Firmware v1.90 hits Japan; Arriving in Europe tomorrow

As
hinted at last week firmware version 1.90 has been released in Japan, with
reports that it will arrive in English speaking regions within the next day or so. But what does it do? We're glad you asked. The following is a list of confirmed features that are worming their way around the internet. We'll let you know when the full patch notes become available.
- Ability to rearrange games on the XMB
- Option menu now includes "eject disc"
- Press triangle on the XMB to eject the disc
- XMB backgrounds
- Change the folder classification
- Emoticons
- Change CD output to 44.1/88.2/176.4kHz
- Force 24Hz output for Blu-ray over HDMI
- Change PS3 video settings in-game
- "Bit Mapping" in the "Music Setting"
- Save AVCHD type animations from a Memory Stick
- Change settings like upscaling while playing PS and PS2 games
- Add bookmarks
- Web browser security function in the browser's tool section
- Avatar moves during audio visual chat
Overall, pretty nice indeed. That'll keep us going while we wait for the fabled 2.00 patch. XMB backgrounds and the ability to organise XMB content are things that we've seen requested many times. As for us, we're loving the ability to eject the disc from a distance, saving us precious seconds of seat-time before having to actually walk towards our PS3. Yes, we're that lazy.