery peripheral that will allow users to enter Service Mode on their PSP 3000 consoles and then downgrade them to earlier custom firmware versions. The device will go on sale at the end of November for the price of $29.99.

Datel is clearly walking on very thin ice with the announced "blue tool" device. Through an interesting series of legal loopholes, companies like Datel have been able to reverse engineer consumer electronics products and produce cheaper third-party peripherals such as memory cards and controllers. However, production of devices that are solely designed to enable piracy may not be afforded the same protection as memory cards and controllers. If the Blue Tool contains any of the same technology used on Sony's own device, it could present grounds for a patent infringement case. Sony undoubtedly has a team of lawyers looking at this new development, and will rain down a hail of lawsuits in short order.