After a long delay, Sony has launched Life with PlayStation service, bringing a news and information channel to the PlayStation 3. This enables PS3 owners to set up a news, lifestyle, and information channel right on their PS3 consoles.
Initially, Life with PlayStation will feature a Live Channel with a world map interface, where users can access information based on place and time. Initial content includes news headlines powered by Google News, live camera images of almost 60 cities around the world courtesy of Earth TV and Webcams.travel, weather information from the Weather Channel, and cloud imagery provided by the University of Wisconsin.
To start using Life with PlayStation, users just need to click the Folding@home icon in the XrossMediaBar network column; it will update automatically to Life with PlayStation. Folding@home has been integrated into Life with PlayStation, and now enables PS3 owners to see where they stand alongside worldwide contributors to the protein-folding research project.
This is not yet broadband TV yet, but it does turn the PS3 into a source of news and information, much like Nintendo’s Wii News and Weather channels, and adds a new dimension to the concept of a game console. Especially with the Play TV DTT tuner kit also becoming available this week for the PS3 in selected European countries, this makes an interesting move.
