We found the purchasing of items (all free at this stage!) to be seamless.  You enter the store and choose your items adding them to a virtual basket.  When you checkout you are greeted by the normal PlayStation basket that you find on the store.

The servers appear to be coping very well, and I’m sure that Home will be rolled out sooner rather than later.

Enjoy

One of the coolest features of Home is the fact that you can invite your friends around to your own personal pad, which can be decorated how you like, and even watch a film on your tv from your hard disk.

There is still no official release date as of yet, although until then you can bask in these new screens, or if you can read other languages, you may want to check out the new official Japanese site.

PS3 Software 1.90 – Major Changes

The most significant and noticeable change for PS3 fans is that the new update enables you to change your background wallpaper to your own custom design. To utilise the cross media bar – PS3 wallpaper sites will be springing up left right and centre and we will upload a collection of the best designs on to the website. Most wallpapers will be made to the resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. (We have uploaded a KillZone wallpaper at the bottom of this article for you to try out)

Another tidy change is that no longer will the PS3 controller need to be ‘wired’ in to the machine while you perform an update.

You can now use emoticons which is great news for those of us who regularly use forums!

In the last update Sony improved DVD upscaling output, to help make standard DVD’s look that little bit better on our PS3′s. In this update, Sony has improved the upscaling of CD’s to make the music quality even better when played via your PS3.

You can also now eject the disc without leaving your site – with an option available in the Games section of the XMB (Cross Media Bar).

Avatars are now animated during voice/video chat and will move to the sound of your voice.

AVCHD-format video files can now be played.

You can adjust the display settings whilst a PlayStation or PlayStation 2 game is in progress.

Summary

This is a good update and the wallpaper changes are sure to add a real touch of personalisation for everybody’s own unique PlayStation 3. We look forward to seeing your designs and we would love for you to let us know the links of any new PS3 wallpaper websites.

Sony is continually improving the system software and since the launch of the PS3 in Europe – system updates have become more regular and more involving. We look forward to the next updates, and hope Sony have something special for version 2.0 – but I guess we already know what that is going to be…. PS Home!

Killzone PS3 Desktop Wallpaper (Click for full size)

These shots seem to show what the my space esque action will look like while you wonder around the huge virtual world trying to make friends (or in my case enemies hehe). It all looks rarther cool from the psp navigation menu to visiting the arcade and the ten pin bowling, to going to the cinema or simply relaxing in your own pad sipping back the beers and staring at the scenery out of your window. Heck this looks the dogs.

As of yet there is no official word when we will see it on these shores but untill then these shots will have to do.

We will keep you fully up to date as and when here at PS3Pad.com.

The first stage beta trial of Sony’s impressive new ‘Home’ interactive environment has begun closed beta testing in most parts of the world.

15,000 European gamers were selected by Sony, who made the trial available from the last day of April. Around 15,000 PS3 users are involved in this early stage of the trial.

We expect, all things running well, that a further 50,000 users will enter the open betal trial stage sometime during the end of June, start of July – then a succesful rollout on to everybody’s PlayStation store in the Autumn.

PS3 Home is Sony’s online virtual networking community. It has been likened to the online game Second Life, where your virtual character can meet all the other PS3 users’ virtual characters. You can chat, invite them to your apartment – where you can watch videos on your PS3′s hard drive and connect directly to play games.

Multimedia Links

PS3 Home Video Trailer

For some screenshots of PS3 home click here